Question

Question 1 (5 points)

Saved
Examine the following passage from The Great Gatsby and use it to answer the question.
“I lived at West Egg, the – well, the least fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them. My house was at the very tip of the egg, only fifty yards from the Sound, and squeezed between two huge places that rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season. The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard … My own house was an eyesore, but it was a small eyesore, and it had been overlooked, so I had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor's lawn, and the consoling proximity of millionaires—all for eighty dollars a month.”

How does the author use the description of the setting in this passage to reveal details about the narrator?

Question 1 options:

The setting reveals that he is excessively wealthy, and he does not care for those who are not.


The setting reveals that he is not an excessively wealthy man himself, but he lives surrounded by wealthy people.


The setting suggests that is unhappy about the state of his home, and dwells on his unhappiness.


The setting depicts that he is uncomfortable with his neighbors’ houses being so near his.

Answer 1

The right answer is the second: The setting reveals that he is not an excessively wealthy man himself, but he lives surrounded by wealthy people. The novel's narrator, Nick Carraway, lived in a house that he describes as an "eyesore, (although) a small eyesore," an unpretentious cottage that somehow had been ignored and that, for eighty dollars a month, and because of its location, granted him the chance to have relatively nice views and wealthy neighbors, such as Jay Gatsby, who lived next door, in a breathtaking mansion.