The Great Gatsby Chapters 1 and 2

Chapter 1:
   The Great Gatsby opens by discussing moral lessons and concepts that the main character has been taught.  As in this lesson that piqued my interest, "Conduct may be founded on hard rock or the wet marshes, but after a certain point [he doesn't] care what it's founded on." This statement offers insight to the speaker's philosophy on life. Not only does the statement suggest that conduct is important in society, it also conveys that the moral conducts of society can be either set in stone, "on hard rock" or completely unstable and topsy-turvy, "...the wet marshes."
   We readers were also introduced to "Gatsby," presumably a "gorgeous" man who may or may not have had a dark side. Although, "Gatsby turned out all right in the end," the character says, "it's what preyed on Gatsby that... temporarily closed out [his] interest in the ... sorrows and... elations of men." We also learn that, like the main character, Gatsby is pretty well set in the financial department. As a reader, the speaker's conservative description of Gatsby and his life style really adds some obvious foreshadowing about Gatsby's character.
   Along with introducing some of the characters like Gatsby, Miss Baker, Daisy, Nick, and Tom Buchanan, the first chapter really sets the stage for what is to come. Not only is the time frame set, "in the Spring of [nineteen] twenty two," but also the setting, "east,"the eastern New York area in a very opulent district of town. Symbolism is present in the "a single green light," along the waterline which may have some significance possibly referring to a mysterious character or setting.
Chapter 2:
   The second chapter opens by explaining in detail some different things. For example the "grey" setting with the "ghastly creak," adding foreshadowing to the story. The melancholy setting emphasizes a dreary event that may happen within this scene. The way that Nick describes, Tom's woman, "Continually smoldering " also provides foreshadowing and insight to the story. The events in chapter two elaborate the lifestyle of the characters, very elegant and beautiful. Also within the chapter we see how low the morals are of these people, especially Gatsby.They live eloquent lives on the outside, but have hugely corrupt morals. Between affairs and drunken parties, these characters thus far, other than Nick, live a facade life as Nick was "amazed at the elaborateness of the lie," told by his peers.