In this passage, Nick reflects on what the landscape must have looked like when the Dutch explorers arrived to the continent. He is looking at Gatsby's house, and at this point in the novel, we know that Nick believes that New York, as well as the people he has met, are vile, corrupt and greedy. He contrasts this view with that of the pristine continent on the arrival of the European settlers.
The phrase "fresh, green breast of the New World" presents a view that is "fresh." The land is new, but it is also fresh in the sense that it is not rotten. The land has not yet been "infected" with the corruption of modern times. Therefore, the phrase is intended to represent a time before America had become a land of greed and vice.
Explanation:
During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives about the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out. Diseases sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother insistence; Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
Your so kind, thank you so very much have a good day!
D.Going much slower
compensating for speed.
