Question

Read the following description of East Egg and West Egg from The Great Gatsby:

They are not perfect ovals—like the egg in the Columbus story, they are both crushed flat at the contact end—but their physical resemblance must be a source of perpetual confusion to the gulls that fly overhead. To the wingless a more arresting phenomenon is their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size.Which statement best explains how symbolism is used in setting the novel in East Egg and West Egg?

A. To signify thinly disguised descriptions of Long Island, New York
B. To demonstrate how difficult it is for people to choose which area make their homes in
C. To show that the differences between the two areas of land is invisible from a distance
D. To represent an unnatural place that confuses people and wildlife

Answer 1

To show that the differences between the two areas of land is invisible from a distance (apex).

Answer 2

The correct answer is C.

Throughout Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" a strong emphasis is made about the differences between the East and West Egg.

The East Egg was the home of what was known as "old money": people who had grown as wealthy people and had specific manners and taste.

On the other hand, in the West Egg lived the "new money", those who, thanks to the American dream, had climbed the social ladder and achieved a new social and monetary status. Despite of belonging to the same class, people from the East Egg believed that "new money" people lacked the taste that came from having lived a wealthy life.

But, through this description of the East and West Eggs, the author seeks to empasize their incredible resemblance, to the point that if one was to see them from above, he would not be able to differentiate one from the other.