"Twenty miles from the city a pair of enormous eggs, identical in contour and separated only by a courtesy bay, jut out into the most domesticated body of salt water in the Western Hemisphere, the great wet barnyard of Long Island Sound." (pg. 9)
The setting of this story is very important. So far most of the story takes place on the West Egg, where Nick lives. Across the bay, is the East egg which is very similiar in shape to the West Egg. However, even though they are similiar in shape, they are completely different in every other aspect. The East Egg is more respected and elegant. The West Egg represents the newly weathly and some millionaires that waste money. As I mentioned before, Nick lives on the West Egg next to Mr. Gatsby. Nick labels his house as an eyesore compared to Gatsby's mansion. In addition to the East and West Eggs of Long Island, part of the story takes place in New York City. The city represents money and pleasure, since Tom goes to the city to have an affair and have a good time. So each setting reflects on a different aspect of society during that time period.
Another setting in the story that I found was at the very beginning of chapter 2 when Nick talks about his visit to "a valley of ashes". This is when we meet Myrtle Wilson. I think that this setting serves as a sharp contrast between the Eggs. It represents poverty or a lack of money, as Myrtle explains when describing life with her husband.
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