The Guest

The literary canon has always been interested in outsiders in wealthy spaces. Authors frequently use outsiders to critique society, note power dynamics, and analyze exclusive spaces—subtleties that insiders might not pick up on.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is a classic example of outsiders in wealthy spaces. Fitzgerald’s novel critiques the superficial opulence of American capitalism and the wealthy class’s obsession with keeping up appearances. In this novel, Jay Gatsby is a mysterious millionaire obsessed with rekindling his relationship with a wealthy married heiress named Daisy. Gatsby is mysterious because no one really knows where he got his money from. His “new money” status makes him an outsider in Daisy’s “old money” world. He hosts lavish parties to ingratiate himself with that group and lure Daisy to him. Like The Guest, The Great Gatsby also takes place in an upscale Long Island neighborhood, then as now an exclusive setting in which wealthy people can avoid mingling with the lower classes. The Great Gatsby is narrated by another outsider, Nick Carraway. Because of Carraway’s outsider status, wealthy people like Gatsby don’t care that Carraway knows their secrets, such as the affair Gatsby is having with Daisy.