-
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Setting
: The story takes
place during the 1920's, there are four major
settings:
1.
East egg
2.
West Egg
3.
The valley of ashes
4.
New York City.
The West Egg is the
and
Nick
live.
The
East
Egg
is
the
side
of
Long
Island
where
the Buchanans and
other
the desolate wasteland
where
the Wilsons live. New
York City is
a symbol
of what America has become in the
1920's : a place where anything goes,
where
money
is
made
and
bootleggers
flourish,
and
where
the
World
Series
can
be fixed by a man such as Meyer Wolfsheim.
Background Information
:
Nick
Carraway,
the
narrator
is
a
young
midwesterner
who,
having
graduated
from
Yale,
had
fought
in
World
War
I
and
returned
home
to
begin
a
career.
He
decides
to
move
east
to
New
York
and
learn
the
bond
business.
The
novel
opened early in the
summer of 1922 in West Egg, Long Island where Nick
has rented a house. Next to his house
is a huge mansion which belongs to
Mr.
Gatsby. Before leaving the Midwest, Nick's father
tells Nick not to
be quick to judge.
Nick believes his father means never to judge at
all.
That created a problem. In the
1920's money was very abundant. This was
known
as
golden
age.
People
were
very
materialistic
during
this
time
period.
The
wealthy
families
in
the
novel
such
as
Gatsby
or
the
Buchanans,
were always trying to impress rather
than trying to be themselves. This
was
a period of drinking, partying, and endless talk,
which was best
portrayed
by
the
Buchanans.
They
seem
to
be
very
self-
centered
people
who
couldn't
give
up
a
bit
of
the
life
to
take
care
of
their
own
child.
Major
Characters
:
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?
?
?
?
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Nick
Carraway
- The narrator of the novel;
moves from the Midwest
to New York to
learn the bond business.
Jay Gatsby
- Lives next to
Nick
in a mansion;
throws huge
parties,
complete
with
catered
food,
open
bars,
and
orchestras;
people
come
from everywhere to
attend these parties, but no one seems to know
much about the host.
Daisy
Buchanan
- Shallow girl who is the
emodiment of Gatsby's
dreams; she was
going to marry Gatsby but he went off to war.
Tom Buchanan
- Husband of
Daisy; a cruel man who lives life
irresponsibly.
Jordan
Baker
- A cynical and conceited woman
who cheats in golf;
wants Nick to go
out with her.
Myrtle
Wilson
-
Tom
has
an
affair
with
this
married
woman,
and
then
abandons
her after he become bored with her.
Plot Summary
: Nick Carraway
having graduated from Yale and fought in
World War I, has returned home to begin
a career. He is restless and has
decided to move to New York to learn
the bond business. The novel opens
early
in
the
summer
of
1922
in
West
Egg,
Long
Island,
where
Nick
has
rented
a house. Next to his
place is the Gatsby's mansion.
Tom and
Daisy Buchanan live in East Egg. Daisy is Nick's
cousin and Tom
had been in the same
senior society at Yale. They invite Nick to dinner
at their mansion, and he meets a young
woman golfer named Jordan Baker,
whom
Daisy
wants
Nick
to
be
interested
in.
During
dinner
the
phone
rings,
and
when
Tom
and
Daisy
leave
the
room,
Jordan
informs
Nick
that
the
caller
is
Tom's woman from New York.
Myrtle
Wilson, Tom's woman, lives is a section of Long
Island known as
the Valley of Ashes. In
the Valley of Ashes is George Wilson's garage.
Painted on a large billboard nearby is
a fading advertisment for an
optician
with
the
eyes
of
a
Doctor
looking
over
them
with
a
pair
of
glasses.
One
day
Tom
takes
Nick
to
meet
the
Wilsons.
The
party
breaks
up
when
Myrtle
starts
using
Daisy's
name,
and
Tom
breaks
her
nose
with
a
blow
of
his
open
hand. Several weeks
later Nick is invited to one of Gatsby's elaborate
parties. Nick watches Gatsby and
notices that he does not drink or join
in the revelry of the party.
At a luncheon with Nick in New York,
Gatsby tells Nick that he graduated
from
Oxford.
During
lunch
Gatsby
introduces
Nick
to
his
business
associate,
Meyer Wolfsheim, who fixed the World
Series in 1919.