LITERATURE DRIVES IMAGERY in EXPLORE!

East Egg in EXPLORE - containing information on Tacoma Little Theatre

"And so it happened that on a warm windy evening I drove over to East Egg to see two old friends whom I scarcely knew at all. Their house was even more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red and white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay. The lawn started at the beach and ran toward the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walks and burning gardens--finally when it reached the house drifting up the side in bright vines as though from the momentum of its run."                                    


(Text from Chapter 1 of THE GREAT GATSBY. Nick introducing his first visit to Tom & Daisy Buchanan's home in East Egg)

The eyes of Dr. T,J, Eckleburg over EXPLORE's Valley of Ashes

"...above the grey land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic--their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose. Evidently some wild wag of an oculist set them there to fatten his practice in the borough of Queens, and then sank down himself into eternal blindness or forgot them and moved away. But his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground."

(Text from Chapter 2 of THE GREAT GATSBY introducing The Valley of Ashes)

Wilson's Garage in EXPLORE

"One of the three shops it contained was for rent and another was an all-night restaurant approached by a trail of ashes; the third was a garage--Repairs. GEORGE B. WILSON. Cars Bought and Sold . . .  The interior was unprosperous and bare; the only car visible was the dust-covered wreck of a Ford which crouched in a dim corner. It had occurred to me that this shadow of a garage must be a blind and that sumptuous and romantic apartments were concealed overhead when the proprietor himself appeared in the door of an office, wiping his hands on a piece of waste." 

(Text from Chapter 2 of THE GREAT GATSBY introducing Wilson's Garage)

The imagery in EXPLORE: The Great Gatsby is inspired by Fitzgerald's text.  While not 100% faithful, we continue to work to make the visual environment as relevant to the story as is possible. 

• There's a green light at the end of the Buchanan's Dock in East Egg
• There's a room with a door in the Wilson's upstairs apartment that George locks Myrtle in late in the book
• "Myrtle's Porch" hangs off the building behind the apartment, with a chair and movie magazines.  Perhaps Myrtle dreams there of a life outside the Valley of Ashes (conveniently, the porch is in view of the more affluent properties)
• The Restaurant in the valley of Ashes contains periodicals of the time.

Explore The Valley of Ashes and find the 19 links to articles and online resources on Prohibition, Flappers, social and economic issues of the early 1920s.  In East Egg, walk through the doors of the Buchanan Mansion and find yourself in the lobby of our partner, Tacoma Little Theatre, engaging audiences and creating community since 1918.  Don't forget The Fitzgerald Gallery!  The wall panels there show the canon of Fitzgerald's written works, linking to them as well as biographical information on the author. West Egg and Gatsby's Mansion will open soon, featuring jazz and art of the 1920s.

Check out the tabs above for "How to" information, including how to find us in the virtual world of Kitely, and updates on our live presentations of literature.