The Great Gatsby

1. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

2. Key Facts • Setting: Summer of 1922 on Long Island and in New York City • Point of view: First and Third person • Narrator: Nick Carraway • Protagonists: Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby • Major conflict: Gatsby attempts to regain the love of Daisy by dazzling her with his great wealth that was amassed illegally • Rising action: Series of events that lead up to Gatsby reuniting with Daisy • Falling action: ??? To be filled in later….I don’t want to spoil the ending. • Climax: To be filled in later….I don’t want to spoil the ending. • Themes: • 1. The Decline of the American Dream • 2. The Spirit of the 1920s • 3. The difference between the social classes • 4. The role of symbols in the human conception of meaning • The role of the past in dreams of the future (provided by Spark Notes) • Symbols: Colors, East/West Egg, The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, The valley of ashes • Motifs: (To be covered as novel is read. Please leave space open in your notes.)

3. Major characters • Daisy Buchanan (Cousin of Nick): Married to Tom Buchanan • Promised to wait for James Gatz (AKA Jay Gatsby) before he was shipped to Europe in WWI. • Emotionally could not keep her promise as she felt a need to be loved and courted • Married Tom Buchanan, a wealthy, egotistical , self-absorbed man of questionable morals. • Lives across the water from Jay and from Nick in the more fashionable district of East Egg on Long Island • Tom Buchanan : Married to Daisy Buchanan • Wealthy, egotistical Yale man (like Nick) • Arrogant, hypocritical, violent, adulterer • Racist, sexist, believer in the superiority of the white race • Jordan Baker: friend of Daisy Buchanan • Wealthy, competitive golfer. • Lives with her great-aunt • Liar/cheat to get ahead in golf or to cover up mistakes • Love interest of Nick Carraway • Narrator: Nick Carraway (Cousin of Daisy Buchanan) • Home is Minnesota, studied at Yale, fought in WWI • Goes to New York to learn the bond business • Non-judgmental, extremely honest, sincere • A good listener • Next door neighbor and friend to Jay Gatsby at West Egg • Protagonist: Jay Gatsby (in love with Daisy Buchanan) • Mysterious, absurdly wealthy young man • Neighbor of Nick Carraway • Famous for extravagant parties • Guests are the wealthy: old rich (East Egg) and new rich (West Egg), famous celebrities and their managers, great athletes, and those who want to be seen • Wealth achieved through “ill-gotten” gain • Extreme optimist • Developed/lived a five year plan to get Daisy • Believes her to be more worthy, wonderful than she really is

4. More characters • Owl Eyes: very minor character • Great reader who is a guest at one of Gatsby’s luxurious parties • Enamored by Gatsby’s library • Klipspringer: very minor character • A free loader who frequently spends the night at Gatsby’s mansion. • No honorable characteristics • Very shallow character of no redeeming value • Myrtle Wilson (Tom’s lover) • Married to George Wilson (garage/gas station owner) • Big, sensuous woman who openly flaunts her affair in New York (George does not know) where she and Tom have a “love nest” • Tom gives her everything she wants as long as he is physically satisfied • Causes Daisy grief by phoning for Tom at home during the dinner hour • George Wilson: faithful, non-motivated husband of Myrtle • Minor character that plays an important role • garage/gas station owner across from the industrial ash dump • Idolizes Myrtle • Has no vision about his future • Lived above the garage for eleven years