Socio-Spatial Analysis of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

In this article, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald was examined in an architectural context through socio-spatial themes. The structure of the city, recreated and constructed in the novel, is shaped by the connection established with the social. The spatial separation form created by social inequalities and social classes constitutes the identity of a city. This concept enabled architecture to be addressed through sociospatial themes. The Great Gatsby defines this spatial separation over four main settlements. In this context, the shaping of spaces and architectural elements over the socio-economic attributes of the characters makes social analysis possible.

How healthy is it to construct the city’s identity only on the basis of social classes, social inequalities, and the spatial segregation created by these? To answer this question with a quote from Ilhan Tekeli, it would not be right to try to look for the personality and identity of a city only in the architectural value of its buildings and in the characteristics of the natural environment. These positive qualities can only be defined by the experience of life in which they gain meaning and value. The two directions complement each other. For the people living in this city, if the environment in which we live is the areas where some activities are performed, and the necessary earnings are provided for, we can only talk about the identity of the area if there is no meaning other than such instrumental qualities for those living there.

Keywords: American dream, American literature, American realism, American upper-class, Class identities, Consumer society, F. Scott fitzgerald, Gertrude stein, Jazz age, Lost generation, New york, Roaring 20s, Social classes, Social inequalities, Sociology of architecture, Socio-spatial, Spatial segregation, The Great Gatsby, Urban architecture.