The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

Doesn’t it always seem as though rich and famous people are larger- than-life and virtually impossible to touch, almost as if they were a fantasy? In The Great Gatsby, set in two wealthy communities, East Egg and West Egg, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby as a Romantic, larger- than-life, figure by setting him apart from the common person. Fitzgerald sets Gatsby in a fantasy world that, based on illusion, is of his own making. Gatsby’s possessions start to this illusion. He lives in an extremely lavish mansion. â€Å"It is a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden.† It models an extravagant castle with a European style. Indoors it has â€Å"Marie Antoinette music- rooms and restoration salons.† There is even a â€Å"Merton College Library, paneled with imported carved English oak and thousands of volumes of books.† There is even a private beach on his property. He also has his own personal hydroplane. Gatsby also drives a highly imaginative, â€Å"circus wagon†, car that â€Å"everybody had seen. It is a rich cream color with nickel and has a three-noted horn.† It has a â€Å"monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes, supper-boxes, tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of windshields and a green leather conservatory.† Other than Gatsby’s possessions, he develops his personal self. His physical self appearance sets him apart form the other characters. His smile is the type â€Å"that comes across four or five times in life. One of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it.† He has a collection of tailored shirts from England. They are described as â€Å"shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel.† He has shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and la- vender and faint orange, with monograms of Indian blue.† Gatsby wears a unique â€Å"gorgeous pink rag of a suit† that sets him apart as a â€Å"bright spot.† Gatsby’s mannerisms are different too. He gives the â€Å"strong im- pression that he picks his words with care.† Gatsby is an â€Å"elegant young roughneck whose elaborate formality of speech just misses being absurd.† Gatsby also has a particularly distinct phrase which is â€Å"old sport.† Further, at his parties he stands apart from the other people. Unlike everyone else, he does not drink any alcohol. Also, there are no