As we are reading The Great Gatsby, I find it a good time to discuss the subject of money. Gatsby, lives a rich and extravagant life. What is that, new money, or old money? In order to understand what old and new money is, we must take a look at the book.
Gatsby is still very young to be rich. It seems that he acquired all of that money very recently, therefore giving the name "new money". Tom and Daisy are rich, and readers can never tell where their money came from. Since Tom is an athletic person who doe not seem to have any job qualifications, readers can safely assume it might have been from inheritance. This would make Tom's fortune "old money".
There is an interesting pattern to go about here. Gatsby, who is "new money", lives in West Egg. Tom and Daisy are "old money", and they live in East Egg. Now readers can clearly see the distinct lines of old and new money. People physically distinguish themselves by living in a certain neighborhood.
Nick, is very young and full of opportunity to make money. Therefore, he should belong to West Egg. However, since he did not make his profits yet, Nick would live in a cheap $80 per month house. Nick would classify as "everyone else". The distinct lines of new and old money can be seen in The Great Gatsby by looking at a character's housing location and housing cost.
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