In what way does New York City affect the characters in The Great Gatsby?
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There is a definite distinction in the novel between Manhattan, "the city," and Long Island, the site of small villages (like East Egg and West Egg) and extraordinary mansions (like those inhabited by Gatsby and the Buchanans). Also located on Long Island is the impoverished industrial area where George and Myrtle Wilson live above their gas station's garage, as well as the small gardener's cottage where Nick lives on the estate adjacent to Gatsby's. These are the settings in the novel, with the characters moving between and among the various locations.
It is interesting that during the course of the novel, each of the main characters spends time in the city, but only two of them seem to be strongly impacted by it: Nick Carraway and Myrtle Wilson.
(The entire section contains 511 words.)
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