“The Great Gatsby” written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel in which setting in both time and place are significant features. The 1920’s, West Egg, East Egg, the Valley of Ashes all contribute to the readers understanding of central concerns and characters in the novel, such as corruption of the American Dream, perception, carelessness and Gatsby, Tom and Daisy. “The Great Gatsby” uses a first person viewpoint which tells the story of a man trying to relive a dream which is ‘already behind him’ due to corruption of the American society.
The 1920’s was a time of unprecedented prosperity in America. The wealth was seen in characters such as Daisy Buchanan whose voice was described as being ‘full of money’. Although the economic boom has helped many people achieve better lives – ‘the new money’ of America. However, the economic boom has not been evenly spread and there was an uneven distribution of income which is highlighted in the – ‘valley of ashes’. Money is the root of this novel, and it has created a division in society. Those who are better off in society have allowed crime to go undiscovered which shows that those who have more money have more control.
This time of the economic booth created people who only cared about themselves. Daisy Buchannan is described as being:
“gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor.”
This shows that because Daisy is wealthy she believes she is above everyone else. She is a snob and looks down on the poor and feels no need to help them. She has become self-absorbed in her own world. This is due to the era in which she lives in. The 1920’s was a time where the government took a ‘laissez-faire’ approach as did many of the upper class American citizens.
West Egg is home to the ‘new money’ of America and is described as being:
“the less fashionable of the two”
This suggests that although those from West Egg are wealthy they do not have the same social standards as those from East...