Eliot Crawford
Does Gatsby’s money count as old or new money? In chapter five the following exchange occurs, “His eyes went over it, every arched door and square tower. ‘It took me just three years to earn the money that bought it.’
‘I thought you inherited your money.’
‘I did, old sport,’ he said automatically, ‘but I lost most of it in the big panic—the panic of the war.”
One of the themes we have been told to look for is old money vs new money. This exchange begs the question, What Does Gatsby’s money Qualify as? My Current theory is that it is supposed to be representative of Gatsby not entirely belonging in his current egg. While his money was in herrited he had to build up his fortune placing him neither in the west or east eggs.
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The Style of the book is What I refer to as a Perspective novel. By this I mean that it focuses less on a plot and more on The Narrator’s opinion and Perspective on ongoing matters. Because of this we get an extremely restricted view of the world in which the book is set.This style is very easily noticeable and easily distinguished from other nore direct styles of writing. Ex. If a book talks about walking up a hill in a non-perspective novel format it might read something like this: “I walked up the hill I did not like walking up the hill. I saw a rabbit. I thought that the rabbit was fast. I reached the summit. The hike was over.” Now if the same ‘plot’ when conveyed in a ‘perspective’ format might read something like: “ walking up the hill I suddenly found myself remembering mountaineering with my cousin four years ago, now my cousin had never been one for hiking but he still would go on occasion. Seeing a rabbit move throughout the forest brought back images of my cousin’s desperate attempt to catch the mole that had wandered across the path that day. Reaching the summit I fallback in triumph overjoyed to have completed the long trek.
My question Is this: What does Fitzgerald gain from using a perspective format? After all because of the length of perspective style writing compared to direct, and taking into account the size of the Great Gatsby, it stands to reason that he sacrificed activity in the story for the ability to make Nick free associate about the plot.
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The Main difference between the east and west egg is old money vs. new money. This brings up the question of who is better? The east egg where money has been in families for generations has the argument of hereditary superiority. The west has the argument that they are better for building themselves up to their wealth. Gatsby essentially inherited his money however he was not allowed to collect this ‘inheritance’. Gatsby built himself up but Really where does he belong? He deserved the ‘free ride’ that comes with inheritance and so should live in the east egg but he never received it and had to build himself up and therefore lives in the west.
Did he in fact inherit his money? What do we know of his past at this point? And what are all those mysterious phone calls about, anyway?
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