Gatsby throws lavish parties every weekend in hopes of winning back his true love, Daisy Buchanan, while Tom lives in an extravagant house and makes sure that everyone knows he is above them. Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby are both in love with Tom’s wife, Daisy. Although it may take a while for Tom, while Gatsby knew from the moment he met Daisy, by the end of the novel both men realize Daisy is the most important person in his life. Gatsby and Tom both have major secrets in their life. Tom is cheating on Daisy with Myrtle Wilson, his friend’s wife.
Mark Twain’s seminal novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, deserves to be included in the canon of great American literature due to its pioneering use of common speech, its daring relationship between Huck and Jim, and the moral progress made by Huck despite the failure of the ending. Its “radical autonomy” (Bollinger 32) helps define modern American literature, which makes it “one of the central documents of American culture” (Trilling 1). At this time in American history, many believed that “the mark of a truly literary product was a grandiosity and elegance not to be found in the common speech” (Trilling 6). Twain’s use of common speech and a number of dialects help the reader make connections to each character and arrive at conclusions about them. Huckleberry Finn begins, “You don’t know me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain’t no matter” (Twain 7).
They are described as being dissimilar "in every particular except shape and size"(5). East Egg is the more expensive, more exclusive one of the eggs, and home to Daisy and Tom Buchanan. To live in East Egg you must possess "old money", therefore making it forbidden to people like Gatsby who have built up their fortune themselves. The Buchanan house is a "Georgian Colonial mansion", and "elaborate"(6). The eastern seaboard symbolized by the "East Egg" comes to represent the affluence of the Jazz Age, its residents those who have succeeded in obtaining the wealth and power that the "American Dream" represented.
In the novel “The Great Gatsby” there are two major money groups, new money, and old money. Jay Gatsby is an example of new money because he worked for his money. He buys a mansion an west egg to get back his lover from the past, Daisy Buchanan. Daisy lives right across the bay in east egg and is married to Tom Buchanan. Tom and Daisy are both old money because they were both born in to wealth.
“So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year- old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald 91). In recreating himself, Gatsby sets the stage for his social ascent soon to follow. Gatsby both counts on and flaunts his wealth to win Daisy back knowing that she would only marry someone in her same class. It is this motivation that drives Gatsby to reach her status and embody the same behaviors as she. When Nick encounters Owl-Eyes in examining Gatsby’s library, we see how important appearing extremely wealthy is to Gatsby.
Trying to crash a croquet game at a high-class country club. We find that Jamie Johnson the filmmaker belongs at the croquet club. We find that he is the heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, a grandson of the founder. Which makes this film a little interesting; Johnson focuses on the gap between the super-rich and the poor. He gives the viewer the impression that he feels guilty for being born rich.
These different social rifts come from a result of greed from the destruction of the American Dream. West Egg represents the “new rich”, where people have made their wealth in a short period of time. West egg has more morals of the two eggs, yet West Egg is still very superficial with their gaudy housing and spending. Nick and Gatsby are both from West Egg, which gives an idea of what “type” of people live in what areas. At the beginning of the book Nick says he lived in West Egg “…the less fashionable of the two…” (10).
Gatsby dedicated himself to winning Daisy, which leads him to gain millions of dollars, buy an ostentatious mansion, and hold weekly parties. The love for his own illusion of Daisy motivates him in many ways. Gatsby even felt it necessary to fabricate his entire identity. The narrator states, “So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.” Gatsby reinvents himself to conform to his own ideas of how he should live and how people should perceive him. He lies about countless things, so he can portray a man of wealth with sophistication and class.
Eventually Gatsby meets Dan Cody, the man who ultimately inspires him to pursue his dream of winning Daisy back. Gatsby is influenced by Dan’s criminal activity, as it is what led to his wealth. This is seen when a young Gatsby looks up at Dan’s yacht that “represented all the beauty and glamour in the world” (100). Gatsby thought that by becoming rich, he would win Daisy back. He was wrong.
James presents Americans in his story as wealthy, having beauty, innocence, and freedom. While on the other hand, he characterizes Europeans as sophisticated, well mannered, and cultivated. He portrays the Americans that are traveling in Europe as living the New World’s life, while the native Europeans are living the Old World’s life. This contrast makes it difficult for Americans to understand how to act appropriately in a country other than their own. James realized that these two societies have different manners, values, and customs and he presents these differences through the two main characters, Daisy Miller and Winterbourne.