The Great Gatsby Setting Analysis

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a timeless novel set in the 1920’s about a man named Jay Gatsby who lives merely to grow closer to an old flame, Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald uses different settings and descriptions of settings in this story that cause them to impact other elements such as the plot, theme, and characters. The settings of Gatsby’s house in proximity to Daisy’s, the Valley of Ashes, and the state of New York are all settings in the story that dictate the types of symbols, and allusions that are used in the story.

Jay Gatsby lives in a mansion that is across the lake from Daisy Buchanan. He specifically lives in this house so that he can see the green light on her dock. “‘Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay’” (chapter 4). This impulse that Gatsby has, gives us an insight on his character. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us” (chapter 9). Gatsby’s belief in this green light, was

that it would bring him closer and connect him to Daisy. His home may have been just across the lake from hers, but his heart was not in her hands like he wished. The green light to Gatsby, was a symbol. A symbol of love and hope. The hope to be closer to Daisy Buchanan so that their youthful and unconditional love can be revived. Gatsby’s house is also the setting for where most of the parties in the story takes place. “I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”These parties are just big facades to attract Daisy. Gatsby’s house in proximity to Daisy’s impact the plot and the characters as well as dictating the types of symbols that are used in this story.
The valley of ashes is all desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. This setting in the story is a major motif that is brought up multiple times. The valley represents poverty and hopelessness as well as the moral and social decay that comes with the pursuit of wealth. “This is a valley of ashes – a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke … The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river, and, when the drawbridge is up to let barges through, the passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour” (Pg. 26). The valley of ashes is described is dirty and clouded with fog and smoke. The people who live here lose their vitality and like George Wilson, they are usually poor. The setting of the valley of ashes impacts the plot and theme of the story as well as offering the idea that not everyone is living in West Egg among the abundantly wealthy people. The valley is also an allusion to the life of the poor and foreshadows what Nick Carraway feels at the end of the story: alone and desolate.
New York is where the whole of the story takes place. Everything that happens in this story, happens in New York. The characters all live in New York, either in West Egg or in East Egg. Geography is a motif in this story and New York has a lot to do with it. While East Egg represents the old aristocracy and West Egg represents the newly rich, New York City represents the uninhibited and amoral conquest for money and pleasure. This means that New york is more representing moral decay and social values rather than anything else. “I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gives to the restless eye.” To them, New York was an adventure. Whether they be rich or not, they saw it as an adventure. With all the lights and the grand parties, nothing could go wrong in New York. Fitzgerald uses New York as the main setting of this story to impact the plot and the characters.
This 1920’s novel on the American Dream uses setting to influence other aspects of literature.

Gatsby’s mansion is strategically across the bay from Daisy’s so he can see her green light and so that maybe when she sees his parties, that she will be inclined to visit. His house in proximity to Daisy’s affects the plot and the characters while dictating a motif used in the story: parties. The desolation of the valley of ashes is nothing more than the fact that not everyone is as rich and wealthy as Gatsby and the Buchanan’s while alluding the plight of the poor. The plotline is mainly set in East Egg and West Egg, New York. New York in The Great Gatsby is the most important setting to recognize because it is representing moral decay and social values and mainly affects the plot and the characters. Fitzgerald uses each of these settings to impact other elements such as the plot, theme, and characters while dictating the types of symbols and allusions that are used in this

story.