Question

At the end of the book, Nick imagines what the continent must have been like when it was first seen by dutch sailors. How does this contrast with the environment described in the novel?

Answer 1

Answer and explanation:

At the end of the novel "The Great Gatsby", the narrator, Nick, imagines what the continent must have been like when it was first seen by Dutch sailors. In Nicks words,

"... I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes--a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder."

The America Nick is describing here is pure, green, rich, and filled with endless possibilities. It is like the Garden of Eden before sin, so to speak. The Dutch sailors were probably breathless when facing such beauty, such potential. That image, however, contrasts greatly with the story Nick has just told readers; a story set in a sickened America, a country where being wealthy is more important than being happy or honest. Greed and lust have corrupted everything and everyone - just as they did in the Garden of Eden. Appearances are now all there is in East and West Eggs. And appearances are not even present in the Valley of Ashes, the portrait of decadence, the picture of exploitation and misery.