As the chapter continues, more of Nick’s background is discussed: the way in which he was raised and his moral character. Nick continues to sell himself, informing the reader that he is an educated man, having graduated from New Haven, home of Yale University. He comes from “prominent, well-to-do people in this Middle Western city for three generations.” This seemingly simple detail is crucial. It qualifies Nick to be part of the action which he will unfold — a tale of socialites, money, and privilege — while also keeping him carefully apart. He has come from the Midwest, which for Fitzgerald is a land of perceived morality. Nick has moved East, and disgusted, returns to the Midwest. The reader knows that Nick is not only upset over the action that he will unfold, but he is downright offended by the moral rancor of the situation. Readers, wanting to believe in their own moral fortitude, find themselves siding with Nick, trusting him to exercise the same sound judgment they themselves would exercise.
The story begins. It is 1922, and Nick has moved East to seek his fortune as a bond salesman, a booming, thriving business that, he supposes, “could support one more single man.” Fitzgerald introduces one of the novel’s key themes, wealth, upon Nick’s arrival in the East. Nick settles in West Egg, rather than East Egg, living in a small rental house adjacent to Gatsby’s mansion, paying $80 per month, rather than the $3000 to $4000 per month for which the houses around him rent. This detail immediately encourages readers to see the difference between the “haves” and the “have nots.” Although both Eggs have beautiful mansions, East Egg is home to “old money,” people whose families have had great wealth for generations. West Egg, although also home to the rich, was home to “new money,” people whose wealth was recently earned, as well as to working class people such as Nick. On another level, the delineation between the Eggs can also be a metaphorical representation of the sensibilities of people from the Eastern and Western parts of the United States.
