Fitzgerald begins his novel with an elegant exposition, painting the characters and the setting with painstaking detail. He notably describes the setting much more heavily than anything else. However, he does not leave the characters with any hidden attributes either.
It is very interesting to note that Fitzgerald could arguably be using the settings in his piece to describe the characters as well. For example, Tom, the jerk of the story, is depicted immediately after the lush landscape of East Egg (11). This alludes to the fact that Tom is a rich, pedantic, and shallow person. His description (11-12) does not help the reader's impression either. Another example of the setting being used in such a way is the "...valley of ashes..." (27-28). This is the corrupt and nasty landscape that appears before we meet Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Fitzgerald uses the setting in an artistic and truly complex manner.
The Great Gatsby has a very straightforward exposition that begins at the start of the novel, giving almost all of the necessary information right up front. There is, however a tiny piece of the exposition given in the end, that of Gatsby's past. Throughout the novel, although the scenes and characters are set up beautifully, there is no real information given about Gatsby and how he gained so much wealth until the very end.
It is very interesting to note that Fitzgerald could arguably be using the settings in his piece to describe the characters as well. For example, Tom, the jerk of the story, is depicted immediately after the lush landscape of East Egg (11). This alludes to the fact that Tom is a rich, pedantic, and shallow person. His description (11-12) does not help the reader's impression either. Another example of the setting being used in such a way is the "...valley of ashes..." (27-28). This is the corrupt and nasty landscape that appears before we meet Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Fitzgerald uses the setting in an artistic and truly complex manner.
The Great Gatsby has a very straightforward exposition that begins at the start of the novel, giving almost all of the necessary information right up front. There is, however a tiny piece of the exposition given in the end, that of Gatsby's past. Throughout the novel, although the scenes and characters are set up beautifully, there is no real information given about Gatsby and how he gained so much wealth until the very end.