What Does Gatsby's Mansion Symbolize

Improved Essays
Gatsby’s Mansion Gatsby’s mansion is located in West Egg in Long Island, New York. His mansion is described to be large and obtrusively bright and showy. It is a fantasy playground, an :amusement park” for adults, and a place of “many-colored, many-keyed commotion” for visitors. However, the mansion is heartwarming because he bought it to look across at Daisy’s house.
On the other hand, Gatsby’s mansion does not represent Gatsby’s personality, but it does represent his belief that in order to get Daisy to come back to him and to fit in with the crowd in Long Island, he must buy a mansion and have many parties to fill it with “interesting people”.The mansion reflects the way Gatsby thinks because he thinks that he must try to fit in, in order

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Gatsby truly believes Daisy is the key to being apart of old money social class. “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (78). Everything Gatsby does is the help is journey of becoming apart of the old money social class. Gatsby buys the house across from Daisy to get her to notice him and his wealth. Also the fact the Gatsby is so close to Daisy but separated by the bay symbolizes the fact that Gatsby is close to his dream but he doesn't have the key which is Daisy.…

    • 1988 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In one case, when Gatsby gives Daisy and nick a tour of his mansion it is seen to be large and astounding, and decorated with wealthy possessions, but when they visit Gatsby’s bedroom it “was the simplest room of all” (93). This points out how Gatsby uses his house to show off his fortune, not to pleasure himself, because the one room that is designated as “his” is simple and comfortable without a gaudy display. In addition, Gatsby confesses to have “never used [his] pool all summer”(154) this demonstrates that the pool is another object that Gatsby used to make himself seem more affluent to others, to build his reputation, rather than have for his own enjoyment. This supports the idea that Gatsby is too caught up in building his appearance to find substance in his life, like an enjoyable past time such as swimming. As well, Gatsby’s facade is symbolised by his extensive library.…

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The characters of The Great Gatsby can all be viewed in two opposing ways. They have a personality and aura about them that nobody would ever question. In an era of unprecedented wealth and personal freedom, there is so much more to these characters than first meets the eye. There is no better example of this than Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, a member of the “new” rich, holds extrordanary parties every weekend at his estate on the shore of West Egg.…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    He would much rather have people think of his reality as something similar to that of a fictional character, than the actual reality he lives in. Therefore, since he envisions himself as this aristocrat like Gatsby, he decorates his home in this manner to create an exterior image that reflects the fictional image of himself. Gatsby’s house is described as being decorated in a Gothic Style. The defining features of this style include elaborate decorations, patterned wall paper, ornamental…

    • 1706 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Both originate from the Midwest, however Daisy lives in East Egg which is considered to be classier, more upscale, and respectable than gaudy, fresh, and disreputable West Egg where Gatsby lives. This social status divide in Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship dates back to when they were first courting five years ago: “... he had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security; he let her believe that he was fully able to take care of her. As a matter of fact he had no such facilities” (Fitzgerald 149). In the blooming of their relationship, a desperate Gatsby deceived a gullible Daisy into thinking that he was financially at her level and could provide for her romantically and financially. This lie continues into their rekindled romantic relationship five years later.…

    • 772 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    It also displays Gatsby’s true wealth as he is willing to buy a house simply to be near the lady he likes. Gatsby’s true dream ,while he loves the rich lifestyle is to be with daisy again. Gatsby has achieved the traditional American dream, starting from nothing and becoming rich. However he does it in the completely wrong ways. This reminds me of the saying nice guys finish last.…

    • 174 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the early 1920s, New York was one of the largest growing cities in America. The 1920s were known as the era of prosperity or the roaring 20s because many were very successful. Although, not everyone was as successful as others in the New York area. We learn through “The Great Gatsby” that there are poor or not wealthy people and then there are the people with mansions and lots of money on the shores of the Long Island Sound. Geography and setting is important to the story’s theme and personalities of the characters.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gatsby’s attempt to woo Daisy by demonstrating his immense wealth by lighting up his monumental house is a testament to how materialistic and superficial the time was, and the people in it. “When I came home to West Egg that night I was afraid for a moment my house was on fire…. Turning a corner, I saw that it was Gatsby’s house, lit from tower to cellar” (Fitzgerald 81). This was a time of immense overcompensation and, for lack of a better word, showing off. To quote the infamous movie Scarface, “Nothing exceeds like excess, you should know that Tony” (Scarface).…

    • 895 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    New York City, home to some of the most dangerous men and women, recklessly careening their way through the world and never looking back. Tearing up anything they can, any sort of compassion or love, they destroy while making it look graceful somehow. Turning innocence into treacherousness and ruining all things pure. The novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is an extraordinary piece of art that offers readers an inside look on the secret lives of New York’s finest. Fitzgerald gives his readers a different perspective on wealth, marriage, relationships, forgiveness, and more.…

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In an era muddled with reform, Post War veterans, and the search for the American Dream, the 1920’s were a critical point for all. Possibly the most critical for F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, authors driven by their lost hopes and dreams, of whose literature is still studied today to understand the adversities and bewilderment of the past. Their novels, The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises both explore the motif of achieving this American Dream throughout the representation of superficial women. Women in both novels portray their changing role in society whilst in relationships with men whom they easily manipulate and establish that they are not able to love genuinely. Submerged with the idea that Daisy Buchannan, a woman of…

    • 1661 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This emphasizes that even after spending millions on these parties what he really wanted was Daisy to be there. Lastly, it’s evident that Gatsby did not have any friends. Even after having so many parties with so many people, no one really knew who he was. An example of his identity being unknown is when…

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During a conversation with Nick, it becomes evident that the underlying motive for Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy is the ability to assimilate into the aristocratic class, as he claims that “her voice is full of money” (Fitzgerald 120). Gatsby’s tone of admiration ultimately emphasizes his desire to achieve wealth and status that is comparable to that of Daisy Buchanan. In Gatsby’s perspective, Daisy is the ultimate symbol of the wealth and power promoted by the American Dream. Gatsby’s unrealistic and infatuated pursuit of Daisy unveils his immaturity, as he is fascinated with the fictional concept of Daisy, which prevents him from developing dynamically. In an effort to validate his pursuit of Daisy, Gatsby permits an inanimate object to develop a profound significance over his life.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This novel displays characters from different backgrounds and different interests. And it is all reflected in the house that they live in. The home that they live in perfectly represents the characters themselves and what they love. The houses display not only what the person likes, but their personality, lifestyle, and social position. People, like Gatsby and the Buchanans, have a higher social status, thus having very big mansions.…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Furthermore, the personification in the mansion’s “thin beard of raw ivy” accentuates the comparison to Gatsby; the “thin beard” conceals the building’s unestablished status in the same way Gatsby crafts a façade to mask his “raw”, new wealth and unrefined mannerisms. This intertwines with the characteristics of the “Nouveau riche” in the context of the 1920s. Gatsby unquestionably falls under this category, in which an individual achieved wealth in one generation and hence did not inherit the upper-class mannerisms and principles, due to their working class backgrounds. As a result, the “ivy”, which has connotations of age and hence Gatsby’s traditional wealth, is an attempt by the character to imitate what he believes as signifiers of prestige and cultural refinement, evident within “old money” residents such as Tom Buchanan. Like Gatsby, Robbie was not born into wealth, being the “only son of a humble cleaning lady and of no known father”.…

    • 2382 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The “Great Gatsby” is a lot more extensive than what meets the eye. This is true throughout the book, with the dynamics of the characters and the scenery. On the outside, some characters seem to be a lot more admirable than they should be seen as. For example, Daisy with her amiableness but dark secrets that eventually just cause others pain. Then there is Gatsby, who seems like he’s an extroverted intellectual when really he just keeps books around to seem more wealthy and is only interested in the attention of Daisy.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays