The Great Gatsby Group

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vivid
vivid
Student
High School - 10th Grade

Where do the people of West Egg immigrate from?

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Posted by vivid on Thursday February 19, 2009 at 11:37 PM and tagged with the great gatsby, west egg.

Answers:

  1. dneshan
    dneshan Teacher
    High School - 11th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Neither the author nor the narrator of “The Great Gatsby” reveal where the people of West Egg have actually come from, other than the two main characters who live there – Jay Gatsby and Nick Carroway.  Gatsby is from Minnesota, although he originally tells Nick that he is from San Francisco, and Nick is from Chicago; therefore, both of these West Egg residents have emigrated from the Mid-West.  The only thing that we know for sure about the people of West Egg is that they are all part of the “new rich” which means that their money has not been passed down from one generation to the next (as Tom Buchannan’s money was) and that they have made their own money (as Jay Gatsby has).  It is probably to assume that most of these people have made their money in the oil industry because of the time period and are possibly from areas such as Texas or the Mid-West.     

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    Posted by dneshan on Friday February 20, 2009 at 7:23 AM