Old Money vs. New Money

Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby. By including this aspect in the boo k, Fitzgerald purpose is to reveal the two faces Of corruption in America through the novel’ s geography and its characters. The book’s geography represents the dichotomy of corruption through its pee pole. Two regions of Long Island, East Egg and West Egg, make up the setting of the novo el. These separate entities reveal the corrupt nature of “old wealth” versus “new wealth,” and con firm the formers distaste of the latter.
When Gatsby invites the narrator, Nick, to one of his extra vagrant parties, Nick notices upon first observations that those in the party from East Egg “ass med to themselves] the function of representing the staid nobility of the countryside East Egg condescending to West Egg, and carefully on guard against its spectroscopic g tatty’ (Fitzgerald 49). Since the residents of West Egg have unlaundered wealth, those in East Egg of more established wealth look down upon them as possessing a lower social status. However, both groups are equally corrupt.
Despite people of old money condescending ‘the blatant kinds of corruption” demonstrated by those with new money, they themselves “[Indus GE] quietly and Benson 2 discreetly in bribery, blackmail, and manipulation to maintain and consoled et [their] power” (Miller 81). Through Fitzgerald depiction of these mutually corrupt groups, h e makes the parallel between the unrealized corruption of West and East Egg and the Unit deed States’ blindness to this fact. In addition, the characters’ residence in the setting directly relate to their set o f values.

For example, both Nick Caraway and Jay Gatsby (who live in West Egg) strong lay desire the acquisition of wealth. Nick is a stock broker, and Gatsby gains money by apart captivating in “every sort of illegal mischief, some of which is so dangerous that people are afraid t o talk about it” (Foster 146). These characters represent the people in America who were new lay rich and achieved success through their strong desire for money. In contrast, character RSI such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan (from East Egg) represent the values of those with establishes d wealth: In their selfishness they lack compassion for others.
When Gatsby dies at the end oft he book, “the only . Are his father, Nick, a postman, a handful of servants, and the o mourners welled man who at the first party had admired the library’ (Foster 141). But Tom and Daisy choc SSE to leave Long Island behind rather than attend his funeral. Although it is unlikely that Tom loud go to his rival’s funeral navy, he also lacks “a series of virtues .. . In the America of w which [he] is paradigmatic, such as vitality, efficiency, loyalty, and the necessity of a realize able dream” (Lena 40).
Even though people in East Egg do not have the strong desire for wealth lie eke those in West Egg, they exhibit a different face of corruption that is no less immoral. By giving g these traits to his characters, Fitzgerald depicts America’s people as either greedy for wealth or lacking in common values. Benson 3 The geography and characters portrayed in the book reveal Fitzgerald depict ion off irrupt America through the concept of “old wealth” and “new wealth. ” Throw ugh the book’s geography, the author represents the separation of these groups in a clear w ay and describes the rivalry between them.