The Great Gatsby

### Symbols

The green light, valley of ashes, the Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, East and West Egg

> "*There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same love twice.*"
>
>
>

**The Great Gatsby** is a 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set during the Jazz Age, it tells the story of Nick Carraway and his involvement in the tragic love story of his mysterious millionaire neighbour, Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan.

*The Great Gatsby* is considered one of the finest novels of the 20th century. It has also become a popular taught novel in schools and has been adapted into films several times.

## Plot Summary

In the summer of 1922, Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, moves to New York to find a job as a bond salesman. He rents a house in West Egg, a suburb in Long Island, where residents who made their fortunes too quickly to have built strong social connections live. Nick's next-door neighbour is Jay Gatsby, a wealthy but mysterious businessman who lives in a large, Gothic mansion and holds lavish parties at his home every Saturday night.

Nick is different from the West Egg residents as he attended Yale University and has social connections to East Egg, another suburb where wealthy people with "old money" live. One evening, he drives to East Egg for dinner with his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom, Nick's classmate at Yale. While there, he meets Jordan Baker, a beautiful, cynical young woman who is a professional golfer and Daisy's childhood friend. Nick falls in love with her, and she tells him that Tom has a mistress named Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the valley of ashes, a sprawling dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Her husband, George Wilson, owns an auto shop there. On his way home, Nick spots Gatsby standing alone on his lawn; his arms outstretched toward a green light blinking at the end of a dock on the far shore.

A few days later, Tom invites Nick to New York City to attend a party at an apartment Tom has secretly rented for Myrtle. While at the party, Myrtle gets drunk and makes fun of Daisy. Tom punches her, breaking her nose, and the party ends abruptly. Nick eventually attends one of Gatsby's lavish Saturday night parties. He barely knows anyone there until he runs into Jordan and meets Gatsby for the first time. Gatsby has a private conversation with Jordan that she describes as the most "amazing thing."

In July, after Nick has lunch with Gatsby and his shady business partner Meyer Wolfsheim, he meets with Jordan and learns about the "amazing" story. Gatsby and Daisy first met in 1917, and he fell deeply in love with her. But when he was deployed overseas, Daisy married Tom. He had bought his mansion in West Egg to be closer to her and impress her with his lavish lifestyle. He had also spent many hours staring at the green light at the end of her dock across the bay from his mansion. He wants Nick to arrange a reunion between him and Daisy at his home. At first, their reunion is awkward, but they later rekindle their romantic relationship.

Sometime later, Tom grows suspicious of his wife's affair with Gatsby. During a luncheon at Gatsby's mansion, Tom is distraught when he sees that Gatsby and Daisy are in love, and he insists they all go to New York City together. At the Plaza Hotel, Tom confronts Gatsby about his affair with Daisy, and Gatsby argues that Daisy loves him more than her husband. Tom reveals to Daisy that Gatsby made his fortune by bootlegging alcohol and other illegal activities. He even contemptuously allows Gatsby and Daisy to leave together, as he knows Gatsby won't "bother" her anymore and as proof he has won her back.

Gatsby and Daisy drive home in Gatsby's car, with Tom, Nick and Jordan following behind shortly after. While driving through the valley of ashes, Nick, Jordan, and Tom discover that Gatsby's car has struck and killed Myrtle. After returning to Long Island, Nick learns from Gatsby that Daisy was driving the car when it killed Myrtle, but he intends to take the blame to protect her. After George realizes it was Gatsby's car that killed his wife and is convinced it was him behind the wheel, he shoots and kills Gatsby at his swimming pool before turning the gun onto himself.

After organizing a small funeral for Gatsby, Nick ends his relationship with Jordan and decides to move back to the Midwest to escape his disgust of the people who were part of Gatsby's life and the immoral corruption of the wealthy social class on the East Coast. Later, he runs into Tom, who admits he had informed George that Gatsby had killed Myrtle but is distraught he had to give up his rented New York City apartment he shared with Myrtle.

On his final night before returning to the Midwest, Nick stands on Gatsby's lawn and stares at the green light across the bay, reflecting that while Gatsby's dreams had made him "great," his and the American dream are over.

## Characters

Jay Gatsby- The titular protagonist and antihero. He is a wealthy young man who lives in a large mansion in West Egg. His real name is James Gatz, but he changed his name to Jay Gatsby so he could live a sophisticated, elegant life in Postwar America. In addition, his enigmatic background makes him more alluring to those around him. He is deeply in love with Daisy, and he has built his wealthy lifestyle to impress her and hopefully win her heart.

Nick Carraway- Gatsby’s next-door neighbour and the novel’s narrator. A native of Minnesota who was educated at Yale University and fought in World War I, he moves to Long Island, New York, to pursue a career in the bond business trade and rents a house in West Egg next to Gatsby’s mansion. He describes himself as “one of the few honest people that [he has] ever known” and often sees the good in other people he meets. He is the only character who figures out Gatsby’s mysterious background, serves as a close friend and confidante to Gatsby, and rekindles Gatsby’s romance with Daisy.

Daisy Buchanan- Nick’s cousin and Gatsby’s former lover. She lives in East Egg with her husband, Tom Buchanan, who was Nick’s classmate at Yale, and her young daughter. She grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, fell in love with Gatsby, and promised to wait for him when he was conscripted into the war. But during Gatsby’s absence, she has a desperate need for love that when Tom proposes to her, she stops waiting for Gatsby and marries Tom instead. She is a tragic figure who chose wealth over love, and her story symbolizes the captivation of wealth to Americans during the Roaring Twenties.

Tom Buchanan- Daisy’s wealthy husband and Nick’s classmate at Yale. He is a powerful, arrogant man from a wealthy, successful family who shows no respect for his wife or mistress. While he appears to be a rich gentleman on the outside, deep down, he has racist and sexist values and often bullies those who have old or new money. He is outraged when he learns that Daisy is having an affair with Gatsby, which forces a confrontation between them.

Jordan Baker- Nick's love interest and Daisy's childhood friend. She is a wealthy, professional golfer and represents one of the "new women" of the 20th century. She may be beautiful, but she is cynical, self-centred, and dishonest, as she was allegedly involved in a scandal when she cheated to win a golf tournament. While Nick eventually ends their relationship because of her dishonesty, it's believed that he may have misjudged her.