The Great Gatsby East and West Egg
by F. Scott Fitzgerald

One of the most important themes in the novel is class and social standing. It is a barrier for almost every character. The East and West Eggs act as a symbol of this in their physical makeup. Tom and Daisy live on the East Egg which is far more refined and "well bred". Nick and Gatsby are on the West Egg which is for people who don't have any real standing, even if they have money. The green light shines from the East Egg enticing Gatsby towards what he has always wanted. And Daisy, the woman that Gatsby has always wanted but never gets, lives on East Egg. The barrier that the water creates between these worlds in symbolic of the barrier that keeps these people apart from one another and from much of what they want.