WHo live is a house like this, and why does it matter

Fitzgerald's most famous novel 'The Great Gatsby' has been admired for many years for its beautifully woven prose and subtle criticisms of society, the corruption of values, the inequality between gender ad famously the futility of 'The American Dream.'  I didn't get any of that when I first read it, I thought it was a boring love story, but after reading through it a couple of times I began picking up on the hints Fitzgerald was dropping.  So today I'd like to share with you one of the techniques Fitzgerald uses to add layers of meaning to his story, his use of setting or more specifically houses.

Fitzgerald uses a techniques called synecdoche, using a part of an object or person to represent the whole.  This is just a fancy way of saying that when he talks about the houses, what he is really talking about the people that live there. Now every time you read about the character's houses, you can actually learn a little more about them.

For example lets look at Gatsby's house.  His house is large and expensive, this tell you is rich, but it is also brand new, because Gatsby only just earned his money.  Not only is it new but it is trying to look old, it was built to look like and old French manor house just like Gatsby is pretending to come from old money with all the tradition and culture that comes along with it.

You can look for more subtle hints too, his house used to be owned by a brewer, who dreamed of thatching all the nearby cottages and after his dream died, so did he.  Remind you of anyone, made money through alcohol, unrealistic dream, died after he failed to achieve it.  Fitzgerald uses the house not just to represent Gatsby, but people like Gatsby  and so makes a broader criticisms of 'The American Dream.'

It not just houses either, Tom's lawn hints at elements of his character.  It is described with a host of dynamic verbs, the lawn ran and jumped and climbed up towards his house.  This reinforces the restlessness Tom feels, his inability to stay still, to settle down.  This is because he is bored, he has all the money he could ever use, and the nice house and lawn to prove it but he has no purpose to his life and so he keeps drifting around trying to find something that satisfies him.  Another veiled criticism of 'The American Dream' here while other characters will look at Tom's house and think of how happy they would be if they ad that much money, Nick sees upper class life for what it really is.  A bit dull.

Jordan doesn't have a home really, her only family is her one aunt and the rest of the time she drifts around staying with different people and in different hotels.  This represents her independence as unlike Daisy and Myrtle who both live in their husband's houses she is free to roam wherever she pleases.

So next time you read The Great Gatsby quotes remember to look a little more deeply at everything, small details like what someone's lawn looks like or who used to live in a characters house can be the key to unlocking the major themes of the book.