Nick's Cottage In The Great Gatsby

The contrast between Gatsby’s mansion and Nick’s cottage is significant because it allows the reader to see that even though they are next door to one another, they live in completely different worlds. This relationship is similar to West Egg, East Egg, and the Valley of Ashes. Although they border each other, each town is seemingly a different realm with different characters. This and the homes of the two men symbolize the conflicting values of the rich and poor. The rich are concerned with keeping up appearances and impressing people, for Gatsby, one person. His outstanding mansion had “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.” (Fitzgerald 7)