Summary of 'The Great Gatsby';
The Great Gatsby is a book about rich people that are fighting about women, money etc. After I read this book I realized that even if you are rich you don't have to be happy. There are two main characters: Nick Carraway and Jay
Gatsby, both rich men. Here's the story in a short version... Nick Carraway is a young man from a wealthy family, living in a Middle Western city. The Carraway's are something of a clan actually. Nick's grandfather came here in 1851 and started a business, which his father carries on today. Nick graduated from Yale University in 1915, and just a little later he was in the Great War. When he came back he decided to go East and learn the bond business. He came East permanently in the spring of 1922. He found a house on the island which extends due East of New York. He has a beautiful house in a place called West Egg. That was on Long
Island.
He made contact with his neighbor living closest to him, Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby was a very rich man with an enormous property. His house had a big lawn, a swimming pool and an exclusive garden. Despite all his money, he wasn't a very happy man. There was no woman in his life, just servants. His way of getting in touch with people was through his parties. He had parties in his home all the time. The house always got messed up, so the servants had a lot to do the day after the party.
Nick got to know a lot of people, some better than others. One of the people he met was a man called Tom
Buchanan. He was the kind of man nobody likes. When he got angry, he would take it out on his wife, Daisy. He would beat her, once he even broke her nose. He always got drunk at parties and started arguments. He was also a cheater. He had a mistress named, Myrtle Wilson. She lived in an expensive apartment in New York, which Tom paid for.
Daisy knew about Tom's affair with Myrtle she just never spoke a word to him about it. She actually fell in
As a young man, Jay Gatsby was poor with nothing but his love for Daisy. He had attempted to woe her, but a stronger attraction to money led her to marry another man. This did not stop Gatsby’s goal of winning this woman for himself though, and he decided to improve his life anyway he could until he could measure up to Daisy’s standards. He eventually gained connections in what would seem to be the wrong places, but these gave him the opportunity he needed to "get rich quick." Gatsby’s enormous desire for Daisy controlled his life to the point that he did not even question the immorality of the dealings that he involved himself in to acquire wealth. Eventually though, he was able to afford a "castle" in a location where he could pursue Daisy effectively. His life ambition had successfully moved him to the top of the "new money" class of society, but he lacked the education of how to promote his wealth properly. Despite the way that Gatsby flaunted his money, he did catch Daisy’s attention. A chaotic affair followed for a while until Daisy was overcome by pressures from Gatsby to leave her husband and by the realization that she belonged to "old money" and a more proper society.
As much as generous and honest Nick Carraway is, he still needs a few important improvements in himself. Nick went to Yale, fought in world war one and moved to East of New York to work in finance. After moving to New York, Nick faces tough dilemmas throughout the story such as revealing secrets, and witnessing betrayal. His innocence and malevolence toward others was beyond his control. He did not have the ability or knowledge to know what he should have done in the spots he was set in. He seemed lost and having no control of what went on- almost trapped- but indeed, he had more control than he could have ever known. Because of the situations he has experienced and the people he has met, such as Gatsby, Tom, Jordan and Daisy, his point of view on the world changed dramatically which is very depressing. Trusting the others and caring for them greatly has put him in a disheartening gloomy position.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby provides the reader with a unique outlook on the life of the newly rich. Gatsby is an enigma and a subject of great curiosity, furthermore, he is content with a lot in life until he strives too hard. His obsession with wealth, his lonely life and his delusion allow the reader to sympathize with him.
Tom asks Gatsby about his intentions with Daisy, and Gatsby replies that Daisy loves him, not Tom. Tom claims that he and Daisy have a history that Gatsby could not possibly understand. He then accuses Gatsby of running a bootlegging operation. Daisy, who began the afternoon in love with Gatsby, feels herself moving closer and closer to Tom as she watches the confrontation. Tom realizes he has won, and sends Daisy back to Long Island with Gatsby to prove Gatsby's inability to hurt him.
Why would he help Daisy have an affair if he was such an honorable gentleman? One reason he might’ve helped Gatsby and Daisy was because he knew Tom was an awful husband and person and Tom and Daisy’s marriage was unhealthy. He thought that Daisy deserved better and Gatsby could give her better than Tom. Another reason was because of the advice his father gave him. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” Nick is a pretty tolerant person and tries not to judge people. Because of this he doesn’t say anything to Tom about his promiscuity or to Gatsby about his infatuation with Daisy. It’s also the reason he sees Jordan. She’s obviously dishonest but he overlooks it as a way of being tolerant. This is another reason why everyone likes him, he doesn’t say anything about their bad deeds. This is not one of his best traits. Its good to be tolerant in some cases, but Nick can sometimes act as an enabler. His tolerance can also lead him to awkward situations. For example, he could’ve pushed harder to leave when Tom invited him to spend the day with him, Myrtle, and the others, but he doesn’t want to judge Tom so he stays. This happens again when he spends the afternoon with Gatsby and Daisy after they first reunited. Although, at the end of the book Nick becomes tired of being tolerant of things he doesn’t agree
Thesis: How does F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, compares the American Dream in today's generation and back in the 1920's-30's? What did the American Dream really mean and why? So why did this issue happen? Do you think America can change in the future? What is the american dream really about? When did the phrase: ‘american dream’ started? Have you ever wondered what the 20s and 30s were like back then? How can this so called dream ever bring hope to our country? These are all the questions I would like to know myself. I’ve found three online sources & one source from the novel that can help explain about the 20th century, the Gatsby novel, today's generation, and about Mr.Gatsby from the book.
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” (Pg. 180) the last line of the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, meaning there is a hopeless with respect to personal progress and ultimately our destiny does not push us forward but alas backward into the past. Hence we are tethered to our past forever. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald swept his readers away with his imaginative and somewhat of an autobiographical portrayal of the 1920’s terms, “old money” and “good money.” In this imaginative and autobiographical portrayal of the 1920’s, Fitzgerald also tells of a man named Gatsby and his desperate search for a lost dream. Ultimately, however F. Scott Fitzgerald writes The Great Gatsby with much complex characters, symbolic references, and themes to enhance and enrich his electric, 1920’s novel.
Even though at first when they finally got together after all those years and everything seem great and romantic but good things always come to an end. The affair effected Gatsby in his life by having him back the old love he first had for Daisy even hoping for a lifetime future together. His dream is very much vivid about his romantic hopes about Daisy in his mind, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams, not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (95). He seems to be falling deeper in love with her even maybe more than the love she really had for him even though through the end of the chapters her love that she claims to have for him seemed not truly. In New York, the truth comes out more about she feels about Gatsby by being questioned and feeling guilty when Tom gets to the fact that she loves him and not Gatsby but Gatsby rejects his sayings and tells Daisy to say how she truly feel about him. Over all the excitement, Daisy tells how she truly feel about the whole love affair, “I did love him once but I loved you too” (132). It is possible that the leading of Gatsby’s death was caused from Tom’s jealousy of his wife’s confessed love for Gatsby. Tom would had told Wilson that Gatsby was the driver of the car that killed Myrtle and her secret
The narrator, Nick Carraway, is Gatsby's neighbor in West Egg. Nick is a young man from a prominent Midwestern family. Educated at Yale, he has come to New York to enter the bond business. In some sense, the novel is Nick's memoir, his unique view of the events of the summer of 1922; as such, his impressions and observations necessarily color the narrative as a whole. For the most part, he plays only a peripheral role in the events of the novel; he prefers to remain a passive observer.
Jay Gatsby’s funeral is a small service, not because that 's what was intended, but because no one bothered to show up. Nick wanted to give Gatsby the popularity he desired, even in death, but only three people were present in the end. Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, shows up unexpectedly from Minnesota because he heard about the news in the papers. He believes that the man who shot his son must 've been mad, that no one in their right mind could commit such a horrible act. Daisy and Wolfsheim, the people closest to Gatsby in the book, do not attend. This exemplifies that it was always about wealth and social status for them, including Tom, and they never genuinely cared for Gatsby. Nick held up hope,
After Myrtle was hit and killed by a car, Tom told George, her husband, that the person driving the car was Gatsby. It was actually Daisy who killed Myrtle, but Gatsby paid the price for her mistake. George Wilson went to Gatsby’s mansion and shot Gatsby while he was in the pool. After killing Gatsby, George took the gun and commited suicide. Then, Tom took Daisy and their child and moved away and left Nick Carraway without his cousin or his friend. Tom did not care about Gatsby’s death, even though he was someone his wife
The word visually stunning could be used to describe the 2013 Baz Luhrman directed adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless novel The Great Gatsby. Speaking of the director, I enjoyed his portrayal of the lavish lifestyle and carefree party like attitude in such a beautiful visual experience. The way in which the party scenes were filmed in the movie made perfect sense compared to the source material and were something I have never seen done by any other directors in a live action film. Another positive for me about this film was the soundtrack. When I first started watching the film I expected to hear old time music prevalent in the 20s. I however was pleasantly surprised when I learned the soundtrack was compiled by Jay-Z and featured many tracks I enjoyed featuring him either alone or accompanied by another musical guest. While Jay-Z is not exactly an accurate representation of the music of the 20s, the soundtrack adds a modern flavour over the previously mentioned beautiful backgrounds and architecture. The story however is where the movie at times falls flat. When stripped down to basics it is nothing more than a generic love story with a few twists added in for extra kick. The characters in the same vain can be very bland and not make you care much for them due to their backstories not being deeply explored. The only character that I found to be interesting was Jay Gatsby because of the mystical aura that surrounds his character at the beginning of the movie that leads you to want to uncover more of this ever mysterious man. All in all the visuals clearly outpace
The Great Gatsby, is a classic American novel about an obsessed man named Jay Gatsby who will do anything to be reunited with the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. The book is told through the point of view of Nick Caraway, Daisy's cousin once removed, who rented a little cottage in West Egg, Long Island across the bay from Daisy's home. Nick was Jay Gatsby's neighbor. Tom Buchanan is Daisy's abusive, rich husband and their friend, Jordan Baker, has caught the eye of Nick and Nick is rather smitten by her. Gatsby himself is a very ostentatious man and carries a rather mysterious aura about himself which leads to the question: Is Gatsby's fortune a house of cards built to win the love of his life or has Daisy entranced him enough to give him the motivation to be so successful? While from a distance Jay Gatsby appears to be a well-educated man of integrity, in reality he is a corrupt, naive fool.
Nick is our narrator and the voice of reason in a time and place where parties are the goals and having a good time is all that matters. Parties at Gatsby’s mansion are the rule not the exception and all who attend pay homage to their false prophet Gatsby. He is their leader the charming man living in a mansion and driving and awesome care. Too bad he has no sense of real worth. Yet nick seems to be loyal to him the whole time “They're a rotten crowd, “I shouted across the lawn. “You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.”I’ve always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end. First he nodded politely, and then his face broke into that radiant and understanding smile, as if we’d been in ecstatic cahoots on that fact all the time” (Pg 162). Nick appears on the sidelines more than in the mix with all the drinkers and boasters and unfaithful spouses. “I forgot to ask you something,...
At the onset of this book, the reader is introduced to the narrator, Nick Carraway, who relates the past happenings that construct the story of Jay Gatsby and Nick during the summer of 1922. After fighting in World War I, or the Great War as Nick called it, Nick left his prominent family in the West of America for the North where he intended to learn the bond business. Nick was originally supposed to share a house in West Egg near New York City with an associate of his, but the man backed out and so Nick lived with only a Finnish cook. Right next door, Gatsby lived in a glorious mansion with expansive gardens and a marble swimming pool, among other luxuries. Yet Nick did not even hear about Gatsby until he went to visit his distant family at East Egg next to West Egg.