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The expressive imagery used by Fitzgerald is designed to describe Nick’s “real” American Dream. The fresh, falling snow, the “real” snow parallels the American Dream. The snow “twinkles” suggesting the draw of the American Dream, while the new snow stretching out beside the train suggests that the Mid-west is not yet tarnished by wealth as the East coast is.
The “dim lights” suggests a connection with the bright lights of the Eggs, yet declares the lack of corruption because of the dimness of the light. Nick describes the groups as drawing in “deep breaths” of the air, as if it is the first fresh air they have experienced in a long time after spending time on the polluted, corrupt East coast. The suggestion that these students retain an identity in the west creates the conception that the West still allows them to pursue their dreams, instead of “melting indistinguishably” back into the impersonal struggle for wealth in the East.
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During the drive to lunch in New York, Nick becomes entertained by Gatsby’s immense effort to convince him that he is indeed of old wealth, perhaps in an effort to convince Nick that Gatsby really is deserving of the ‘incredible’ favor that Gatsby plans to implore Nick for. Nick’s description of the character that he mentally draws of Gatsby is entertaining, describing him as dressing wrong, (turbaned), while in France. This is a one way in which Nick suggests the falsity of Gatsby’s history. Nick then uses an innuendo to compare Gatsby’s futile attempts to fit in with Old Money to some foolish man trying to chase down a tiger in vain.
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Although Nick attempts to pass the riding clothes off as an attempt at hiding Tom’s “enormous body,” these clothes can be seen much like a king’s cape, a sign that Tom is of old wealth, because he is dressed for a sport associated with old wealth. These clothes, described as possessing an “effeminate swank” brings the imagery of silk garments to mind. The clothes are, in fact, designed to impress upon the viewer Tom’s superiority. Tom purposefully exposes the “power” of his body to show that he is a better physical specimen, yet another sign of “social” superiority. The outfit Tom greets Nick in, much like the flowing ivy of his house, is designed to remind the world that having ‘old wealth’ is equal to superiority, and is very natural for Tom.
The clothes in the gold medal winning team’s picture suggests that riding originated as a wealthy sport.
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As Nick compares his memories of the decadent lifestyle of the East with the Mid-West, he recalls West Egg in particular. “Fantastic dreams” perhaps suggests that all of its inhabitants seemed unreal due to their social facades, much as dreams have the ability to seem real, yet are not.
By comparing West Egg to a night scene created by “El Greco,” a Greek-born, Spanish Renaissance artist of the 14th and 15th century, Nick highlights the “grotesque” and eerie aspects of the scene. Fitzgerald’s description does not mention a particular painting, but bears a close resemblance to one of El Greco’s most famous works, View of Toledo:
The imagery of a “sullen, overhanging sky and a lustreless moon” suggests that West Egg culture represents a perversion of nature–that nature itself is depressed, drained of vitality, in this environment. Contrast this with Nick’s later description of Long Island as seen by the first Dutch settlers: “a fresh, green breast of the new world.”
Note also how often Fitzgerald uses the term “grotesque”, and clearly in the meaning of distortion, as you’d expect in an El Greco painting. The word pops up over and over again throughout the novel, with the East consistently being portrayed as being a distorted version of America. In fact, this mirroring happens throughout – a strong argument could be made that this is true of Tom vs Gatsby, East Egg vs West Egg, the Eggs vs Manhattan, etc. etc. etc.
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lusterless is spelled wrong