The description of the houses here parallels the original “Dick and Jane” passage at the beginning of the novel.

Here is the house.
It is green and white.
It has a red door.
It is very pretty.

(Morrison, 3)

These “quiet black neighborhoods” are the equivalent of the suburban paradise Dick and Jane enjoy. In a world where assimilation is the number one goal, owning one of these cute, prim and proper homes is the embodiment of “making it,” or achieving the American Dream. The imagery of “porch swings,” cut grass, and lovely flowers suggests a well kept home, but also a manufactured perfection or cleanliness.

• The “ivy” mentions implies a tie to the old wealth, or sophisticated class of living. Could it be trying to emulate the Buchanan’s home?

It also relates directly to the passage in Autumn regarding the Outdoors, reaffirming the cyclical nature of Morrison’s writing.

The word choice in this passage is crucial to what Fitzgerald tries to convey with the Eggs. Their “enormous” stature represents the economic prosperity of their residents. They are “identical” in financial stability, but “separated” from each other with social standing.

This first sentence contrasts with the previous passage about Big Mama’s kitchen because it compares the natural sensations with artificial sensations. Instead of the “smell of lilacs”, Claudia senses “the acridness of tin plates and cups.” She feels cheated out of her own reality of happiness, for it has now been replaced with manufactured pleasures that she does not enjoy.

This difference between the “real” and the “manufactured” represents the contrast of blackness and whiteness in Claudia’s society, the blackness being the real, authentic experience she wishes for versus the “fake” experiences everyone tells her she’s supposed to enjoy.

A bit of wordplay here: in many ways, the “new world” Gatsby finds himself in after the collapse of his dream mirrors the situation of the “New World,” i.e., America. (“New World” may also suggest the New Wealth, or those like Gatsby who have newly attained their riches.) The “frightening” vision Nick gives us here–imaginatively, through Gatsby’s eyes–is something like a glimpse of American reality laid bare.

“Material without being real” describes Gatsby’s world’s obsession with wealth, without any concern for what really matters, i.e. love and human relationships. Gatsby’s loss of Daisy has caused his final disillusionment, forcing him to realize that his dream of being a wealthy society man will not lead to happiness. The “ghosts” are merely men like him, chasing the American Dream and being consumed by it until they are shadows of themselves. They are “poor” because their search for happiness in a society that worships materialism can only lead to emotional poverty.