Literary Analysis of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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The novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, takes place in Long Island around the roaring twenties during the prohibition era. The fictional character and narrator Nick Carraway talks about his experiences with the people of Long Island, which is divided into two parts, East and West Egg. After living in West egg, Nick soon realizes how selfish and negligent the people of Long Island are. The only character that is genuinely a good person is Jay Gatsby, who is Nick’s neighbor, an extremely rich man. Since alcohol is illegal at this time, it is one of the most wanted items in the country. Three important elements from the novel are when Nick says Gatsby turned out to be ‘all right’ in the end, how Daisy Buchanan acts and why she acts the way she does, and what repels and enchants Nick Carraway.
Jay Gatsby is a tremendously wealthy man who earns his riches from bootlegging alcohol. He does not necessarily start out so wealthy; Gatsby grows up in a poor family, he is ashamed of living in poverty and wants to change the way he lives. He meets a man named Dan Cody who teaches him everything he knows about how to dress and live the wealthy life. After Cody dies, Gatsby meets a young seventeen year old girl named Daisy who he is crazy for. Shortly after falling in love, Gatsby heads off to fight in the war leaving Daisy alone and lonely. When Gatsby returns from the war, he finds out that Daisy has left him for another man. Her leaving does not change the way he feels about her and even makes him try harder than ever to get her back. Gatsby even gets a house right across the lake from Tom and Daisy’s so he can be closer to her. He throws these outrageous parties every fortnight just hoping that Daisy will show up to at least one ...

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...by didn’t have any true friends. No one shows up to his funeral but his father, Mr. Gatz, and Owl Eyes. Nick’s perspective totally changes and realizes that Daisy and Tom are careless people. He is sick of living in West Egg so he moves back to Minnesota and ends whatever he had with Jordan Baker, Daisy’s friend.
Nick believes that Gatsby turned out all right in the end, compared to the rest. Daisy Buchanan acts the way she does because it makes her look like she’s innocent and hides who she really is. Nick is absolutely disgusted by the way the people of Long Island act. In the end, Nick moves back to the Midwest and is disenchanted with the Eastern lifestyle. The characters in The Great Gatsby are no different from the people in today’s world. It shows how selfish some people are and how unfair life is sometimes and that is why this book is still so popular today.

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