A Party at Gatsby's
Tom Buchanan
Map of the EggsWell, I suppose that you, my dear reader, can consider tonight's post a sort of extension to my previous post about the strained relationship between the "Old Money" and "New Money" people. Only this time, I will speak in reference to neighborhoods...
I live in West Egg. Apparently (as Tom was ever-so-gently (yeah, right) explaining it to me last week), the inhabitants of West Egg constitute the Nouveau Riche - the New Money. In line with that label, the West-Eggers are inherently unsophisticated and wasteful with their money, as Tom puts it. He's an East-Egger and, as a result, part of the Old Money, where all the real class and gentility lie, he says.
I've noticed his, as well as other East-Eggers', disgust with West Egg at Gatsby's parties. I remember the first party of Gatsby's I went to, the one where I spent much of the night with Jordan Baker - her entire posse of East-Eggers kept to themselves, voluntarily isolated, from the rest of the party. They were too refined for the nonsense of it, apparently. And when Tom came to his first party at Gatsby's mansion, - I remember it vividly - he prowled about with a scowl on his face, arrogant and even condescending his demeanor, since he, as a man of East Egg, was essentially above the party.
So there you have it. West Egg comprises the Nouveau Riche, while the Old Money inhabit East Egg. I myself find it all somewhat ridiculous, considering the two Eggs are so similar, in appearance anyway. In fact, they are "identical in contour and separated only by a courtesy bay" (5). I suppose this is just another manifestation of the tension of these times.
(Sources: "The Great Gatsby" novel, http://www.angelfire.com/moon2/greatgatsby/eastwestegg.html)
