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The Great Gatsby
(1925)
July 9th, 2002: - We have just been informed that this book is still in copyright and therefore we have had to remove the text from the site. In place of the text we have added a chapter by chapter summary. Please note the search feature searches through this summary, not the text.
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This novel shows the basic instinct of human beings to be admired as someone special even if this instinct leads, like moths attracted by the fire, towards burned wings.--Submitted by Mahawa Cheikh Gueye
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The hollow pursuit of wealth and social status results in tragedy in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Each character has their own way of showing off their wealth and status. Whether it's by the type of car you drive or the location of your house or even through marriage, it's all shown in this novel.--Submitted by Anonymous
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The Great Gatsby is set in the jazz age, the 1920's. It tells the fictional story of an enigmatic and lonely millionaire named Jay Gatsby, who has been in love with the same woman for years and tries to win her back. The narrator is Nick, who lives across the lawn from Gatsby and becomes friends with him. This book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the greatest authors of all time shows that no matter how rich we are, it cannot buy us love. --Submitted by Anna
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Hoping someone can help me edit my Gatsby essay
I had to write an essay for english on the themes in The Great Gatsby, but I usually write a draft hand it in and get my teachers comments and then revise it, but my school is closed for Christmas break and I cant do this so I was hoping someone could help me edit my Essay. The exact question is phrased like this: Choose a theme that, in your opinion, answers the question “What is The Great Gatsby really about?“ In an argumentative essay, explain the importance of this theme and why it should take priority over TWO of the other themes discussed in this lesson. The themes discussed in this lesson were: Dreams, Vision/looking, Honesty, Platonism and Time. Now, finally, here is the first draft of my essay: There are numerous underlying themes in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”, the most important of which being the theme of dreams. The theme of dreams is more important to this novel than the theme of honesty, because it is the dreams of the characters that ultimately lead them to be dishonest. Furthermore, the theme of dreams usurps the theme of time because the characters in this novel only wish to go to certain points in time that would make it easier for them to achieve their dreams. Clearly it is accurate to say that the theme that truly illustrates what “The Great Gatsby” is really about is the theme of dreams. There are many factors that influence people to be either honest or dishonest, none as inspiring as one’s dreams. The dreams of the main characters in “The Great Gatsby” are what lead them to decisions they make and the actions they take, these actions being, for the most part, dishonest. It is Tom’s dream of the re-attaining “dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game” (Fitzgerald, 6) that leads him to constantly cheat on Daisy. As Nick phrases it, Tom had “reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything after-ward savors of anti-climax” (6). Tom feels like his life of success and excitement is winding down and so he has affairs in order to feel some exhilaration, in order to recreate that “dramatic turbulence” that he felt when he was at his happiest point in life. Jordan Baker is another character who is spoiled and used to getting her way. To Jordan, not getting her way is unfathomable and she therefore lies and cheats accordingly. Jordan’s dream is to continue getting what she wants all the time, and because of this desire she is “incurably dishonest” (58). Jordan is so dependent on being capable of cheating without getting caught that she will choose her company based on who she can fool and cheat. Nick notices this and comments “Jordan Baker instinctively avoided clever, shrewd men, and now I saw that this was because she felt safer on a plane where any divergence from a code would be thought impossible” (58). Upon careful examination it is clear that Jordan Baker is dishonest in order to serve her dreams and desires. Gatsby was always able to dream very intensely and knew exactly what he wanted. He would lie in bed at night and dream of the life of luxury he aspired to live, The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night. A universe of ineffable gaudiness spun itself out in his brain while the clock ticked on the washstand and the moon soaked with wet light his tangled clothes upon the floor. Each night he added to the pattern of his fancies until drowsiness closed down upon some vivid scene with and oblivious embrace“ (99/100). Gatsby is a man who is a dream himself, he is a man that was dreamt up by the seventeen year old James Gatz because Gatsby is who James wished to become and felt he needed to become in order to fulfill his dreams. However, Gatsby sprang from humble beginnings and he did not seem to have any good opportunities to make the kind of money he would need to make in order to satisfy his dream. Therefore Gatsby, after his stint with Dan Cody, became involved in organized crime. Utilizing criminal activity, Gatsby was able to amass a great fortune for himself through clearly dishonest means. Of course another equally important, if not more so, motivation behind generating such wealth for himself was his dream of being reunited with Daisy Fay (as he knew her). This dream also required a great fortune because Daisy comes from a world of money, and she is accustomed to a certain standard of living. Furthermore, Daisy is a very materialistic person, and in order to impress her, Gatsby knows he must have many great objects. Gatsby’s dream of being with Daisy again is what leads to the two of them having a romantic relationship while Daisy is married, a very dishonest activity to take part in. Gatsby’s dream of a life of luxury and his dream of being with Daisy are what led him become a criminal and man with whom a married woman has an affair. Clearly the dreams of Jay Gatsby are what led to his consistently dishonest actions. Upon careful examination it is clear that the dreams of “The Great Gatsby’s” characters are what cause them to lead such dishonest lives. The theme of dreams is more important to this novel than the theme of time because the characters in this novel only wish to go to certain points in time because they believe it will be easier for them to achieve their dreams then. Tom wishes to return to the past only because he, “mong various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven—a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anti-climax” (6). Everything seems *anticlimactic* in Tom’s life after that achievement so Nick therefore believes he will “rift on forever seeking, a little wistfully, for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game” (6). Clearly Tom dreams of returning to the past, however he only wishes to return there because that is the point in his life when he was the happiest and the most successful. If Tom were able to capture those same feelings in the present then he would not dream of returning to the past. Furthermore, if Tom had never achieved such greatness then he would be dreaming of a future in which he could attain it. The point is that the precise moment in time in which Tom feels this “excellence” is irrelevant to the feeling itself. Tom will dream of going to any point in time where he is able to capture these feelings because it is his dream to capture them. Clearly Tom’s dream is what drives his desire to return to the past, and the reason he is still searching for that “dramatic turbulence”. Gatsby and Tom seem to suffer from the same yearning for the past, when Nick tells Gatsby that he shouldn’t ask too much of Daisy because they can’t repeat the past, Gatsby simply laughs it off, “‘can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. “‘Why of course you can!’” (111). However he then continues to say: “‘I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before,’ he said, nodding determinedly” (111). Clearly Gatsby wants to return to the past in order to recreate the love that, in his mind, was at it’s perfection at that point, however the actual time that it took place in is not what he is trying to re-capture. Gatsby is trying to re-capture the feeling that he experienced when he was with Daisy at that moment in time. This feeling was possible because of the circumstances that were present at that point in time. In Gatsby’s mind those were the perfect circumstances for them to be together and this is what his dream is, to be together and to love each other the same way they did when the circumstances were ideal for this to happen. Keeping this in mind it does not matter at which point in time these circumstances were in existence, Gatsby will always dream of going to the point in time when they were present. This is obvious when he says he’ll “fix everything just the way it was before” (111). Gatsby plans to try and recreate the circumstances under which he and Daisy first fell in love. Clearly it is Gatsby’s dream of being with Daisy under ideal circumstances that leads him to want to return to the past and continue their relationship as if they had never been apart. When looking back at the actions and motivations of the characters in “The Great Gatsby” it is clear that they yearned for certain moments in time based solely on their dreams. The most important theme in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is the theme of dreams because this theme influences the themes of honesty and time as well as the plot of the novel. The character’s in this novel are dishonest because they believe it will help them achieve their dreams. Furthermore, some of the character’s wish to go to certain points in time because they feel it would be easier to achieve their dream then. There are many themes at work in this novel, but after careful examination it is clear the theme of dreams is the most important.
Posted By Gilly27 at Wed 23 Dec 2009, 5:05 PM in The Great Gatsby || 0 Replies
Opinion on Great Gatsby Themes
I just have a question for anyone who has read the Great Gatsby and is interesting in sharing their ideas on this topic. Which theme do you think really illustrates what the Great Gatsby is all about: Dreams (aspirations/the american dream) Vision, Honesty/dishonesty, Platonism, or Time. Thank you in advance to all who reply.
Posted By Gilly27 at Tue 22 Dec 2009, 4:34 PM in The Great Gatsby || 1 Reply
I need serious help with a "Gatsby" assignment.
I am 18 years old and doing a correspondence grade 12 university english course. I have to answer a question based on "The Great Gatsby" but I am very confused how to do so and my school is on christmas break so I can't ask my teacher for help. The Question word for word says: "Select on of the places discussed previously (East Egg, West Egg, or New York) and show how Nick is affected by it. Find all the occasions in the novel where Nick is in the place. Look for changes in him, and explain how those changes are related to the nature of the place. This is an exercise in close reading and close reasoning, and to do a decent job you will need to quote extensively. Aim for 300-500 words." I have found all the instances where Nick is in New York and I have many, many quotes from those sections that I think may be useful but I don't really see changes in Nick, nor do I really understand the nature of New York. If someone can please help me with this question I would greatly appreciate. Thank you for your time.
Posted By Gilly27 at Mon 21 Dec 2009, 2:27 PM in The Great Gatsby || 7 Replies
Dissatisfaction in The Great Gatsby
Hello , I have an oral presentation to do with the dissatisfaction in this novel . I have information on all of the characters except on Jordan and Nick . They are the two I am finding the most trouble with . If anyone on here could be helpful and try and help me in finding their dissatisfaction , it would be a major help . Also , if you have any quotes or anything about Daisy and Tom's dissatisfaction , I would greatly appreciate it . Thank you .
Posted By xkrisx15 at Sat 5 Dec 2009, 11:43 PM in The Great Gatsby || 0 Replies
Help please, i was given this essay title..
What do we learn about Gatsby’s character in chapter 3? Write about the ways that Fitzgerald tells the story in the chapter. I understand and know the first bit but i have no idea about the Fitzgerald part.. please can some one help me :)
Posted By SophieJane at Mon 16 Nov 2009, 8:16 AM in The Great Gatsby || 0 Replies
What's so great about the Great Gatsby?
Why is this novel so cherished and revered by American writers and scholars? It is frequently rated as the greatest American novel and one of the best written in English in the 20th century. Yet, aside from the beautiful prose, it seems little more than a conventional tragic love story. Of course, this is quite wrong I know but why do Americans feel it gets to the heart of America like no other work? What is it that Americans find in that novel that so moves them? As an outsider I'm curious to know. There is no equivalent in French or English literature I don't think. There is no single work that gets to the heart of England or France in the way Gatsby seems to.
Posted By WICKES at Sun 20 Sep 2009, 1:36 PM in The Great Gatsby || 15 Replies
The Great Gatsby -- An Analysis Part 1
It's 1922. Four years after WWI. The story of Jay Gatsby begins with the introduction of the fictive narrator, Nick Carraway. And he opens the story by telling us about a life-lesson that his father advised him while he was still "younger and more vulnerable." It's an advice on criticising others and his father cautions him that "...all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had..." Beginning a story with a moral like this sounds like a strange prefererence. It could have scared people off while seducing others into the story -- a bigger portion, by the way, given that in the years following the war, having already been disappointed with the results of the war, that they had initially thought could have saved and reestablished the Western Civilization, people were close to losing their hope and were running after a moral that could have given them a gleam of optimism for their future. Throughout the novel, I have always been more interested in Nick and tried to follow his footsteps, not Gatsby's. To me, Nick is a more intriguing and genuine caharacter than Gatsby. Nick looks like to be made of bone and flesh while Gatsby is hardly anything but a superficiality; a culmination of shallow feelings. He feels like plastic, just like a baby doll which is only meant to spend some good time with. Nick is a war veteran. He's one proud member of that Lost Generation, which is such a poetic attribution. Not his being a member of this group, but his name forced me, during my reading of the novel, to compare him with Hemingway's Nick for he has some striking common characteristics with Fitzgerald's Nick. I don't know if Fitzgerald employed this same personality in his other works as an embodiment of the generation of WWI, but in this story, Nick can't ever claim the position that Hemingway's Nick attains in his reality and universality. Fitzgerald's Nick thinks, too, about the problems of the age; however, he's not as expressive as Hemingway's Nick. Even one single story of Hemingway, say Big Two Hearted River, introduces us a young man who is war-torn, yet very expressive through his silence and minute actions. Fitzgerald and Hemingway were close friends and I would like to know who first thought of a character like Nick and who was the follower. In ay case, the result is for long clear to me. In the beginning, Gatsby sounds like an opposite of Nick in character and mood. That's why Nick says, "Gatsby who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn..." Like Hemingway's Nick's smooth adaptation to the nature, Nick in the Great Gatsby adapts himself into the life of a metropolis. Having told a stranger the way he "was lonely no longer." Instead he feels to be part of the great machine, a functioning cogwheel in the system, "...a guide, a pathfinder, an original settler." Myself being a new comer in this country, I was deeply impressed by his adaptability and elasticity. How was Nick's stance toward Gatsby, which was distant and scornful at first, developped into an intimate friendship? I don't think the impulse for this came from Nick. He was mostly a distant observer. An observer of Gatsby's wealth; of his home, garden and the parties he has given where the super rich class of New York attend. Nick's inclusion into this life is a passive one. Still, he is an acute observer. He watches the men and women who flock Gatsby's sumptuous parties where all kinds of extravaganza are allowed: Industrialists, tobacco importers, senators, people from the entertainment sector. The makers and performers of the American capitalism. Nick watches them, in the beginning, as an outsider, memorizing their names and figuring out their personalities that make them weaker (human) and meanner (devil). Gatsby has a strange personality. He knows very well that to survive and climb the ladders of prosperity, you need to make good acquaintances. In his world, you are defined not by your own qualities, but by the people whom you know and who endorse you. Mr. Wolshaim, Gatsby'y closest friend and mentor, emphasises on this over and over, implying that you are actually nothing in this capital of the capitalist America but what your "gonnegtions" are. Mr. Wolshaim is the man who has fixed 1919 World Series. He's a gambler and a cunning imposter. Fitzgerald often makes such generalizations. Tom Buchanan's racist remarks have a direct connection with his skin color and ethnicity just as Mr. Wolshaim's sneaky manipulations imply that this also has something to do with his ethnicity. All in all, Gatsby's world is the world of the people who controls the money, the power and the very establishments of the flourishing American capitalism, which has found itself a strong resonance in the streets of New York soon after WWI. Regarding the first part of the book, all my attention and symphaty go to Nick. Because among all the persons who populate the novel, if he ever loved, only his would be a genuine love.
Posted By beroq at Sun 26 Jul 2009, 1:04 PM in The Great Gatsby || 0 Replies
Surely this is impossible....
In Chapter 8 Nick gives an incredibly detailed resume of Gatsby's trip to Louisville when Daisy and Tom were on honeymoon. This is not in speech marks, so are we expected to believe that Nick has remembered every tiny detail? We're talking about subtle nuances of emotion which only had meaning for someone being there at the time. This stands out as being extremely unlikely- in fact impossible. Has Nick invented this- is this a fiction within a fiction? Does this not throw into doubt the veracity of the rest of his narration? What do we trust?
Posted By Slabber at Tue 9 Jun 2009, 10:02 AM in The Great Gatsby || 0 Replies
universal theme?
I am currently reading hte great gatsby and i was wondering what the universal theme is. i think its you can only look back in the past you cannot change it or something like that. anyone have any ideas? thankyou
Posted By scottsweiner at Fri 5 Jun 2009, 7:27 PM in The Great Gatsby || 0 Replies
Not So Great on Gatsby
I may be a blasphemer, but I'm not enthralled with The Great Gatsby. I just read it for the third or fourth time in my life and I still don't like it. I think this is one of those works, although written by a famous writer and considered well-written by many, I just disagree with the consensus. I find this to be a simple, flawed love story of deeply flawed, uninteresting characters. Every person in this book seems to be a completely horrid person. Tom Buchanan is a wealthy jerk. Okay, I get world is full of those and marries his trophy wife, spawns, and gets a girlfriend on the side. Two deeply troubling scenes with this man. The horrible scene where he breaks Myrtle's nose and the second of him in the kitchen with Daisy show him to be both a brute and a coward. For those who favor the feminist view, have at it with any of the female characters in this work. Daisy? Jordan Baker? Myrtle Wilson? Wow!! One of the biggest issues I've had with this novel is Fitzgerald's choice to tell it from Nick Carraway's perspective. To a great degree, Nick is not a particpant or a witness to much of what he has included in his story. As a result, I don't trust the accuracy or the quality of what's been told. He strikes me as easily manipulated and if that is true, how am i supposed to believe or trust his story. I contrast him with the narrator's Hemingway used in The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms and the difference is striking. Those narrators are central characters, integrated into the story. Even though it's one person's perspective, you see the whole story and all of the action through that person's eyes. I'm not sure what Nick actually saw and what he didn't nor do I understand the source of some the scenes he describes at which he was not present. Which brings me to Gatsby himself. Isn't he basically a stalker? He spent five years building and living a myth to impress a woman who was not pining away for him. He was delusional and in the end pathetic, sad, and dead. He is one the most tragic heroes in American literature. I love Fitzgerald. I really enjoyed This Side of Paradise. But I struggle to accept this novel as even his best writing. I don't even accept this as a portrayal of the American dream. It's more of an indictment of the American dream and caveat emptor for over pursuing one's dreams. Nor is it a paramount of the clash between the wealthy and the nouveau riche. I know I'm a minority opinion, but I just don't like this story. Now tell me why I'm wrong.
Posted By PabloQ at Tue 7 Apr 2009, 5:08 PM in The Great Gatsby || 2 Replies