What Does West Egg Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

Considered to be his best work, the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a trove of hidden symbolism and imagery. Fitzgerald’s use of these devices adds to the intricacy of the deftly woven plot which takes place in the Jazz Age, or the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald captures the essence of the constantly shifting world of opportunity and the contrast between the social classes of the time with the use of symbolism. Specifically, certain prominent symbols contribute to the texture of the novel; those being the East and West Egg, the green light, and the “valley of ashes”. Two of the most notable symbols are the fictional land masses East and West Egg in Fitzgerald’s Long Island, New York setting. “I lived at West Egg, the- well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them.” (Fitzgerald, 6).The title character, Jay Gatsby is separated from his former lover, the married Daisy Buchanan, not only socially, but also by geography, the bay between the East and West Egg. "Across the bay the White palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered." (Fitzgerald, 7). The differing peninsulas support the novel’s prevalent theme of polarity and division. …show more content…
It serves as a beacon beckoning him to his goal of reuniting with Daisy. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. And one fine morning- so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (Fitzgerald, 180). He can see the light but cannot grasp it, drawing similarities to how he’s aware Daisy is living right amongst him but he isn’t a part of her life. The fact that the light is bright and green symbolizes hope for the future; or a green light to