In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald has portrayed the mentalities of people belonging to different social classes which affect the events that occur and mold many of the characters. The three basic classes distinguished are, Old money rich, new money rich, and the poor. A representation of the old money class would be Tom Buchanan and his wife Daisy Buchanan. These two character live in the "white palaces of fashionable East Egg"" (10, 1) Village. The sound of that itself establishes a very elaborate and classy mode. They are the ones with the old money and have been wealthy for a while now, and so they know just how to carry themselves with absolute class and finesse. They are not too flashy and don't have to do big things to let people know how much money they have. Their actions say it all. On the contrary, Jay Gatsby can be identifies as a man belonging to the new money class. He lives in West Egg Village, which is "the less fashionable of the two"" (9, 1). He has an extravagant lifestyle. In "his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the champagne and the starts " (43, 3) for the lavish parties he had. And by lavish it is assumed that the "the buffet tables (are) garnished with glistening hors d'oeuvre, spiced hams"" (44, 3) and all kinds of delicacies imaginable. He is flashy and shows off his money. He has absolutely no finesse and often presents things in an uncultured and not classy manner. However, on the extreme opposite of both these riches lies "The valley of ashes (which) is on one side by a small foul river " (28, 2). This is where the lower class, the poor people, live. This class is represented by Myrtle Wilson, who is "Tom Buchanan's mistress " (28, 2). She is the wife of George Wilson who works at a garage which is "unprosperous and bare"" (29, 2). The garage was not exactly a garage, it was more like a "shadow of a garage (that is) blind and sumptuous"" (29, 2).
