Question

My house was at the very tip of the egg, only fifty yards from the Sound, and squeezed between two huge places that rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season. The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, 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. It was Gatsby’s mansion.

How does Fitzgerald use setting in the exposition of this passage?
He underscores the cultural differences between West Egg and East Egg.
He introduces the reader to the themes of jealousy and undying love.
He suggests that Gatsby is sophisticated and very wealthy.
He creates atmosphere and establishes geographic context.

Answer 1

He suggests that Gatsby is sophisticated and very wealthy.

Fitzgerald’s vivid details—the “factual imitation” of a French Hotel de Ville, the tower, marble swimming pool, and forty acres of lawn—emphasize extravagance and a cultivated, European-style grandeur. The other choices aren’t supported directly here: the passage doesn’t contrast East Egg vs. West Egg yet, nor does it introduce jealousy or undying love; it mainly establishes Gatsby’s wealth and social pretensions (and gives a bit of geographic context as a secondary effect).