Cars In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby occupies a strange place in regards to identity. On one hand, we’re introduced to the incredibly localized, bourgeois world of the Eggs; with characters like the titular Gatsby and the Buchanans, this is an environment often marked by excess and whim. Contrasting this is a world grounded in a harsher, more industrial reality with settings like the symbolically rich Valley of Ashes and characters like George Wilson. Though it can be challenging to reconcile the differences between these two worlds especially given the extremes they each represent, they are brought together to create a more densely national, American space through the symbol of the car. Throughout the novel, cars often play pivotal roles, from connecting the Eggs to the City to even causing to the death of Myrtle Wilson. By looking at the role of the car and its related locales in a representative capacity, the vastly themed but spatially compact world of The Great Gatsby proves its significance outside of just what it occupies, acting as a warning of sorts for those inundated with a fantastic dream of America.
Early in the novel, we follow Nick and Tom Buchanan as they go to pick up the latter’s mistress, Myrtle, from the garage of George Wilson. As they enter, Nick makes some observations about the garage.
It provides a point of reference for anybody to relate to, an object with consequences that are palpable and understandable for all. Though the car may carry with it concepts of national pride and the power of industry, Fitzgerald repurposes it different, sobering reminder; to him, only pragmatism remains at the end of the day. The lifestyle of the rich and wild is nothing more than a transient dream and shouldn’t be something to strive for, as it risks great consequence, especially as seen with Myrtle’s