5 Difference between East Egg and West Egg (With Table)

Many people like reading novels for pleasure. However, in high schools it is examinable and students have to read and analyze the novel.

The terms East egg and west egg came from an English novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The book was published in 1925. The book used the terms to refer to different places where the rich lived and how they acquired their wealth.

So, what is the main difference between East egg and West egg? East egg is a place of residence for people who inherited their wealth while West egg is a place of residence for people who worked for their wealth possess.

For more information about the difference between East egg and West egg in tabular form, continue reading the article. You will also get to learn of the similarities between the two.

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Comparison Table (East Egg vs. West Egg)

Basic Terms	East Egg	West Egg
Meaning	It is a place of residence for people who inherited their wealth.	It is a place of residence for people who worked for their wealth.
Symbolism	The people symbolized the inner flaws of present-day monarchs.	The principles of the hardworking generation are showcased and true values displayed.
Flaws	They were unable to exhibit appreciation and compassion.	A few acquired the wealth through illegal means.
Characteristics of people	The people of these residences were considered to be ‘spoiled’ and unappreciative.	The people knew the value of money and they were competent and compassionate.
Means of acquiring wealth	They inherited the wealth.	They worked and acquired the wealth either legally or illegally.

What is East Egg?

East Egg is a place of residence for people who inherited their wealth. The term in the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ is used to describe a place where the wealthy resided.

The people were born into centuries-old wealth that had been passed down through their generation. The people did not work for the money they had and this made them to unappreciative for the money they had.

The people on this site were considered ‘spoiled’ as they did not understand the basic principles of hard work and sweat and therefore they spent the money in the wrong way.

The people had weird characters as they were not able to empathize and sympathize with people from lower classes as they do not know how exactly life in the lower class is.

What is West Egg?

West Egg is a residence for people who had worked for the wealth they had. They may have acquired it either legally or illegally.

The people in this area had grown from rags to riches through hard work and dedication to their work hence acquiring their wealth in the end.

People from West Egg represented the hard-working generation that demonstrated the importance of social value.

A flaw in this group of people was that they did not conform to old traditions. They wished to introduce change in everything they dealt with.

The people were more appreciative and competent about their wealth and how they earned it. They were compassionate and were able to understand the new trends in the world.

Main Difference between East Egg and West Egg

East Egg was a residence of people who had inherited their wealth while West Egg was a residence for people who had worked for the wealth they had.
East Egg had people who were unable to exhibit appreciation and compassion while West Egg had people who were compassionate.
East Egg had people who were termed as ‘spoiled’ while West Egg had people who knew the value of money.
East Egg symbolized the inner flaw of present-day monarchs while West Egg symbolized principles of the hardworking generation.
East Egg was a place for non-working individuals while West Egg was a place for working individuals.

Similarities between East Egg and West Egg

Both were the settings of the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’
Both represented how people acquired the wealth they had.

Conclusion

East Egg and West Egg were both settings in the novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ that symbolized the kind of people who lived in those residences.

However, the two have been confused but they are different from each other. The main difference between East Egg and West Egg is that East Egg is a residence of people who inherited the wealth they have while West Egg is a residence for people who worked for the wealth they have.

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