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Daisy and Tom Buchanan live in a mansion in East Egg, the more ‘fashionable’ of the two, even though from a bird’s eye view they appear as two identically contoured formations of land separated only by a “courtesy bay”. However, on the ground, the eggs are different in every way except shape and size. On West Egg, houses appear designed with no apparent restrictions or codes, for example Nick’s bungalow squeezed between two mansions. Contrastingly, the mansions on East Egg appear as glittering white palaces. These contrasting descriptions focus on the ‘new money’ of the West Egg with the possible implication of a lack of refinement and class, but the ‘old money’ with the well-groomed houses and gardens characterised by polite and their well-bred nature. This well-groomed appearance serves to cover the unattractive reality of Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s relationship. Tom is arrogant and dishonest, especially when the knowledge of his affair seems to be fairly public, with Jordan Baker seeming to be surprised that Nick didn’t know, saying, “I thought everybody
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Nick describes the “white palaces of the fashionable East Egg glittering along the water” and Daisy and Jordan’s white dresses. Normally, white is a sign of purity and innocence, but here it means the opposite. The Buchanans’ mansion is a “cheerful red and white” which is ironic because of Tom’s unfaithfulness to Daisy. Pastel colours such as the “rosy coloured space” represent the fairytale lifestyle the Buchanans lead, in which that have little to no work to do, so games become increasingly important. The colour green, first introduced as the light at the end of the dock, is significant because of its connection to Daisy. Green is typically associated with spring, new growth, new life and money, which is exactly what we later learn Gatsby is trying to achieve. He will do anything to please Daisy and win back her heart by starting a new life using all the money he obtained through dubious means. She turns out to be an unworthy dream, when the reader finds that she married Tom for money not for love and didn’t wait for Gatsby like she said she would. In the opening chapter, Fitzgerald foregrounds the use of colour as important in representing different qualities of
Nick describes the “white palaces of the fashionable East Egg glittering along the water” and Daisy and Jordan’s white dresses. Normally, white is a sign of purity and innocence, but here it means the opposite. The Buchanans’ mansion is a “cheerful red and white” which is ironic because of Tom’s unfaithfulness to Daisy. Pastel colours such as the “rosy coloured space” represent the fairytale lifestyle the Buchanans lead, in which that have little to no work to do, so games become increasingly important. The colour green, first introduced as the light at the end of the dock, is significant because of its connection to Daisy. Green is typically associated with spring, new growth, new life and money, which is exactly what we later learn Gatsby is trying to achieve. He will do anything to please Daisy and win back her heart by starting a new life using all the money he obtained through dubious means. She turns out to be an unworthy dream, when the reader finds that she married Tom for money not for love and didn’t wait for Gatsby like she said she would. In the opening chapter, Fitzgerald foregrounds the use of colour as important in representing different qualities of