In the novel, which best describes what West Egg represents in contrast to East Egg?

In the novel, which best describes what West Egg represents in contrast to East Egg?

• A. East Egg represents old money and tradition
• B. West Egg represents new money and ostentation
• C. East Egg represents moral decay
• D. West Egg represents social reform

Answer: (B)

West Egg stands for newly acquired wealth and a flashy display of status, where wealth is recent and often shown off in conspicuous ways. This contrasts with East Egg, which embodies old money and tradition—inherited wealth with a sense of social polish and established prestige. Fitzgerald uses this split to critique how American society equates success with visibility and new money’s attempt to fit into a refined social world. Gatsby’s mansion, extravagant parties, and bright vitality on West Egg illustrate that urge to prove oneself through ostentation, even as it lacks the inherited ease of East Egg’s old-money circles. So, describing West Egg as new money and ostentation is the best fit for the contrast. The idea that East Egg represents old money is true, but that describes the other side of the divide, not West Egg. The notion of moral decay is more a broader critique linked to the era and to East Egg’s social world, while social reform isn’t what West Egg conveys.

West Egg stands for newly acquired wealth and a flashy display of status, where wealth is recent and often shown off in conspicuous ways. This contrasts with East Egg, which embodies old money and tradition—inherited wealth with a sense of social polish and established prestige. Fitzgerald uses this split to critique how American society equates success with visibility and new money’s attempt to fit into a refined social world. Gatsby’s mansion, extravagant parties, and bright vitality on West Egg illustrate that urge to prove oneself through ostentation, even as it lacks the inherited ease of East Egg’s old-money circles.

So, describing West Egg as new money and ostentation is the best fit for the contrast. The idea that East Egg represents old money is true, but that describes the other side of the divide, not West Egg. The notion of moral decay is more a broader critique linked to the era and to East Egg’s social world, while social reform isn’t what West Egg conveys.