Doesn’t it always seem as though rich and famous people, such as actors and actresses, are larger-than-life and virtually impossible to touch, almost as if they were a fantasy? In The Great Gatsby, set in two tremendously wealthy communities, East Egg and West Egg, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays Jay Gatsbyas a Romantic, larger-than-life, figure by setting him apart from the commonperson. Fitzgerald sets Gatsby in a fantasy world that, based on illusion, is of hisown making. Gatsby’s possessions start to this illusion. He lives in anextremely lavish mansion. “It is a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville inNormandy, with 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.” (5) It models an extravagant castle with a European style. Indoors it has “MarieAntoinette music-rooms and restoration salons.” (92) There is even a “MertonCollege Library, paneled with imported carved English oak and thousands ofvolumes of books.” (45) There is even a private beach on his property. He alsohas his own personal hydroplane. Gatsby also drives a highly imaginative,“circus wagon”, car that “everybody had seen. It is a rich cream color withnickel and has a three-noted horn.” (64) It has a “monstrous length withtriumphant hat-boxes, supper-boxes, tool-boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth ofwindshields and a green leather conservatory.” (64) Amidst Gatsby’s possessions, he develops his personal self. His physicalself appearance sets him apart form the other characters. His smile is the type“that comes across four or five times in life. One of those rare smiles with aquality of eternal reassurance in it.” (48) He has a collection of tailored shirtsfrom England. They are described as “shirts of sheer linen and thick silk andfi...
