First Impressions

          West Egg, East Egg, and the valley of ashes intrigue me a great deal, and are so different from New York despite the fact that they’re so close to it. Unlike New York, these 3 places are each representative of a certain social class.  From the small bit of time that I have so far spent in each of the 3 communities, I think that I have determined what these classes are. When I first visited the 2 egg communities I saw the enormous and glamorous homes that resided within them, and it was immediately evident to me that these communities were wealthy and of upper class. Only when speaking to some of the residents on each egg did I determine whether they were communities based on old money or new money. The residents that I spoke to on East Egg had come from wealthy families and had had money passed down to them, so I consider the people of East Egg as upper upper. West Egg, on the other hand, is lower upper. In West Egg, one middle-aged couple that I spoke to warmly invited me in to their home for tea where we had a lengthy discussion. This couple told me that they hadn’t come from wealthy families, but rather came from down to earth and hardworking ones. The husband had been a factory worker for twenty years and during these years he invented some sort of innovative piece of automobile technology (I really didn’t have the brain capacity to understand the complicated and technical terms the man was using). Regardless of what this piece of technology was, the man had created it and it had brought them much fortune. Since all the people that I spoke to on West Egg didn’t come from wealthy families but rather created their own wealth through their own blood and sweat, I considered them of lower upper class. Personally, I much rather prefer the people of West Egg. The people of West Egg are much more modest than those of East Egg most likely because the people in West Egg didn’t come from overly privileged backgrounds, and have earned their wealth. I suppose that I am making some stereotypes about the two eggs, so please pardon me; my intention is not to be insulting but rather to provide the reader - yourselves - with a general idea of the type of people that reside on each egg. There are definitely people on each of the eggs that do not fit under the generalizations that I have made. One example is a friendly chap named Nick Carraway who I met on West Egg. Though Nick’s family was of wealthy background, he has chosen to live in a small, humble home (quite frankly, it’s a dump) in West Egg. He is learning the bond business and is working hard so I consider him of upper middle class.

         Now, about the valley of ashes, - I think that its name suits it just well. It’s a gloomy and desolate land that’s for sure; and this is definitely reflected on the social class of its inhabitants. I think everyone in the valley of ashes must be of lower class, otherwise why would they be there? I noticed very few buildings within the dust and smoke of the valley of ashes, but I did notice a small decaying garage on the edge of the waste land. When I first drove through the valley of ashes I was in need of an oil change, and I wanted to meet some of the land’s inhabitants. Thus, I decided to pull into the garage. The owner of the garage, George Wilson, seemed glum and sad, but he was pleasantly surprised to hear of my need for his services. While Wilson was getting my car’s oil changed I noticed a woman also helping out in the garage. She wasn’t very attractive but she was radiating vigour; I could only assume that she was Wilson’s wife because of his constant loving gaze over her, although the woman gave no acknowledgement of Wilson’s presence.

          My first visits to the eggs and the valley of ashes proved enlightening, and have definitely revealed some interesting characters living within each one. I look forward to spending further time in these communities, meeting more people, and observing any strange happenings that may occur in the future. I definitely chose the perfect place to witness individual social classes first hand, and I hope that you will continue to find my blog entries interesting and inquisitive.