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Life in West Egg and East Egg

Resurfacing gatsby’s past, a deadly crash and a shooting, setting and historical context, publication history, legacy, and adaptations, the meaning of the great gatsby.

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The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby , novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald , published in 1925 by Charles Scribner’s Sons. Set in Jazz Age New York , it tells the story of Jay Gatsby , a self-made millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth .

Commercially unsuccessful when it was first published, The Great Gatsby —which was Fitzgerald’s third novel—is now considered a classic of American fiction and has often been called the Great American Novel.

• Who is Jay Gatsby, and what are the parties like at his house?
• How does Tom Buchanan react to the relationship that his wife, Daisy, has with Gatsby?
• What shocking event occurs when Daisy, seated beside Gatsby, is driving his car, and how does it affect everyone involved?
• How does The Great Gatsby capture the essence of the Jazz Age?
• How did The Great Gatsby ’s popularity change over time?
• What is the significance of West Egg vs. East Egg, and which wins in the end?

These AI-generated questions have been reviewed by Britannica’s editors.

Plot summary

The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway , a Yale University graduate from the Midwest who moves to New York after World War I to pursue a career in bonds . He recounts the events of the summer he spent in the East two years later, reconstructing his story through a series of flashbacks not always told in chronological order.

In the spring of 1922, Nick takes a house in the fictional village of West Egg on Long Island , where he finds himself living among the colossal mansions of the newly rich. Across the water in the more refined village of East Egg live his cousin Daisy and her brutish, absurdly wealthy husband Tom Buchanan. Early in the summer Nick goes over to their house for dinner, where he also meets Jordan Baker, a friend of Daisy’s and a well-known golf champion, who tells him that Tom has a mistress in New York City . In a private conversation, Daisy confesses to Nick that she has been unhappy. Returning to his house in West Egg, he catches sight of his neighbor Jay Gatsby standing alone in the dark and stretching his arms out to a green light burning across the bay at the end of Tom and Daisy’s dock.

Early in July Tom introduces Nick to his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, who lives with her spiritless husband George Wilson in what Nick calls “a valley of ashes”: an industrial wasteland presided over by the bespectacled eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, which stare down from an advertising billboard. Meeting her at the garage where George works as a repairman, the three of them go to Tom and Myrtle’s apartment in Manhattan. They are joined by Myrtle’s sister and some other friends who live nearby, and the evening ends in heavy drunkenness and Tom punching Myrtle in the nose when she brings up Daisy. Nick wakes up in a train station the morning afterward.

As the summer progresses, Nick grows accustomed to the noises and lights of dazzling parties held at his neighbor’s house, where the famous and newly rich turn up on Saturday nights to enjoy Gatsby’s well-stocked bar and full jazz orchestra. Nick attends one of these parties when personally invited by Gatsby and runs into Jordan, with whom he spends most of the evening. He is struck by the apparent absence of the host and the impression that all of his guests seem to have dark theories about Gatsby’s past. However, Nick meets him at last in a rather quiet encounter later in the evening when the man sitting beside him identifies himself as Gatsby. Gatsby disappears and later asks to speak to Jordan privately. Jordan returns amazed by what he has told her, but she is unable to tell Nick what it is.

Nick begins seeing Jordan Baker as the summer continues, and he also becomes better acquainted with Gatsby. One afternoon in late July when they are driving into Manhattan for lunch, Gatsby tries to dispel the rumors circulating around himself, and he tells Nick that he is the son of very wealthy people who are all dead and that he is an Oxford man and a war hero. Nick is skeptical about this. At lunch he meets Gatsby’s business partner Meyer Wolfsheim, the man who fixed the World Series in 1919 (based on a real person and a real event from Fitzgerald’s day). Later, at tea, Jordan Baker tells Nick the surprising thing that Gatsby had told her in confidence at his party: Gatsby had known Nick’s cousin Daisy almost five years earlier in Louisville and they had been in love, but then he went away to fight in the war and she married Tom Buchanan. Gatsby bought his house on West Egg so he could be across the water from her.

At Gatsby’s request, Nick agrees to invite Daisy to his house, where Gatsby can meet her. A few days later he has them both over for tea, and Daisy is astonished to see Gatsby after nearly five years. The meeting is at first uncomfortable, and Nick steps outside for half an hour to give the two of them privacy. When he returns, they seem fully reconciled , Gatsby glowing with happiness and Daisy in tears. Afterward they go next door to Gatsby’s enormous house, and Gatsby shows off its impressive rooms to Daisy.

As the days pass, Tom becomes aware of Daisy’s association with Gatsby. Disliking it, he shows up at one of Gatsby’s parties with his wife. It becomes clear that Daisy does not like the party and is appalled by the impropriety of the new-money crowd at West Egg. Tom suspects that Gatsby is a bootlegger, and he says so. Voicing his dismay to Nick after the party is over, Gatsby explains that he wants Daisy to tell Tom she never loved him and then marry him as though the years had never passed.

Gatsby’s wild parties cease thereafter, and Daisy goes over to Gatsby’s house in the afternoons. On a boiling hot day near the end of the summer, Nick arrives for lunch at the Buchanans’ house; Gatsby and Jordan have also been invited. In the dining room, Daisy pays Gatsby a compliment that makes clear her love for him, and, when Tom notices this, he insists they drive into town.

Daisy and Gatsby leave in Tom’s blue coupe, while Tom drives Jordan and Nick in Gatsby’s garish yellow car. On the way, Tom stops for gas at George Wilson’s garage in the valley of ashes, and Wilson tells Tom that he is planning to move west with Myrtle as soon as he can raise the money. This news shakes Tom considerably, and he speeds on toward Manhattan, catching up with Daisy and Gatsby.

The whole party ends up in a parlor at the Plaza Hotel, hot and in bad temper . As they are about to drink mint juleps to cool off, Tom confronts Gatsby directly on the subject of his relationship with Daisy. Daisy tries to calm them down, but Gatsby insists that Daisy and he have always been in love and that she has never loved Tom. As the fight escalates and Daisy threatens to leave her husband, Tom reveals what he learned from an investigation into Gatsby’s affairs—that he had earned his money by selling illegal alcohol at drugstores in Chicago with Wolfsheim after Prohibition laws went into effect. Gatsby tries to deny it, but Daisy has lost her resolve, and his cause seems hopeless. As they leave the Plaza, Nick realizes that it is his 30th birthday.

Gatsby and Daisy leave together in Gatsby’s car, with Daisy driving. On the road they hit and kill Myrtle, who, after having a vehement argument with her husband, had run into the street toward Gatsby’s passing car, thinking it was Tom. Terrified, Daisy continues driving, but the car is seen by witnesses. Coming behind them, Tom stops his car when he sees a commotion on the road. He is stunned and devastated when he finds the body of his mistress dead on a table in Wilson’s garage.

Wilson accusingly tells him it was a yellow car that hit her, but Tom insists it was not his and drives on to East Egg in tears. Back at the Buchanans’ house in East Egg, Nick finds Gatsby hiding in the garden and learns that it was Daisy who was driving, though Gatsby insists that he will say it was he if his car is found. He says he will wait outside Daisy’s house in case Tom abuses Daisy.

The next morning Nick goes over to Gatsby’s house, where he has returned, dejected . Nick advises him to go away, afraid that his car will be traced. He refuses, and that night he tells Nick the truth about his past: he had come from a poor farming family and had met Daisy in Louisville while serving in the army, but he was too poor to marry her at the time. He earned his incredible wealth only after the war (by bootlegging , as Tom discovered).

Reluctantly, Nick leaves for work, while Gatsby continues to wait for a call from Daisy. That afternoon, George Wilson arrives in East Egg, where Tom tells him that it was Gatsby who killed his wife. Wilson makes his way to Gatsby’s house, where he finds Gatsby in his pool. Wilson shoots Gatsby and then himself. Afterward the Buchanans leave Long Island. They give no forwarding address. Nick arranges Gatsby’s funeral, although only two people attend , one of whom is Gatsby’s father. Nick moves back to the Midwest, disgusted with life in the East.

Set in the Jazz Age (a term popularized by Fitzgerald), The Great Gatsby vividly captures its historical moment: the economic boom in America after World War I, the new jazz music, the free-flowing illegal liquor. As Fitzgerald later remarked in an essay about the Roaring Twenties , it was “a whole race going hedonistic, deciding on pleasure.”

According to F. Scott Fitzgerald, the 1920s witnessed “a whole race going hedonistic, deciding on pleasure.”

The brazenly lavish culture of West Egg is a reflection of the new prosperity that was possible during Prohibition , when illegal schemes involving the black-market selling of liquor abounded. Such criminal enterprises are the source of Gatsby’s income and finance his incredible parties, which are probably based on parties Fitzgerald himself attended when he lived on Long Island in the early 1920s.

The racial anxieties of the period are also evident in the novel; Tom’s diatribe on The Rise of the Colored Empires —a reference to a real book published in 1920 by the American political scientist Lothrop Stoddard—points to the burgeoning eugenics movement in the United States during the early 20th century.

Fitzgerald finished The Great Gatsby in early 1925 while he was living in France, and Scribner’s published it in April of the same year. Fitzgerald struggled considerably in choosing a title, toying with Trimalchio and Under the Red, White and Blue , among others; he was never satisfied with the title The Great Gatsby , under which it was ultimately published.

The illustration for the novel’s original dust jacket was commissioned by Fitzgerald’s editor Maxwell Perkins seven months before he was in possession of the finished manuscript. It was designed by Francis Cugat, a Spanish-born artist who did Hollywood movie posters, and depicts the eyes of a woman hanging over the carnival lights of Coney Island . The design was well-loved by Fitzgerald, and he claimed in a letter to Perkins that he had written it into the book, though whether this refers to the eyes of Doctor Eckleburg or something else is uncertain. Cugat’s painting is now one of the most well-known and celebrated examples of jacket art in American literature .

While Fitzgerald considered The Great Gatsby to be his greatest achievement at the time it was published, the book was neither a critical nor a commercial success upon publication. Reviews were mixed, and the 20,000 copies of its first printing sold slowly. It was printed one more time during Fitzgerald’s life, and there were still copies unsold from this second printing when he died in 1940.

The Great Gatsby was rediscovered a few years later and enjoyed an exponential growth in popularity in the 1950s, soon becoming a standard text of high-school curricula in the United States. It remains one of Scribner’s best sellers, and it is now considered a masterpiece of American fiction. In 2021 it entered the public domain in the United States.

There have been several film adaptations of the novel, most notably a production directed by Jack Clayton in 1974, starring Robert Redford as Gatsby, and one in 2013 directed by Baz Luhrmann , starring Leonardo DiCaprio .

Above all, The Great Gatsby has been read as a pessimistic examination of the American Dream . At its center is a remarkable rags-to-riches story, of a boy from a poor farming background who has built himself up to fabulous wealth. Jay Gatsby is someone who once had nothing but who now entertains rich and celebrated people in his enormous house on Long Island. However, even though Gatsby’s wealth may be commensurate with the likes of Tom Buchanan’s, he is ultimately unable to break into the “distinguished secret society” of those who were born wealthy. His attempt to win Daisy Buchanan, a woman from a well-established family of the American elite, ends in disaster and his death.

This tension between “new money” and “old money” is represented in the book by the contrast between West Egg and East Egg. West Egg is portrayed as a tawdry, brash society that “chafed under the old euphemisms,” full of people who have made their money in an age of unprecedented materialism. East Egg, in contrast, is a refined society populated by America’s “staid nobility,” those who have inherited their wealth and who frown on the rawness of West Egg. In the end, it is East Egg that might be said to triumph: while Gatsby is shot and his garish parties are dispersed, Tom and Daisy are unharmed by the terrible events of the summer.

The Great Gatsby is memorable for the rich symbolism that underpins its story. Throughout the novel, the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is a recurrent image that beckons to Gatsby’s sense of ambition. It is a symbol of “the orgastic future” he believes in so intensely, toward which his arms are outstretched when Nick first sees him. It is this “extraordinary gift for hope” that Nick admires so much in Gatsby, his “heightened sensitivity to the promises of life.” Once Daisy is within Gatsby’s reach, however, the “colossal significance” of the green light disappears. In essence, the green light is an unattainable promise, one that Nick understands in universal terms at the end of the novel: a future we never grasp but for which we are always reaching. Nick compares it to the hope the early settlers had in the promise of the New World. Gatsby’s dream fails, then, when he fixates his hope on a real object, Daisy. His once indefinite ambition is thereafter limited to the real world and becomes prey to all of its corruption.

The valley of ashes—an industrial wasteland located between West Egg and Manhattan—serves as a counterpoint to the brilliant future promised by the green light. As a dumping ground for the refuse of nearby factories, it stands as the consequence of America’s postwar economic boom, the ugly truth behind the consumer culture that props up newly rich people like Gatsby. In this valley live men like George Wilson who are “already crumbling.” They are the underclasses that live without hope, all the while bolstering the greed of a thriving economy. Notably, Gatsby does not in the end escape the ash of this economy that built him: it is George Wilson who comes to kill him, described as an “ashen” figure the moment before he shoots Gatsby.

Over the valley of ashes hover the bespectacled eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, which appear on the advertising billboard of an oculist. These eyes almost become a moral conscience in the morally vacuous world of The Great Gatsby ; to George Wilson they are the eyes of God. They are said to “brood” and “[keep] their vigil” over the valley, and they witness some of the most corrupt moments of the novel: Tom and Myrtle’s affair, Myrtle’s death, and the valley itself, full of America’s industrial waste and the toiling poor. However, in the end they are another product of the materialistic culture of the age, set up by Doctor Eckleburg to “fatten his practice.” Behind them is just one more person trying to get rich. Their function as a divine being who watches and judges is thus ultimately null , and the novel is left without a moral anchor.

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The Great Gatsby

F. scott fitzgerald.

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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Great Gatsby: Introduction

The great gatsby: plot summary, the great gatsby: detailed summary & analysis, the great gatsby: themes, the great gatsby: quotes, the great gatsby: characters, the great gatsby: symbols, the great gatsby: literary devices, the great gatsby: quizzes, the great gatsby: theme wheel, brief biography of f. scott fitzgerald.

Historical Context of The Great Gatsby

Other books related to the great gatsby.

• Full Title: The Great Gatsby
• Where Written: Paris and the US, in 1924
• When Published: 1925
• Literary Period: Modernism
• Genre: Novel
• Setting: Long Island, Queens, and Manhattan, New York in the summer of 1922
• Climax: The showdown between Gatsby and Tom over Daisy
• Point of View: First person

Extra Credit for The Great Gatsby

Puttin' on the Fitz. Fitzgerald spent most of his adult life in debt, often relying on loans from his publisher, and even his editor, Maxwell Perkins, in order to pay the bills. The money he made from his novels could not support the high-flying cosmopolitan life his wife desired, so Fitzgerald turned to more lucrative short story writing for magazines like Esquire. Fitzgerald spent his final three years writing screenplays in Hollywood.

Another Failed Screenwriter. Fitzgerald was an alcoholic and his wife Zelda suffered from serious mental illness. In the final years of their marriage as their debts piled up, Zelda stayed in a series of mental institutions on the East coast while Fitzgerald tried, and largely failed, to make money writing movie scripts in Hollywood.

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Best Summary and Analysis: The Great Gatsby

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Quick Note on Our Citations

Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text.

The Great Gatsby Summary: The Full Plot

Our narrator, Nick Carraway, moves to the East Coast to work as a bond trader in Manhattan. He rents a small house in West Egg, a nouveau riche town in Long Island. In East Egg, the next town over, where old money people live, Nick reconnects with his cousin Daisy Buchanan, her husband Tom, and meets their friend Jordan Baker.

Tom takes Nick to meet his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle is married to George Wilson, who runs a gas station in a gross and dirty neighborhood in Queens. Tom, Nick, and Myrtle go to Manhattan, where she hosts a small party that ends with Tom punching her in the face.

Nick meets his next-door neighbor, Jay Gatsby, a very rich man who lives in a giant mansion and throws wildly extravagant parties every weekend, and who is a mysterious person no one knows much about.

Gatsby takes Nick to lunch and introduces him to his business partner - a gangster named Meyer Wolfshiem.

Nick starts a relationship with Jordan. Through her, Nick finds out that Gatsby and Daisy were in love five years ago, and that Gatsby would like to see her again.

Nick arranges for Daisy to come over to his house so that Gatsby can "accidentally" drop by. Daisy and Gatsby start having an affair.

Tom and Daisy come to one of Gatsby's parties. Daisy is disgusted by the ostentatiously vulgar display of wealth, and Tom immediately sees that Gatsby's money most likely comes from crime.

We learn that Gatsby was born into a poor farming family as James Gatz. He has always been extremely ambitious, creating the Jay Gatsby persona as a way of transforming himself into a successful self-made man—the ideal of the American Dream.

Nick, Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Jordan get together for lunch. At this lunch, Daisy and Gatsby are planning to tell Tom that she is leaving him. Gatsby suddenly feels uncomfortable doing this in Tom's house, and Daisy suggests going to Manhattan instead.

In Manhattan, the five of them get a suite at the Plaza Hotel where many secrets come out. Gatsby reveals that Daisy is in love with him. Tom in turn reveals that Gatsby is a bootlegger, and is probably engaged in other criminal activities as well. Gatsby demands that Daisy renounce Tom entirely, and say that she has never loved him. Daisy can't bring herself to say this because it isn't true, crushing Gatsby's dream and obsession. It's clear that their relationship is over and that Daisy has chosen to stay with Tom.

That evening, Daisy and Gatsby drive home in his car, with Daisy behind the wheel. When they drive by the Wilson gas station, Myrtle runs out to the car because she thinks it's Tom driving by. Daisy hits and kills her, driving off without stopping.

Nick, Jordan, and Tom investigate the accident. Tom tells George Wilson that the car that struck Myrtle belongs to Gatsby, and George decides that Gatsby must also be Myrtle's lover.

That night, Gatsby decides to take the blame for the accident. He is still waiting for Daisy to change her mind and come back to him, but she and Tom skip town the next day. Nick breaks up with Jordan because she is completely unconcerned about Myrtle's death.

Gatsby tells Nick some more of his story. As an officer in the army, he met and fell in love with Daisy, but after a month had to ship out to fight in WWI. Two years later, before he could get home, she married Tom. Gatsby has been obsessed with getting Daisy back since he shipped out to fight five years earlier.

The next day, George Wilson shoots and kills Gatsby, and then himself.

The police leave the Buchanans and Myrtle's affair out of the report on the murder-suicide.

Nick tries to find people to come to Gatsby's funeral, but everyone who pretended to be Gatsby's friend and came to his parties now refuses to come. Even Gatsby's partner Wolfshiem doesn't want to go to the funeral. Wolfshiem explains that he first gave Gatsby a job after WWI and that they have been partners in many illegal activities together.

Gatsby's father comes to the funeral from Minnesota. He shows Nick a self-improvement plan that Gatsby had written for himself as a boy.

Disillusioned with his time on the East coast, Nick decides to return to his home in the Midwest.

Other Ways to Study the Plot of The Great Gatsby

See what happens when in actual chronological order and without flashbacks in our Great Gatsby timeline .

Read our individual The Great Gatsby chapter summaries for more in-depth details about plot, important quotes and character beats, and how the novel's major themes get reflected:

Learn the significance behind the novel's title , its beginning , and its ending .

List of the Major Characters in The Great Gatsby

Click on each character's name to read an in-depth article analyzing their place in the novel.

Nick Carraway —our narrator, but not the book's main character. Coming East from the Midwest to learn the bond business, Nick is horrified by the materialism and superficiality he finds in Manhattan and Long Island. He ends up admiring Gatsby as a hopeful dreamer and despising the rest of the people he encounters.

Jay Gatsby —a self-made man who is driven by his love for, and obsession with, Daisy Buchanan. Born a poor farmer, Gatsby becomes materially successful through crime and spends the novel trying to recreate the perfect love he and Daisy had five years before. When she cannot renounce her marriage, Gatsby's dream is crushed.

Daisy Buchanan —a very rich young woman who is trapped in a dysfunctional marriage and oppressed by her meaningless life. Daisy has an affair with Gatsby, but is ultimately unwilling to say that she has been as obsessed with him as he has with her, and goes back to her unsatisfying, but also less demanding, relationship with her husband, Tom.

Tom Buchanan —Daisy's very rich, adulterous, bullying, racist husband. Tom is having a physically abusive affair with Myrtle Wilson. He investigates Gatsby and reveals some measure of his criminal involvement, demonstrating to Daisy that Gatsby isn't someone she should run off with. After Daisy runs over Myrtle Wilson, Tom makes up with Daisy and they skip town together.

Jordan Baker —a professional golfer who has a relationship with Nick. At first, Jordan is attractive because of her jaded, cynical attitude, but then Nick slowly sees that her inveterate lying and her complete lack of concern for other people are deal breakers.

Myrtle Wilson —the somewhat vulgar wife of a car mechanic who is unhappy in her marriage. Myrtle is having an affair with Tom, whom she likes for his rugged and brutal masculinity and for his money. Daisy runs Myrtle over, killing her in a gruesome and shocking way.

George Wilson —Myrtle's browbeaten, weak, and working class husband. George is enraged when he finds out about Myrtle's affair, and then that rage is transformed into unhinged madness when Myrtle is killed. George kills Gatsby and himself in the murder-suicide that seems to erase Gatsby and his lasting impact on the world entirely.

Other Ways to Study Great Gatsby Characters

Need a refresher on all the other people in this book? Check out our overview of the characters or dive deeper with our detailed character analyses .

Get some help for tackling the common assignment of comparing and contrasting the novel's characters .

Start gathering relevant character quotes to beef up your essay assignments with evidence from the text.

List of the Major Themes in The Great Gatsby

Get a broad overview of the novel's themes , or click on each theme to read a detailed individual analysis.

Money and Materialism —the novel is fascinated by how people make their money, what they can and can't buy with it, and how the pursuit of wealth shapes the decisions people make and the paths their lives follow. In the novel, is it possible to be happy without a lot of money? Is it possible to be happy with it?

Society and Class —the novel can also be read as a clash between the old money set and the nouveau riche strivers and wannabes that are trying to either become them or replace them. If the novel ends with the strivers and the poor being killed off and the old money literally getting away with murder, who wins this class battle?

The American Dream —does the novel endorse or mock the dream of the rags-to-riches success story, the ideal of the self-made man? Is Gatsby a successful example of what's possible through hard work and dedication, or a sham whose crime and death demonstrate that the American Dream is a work of fiction?

Love, Desire, and Relationships —most of the major characters are driven by either love or sexual desire, but none of these connections prove lasting or stable. Is the novel saying that these are destructive forces, or is just that these characters use and feel them in the wrong way?

Death and Failure —a tone of sadness and elegy (an elegy is a song of sadness for the dead) suffuses the book, as Nick looks back at a summer that ended with three violent deaths and the defeat of one man's delusional dream. Are ambition and overreach doomed to this level of epic failure, or are they examples of the way we sweep the past under the rug when looking to the future?

Morality and Ethics —despite the fact that most of the characters in this novel cheat on their significant others, one is an accidental killer, one is an actual criminal, and one a murderer, at the end of the novel no one is punished either by the law or by public censure. Is there a way to fix the lawless, amoral, Wild East that this book describes, or does the replacement of God with a figure from a billboard mean that this is a permanent state of affairs?

The Mutability of Identity —the key to answering the title's implied questions (What makes Gatsby great? Is Gatsby great?) is whether it is possible to change oneself for good, or whether past history and experiences leave their marks forever. Gatsby wants to have it both ways: to change himself from James Gatz into a glamorous figure, but also to recapitulate and preserve in amber a moment from his past with Daisy. Does he fail because it's impossible to change? Because it's impossible to repeat the past? Or both?

Other Ways to Study Great Gatsby Themes

Often, themes are represented by the a novel's symbols. Check out our overview of the main symbols in The Great Gatsby , or click on an individual symbol for a deeper exploration of its meaning and relevance:

• The green light at the end of Daisy's dock
• The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg
• The valley of ashes

Themes are also often reinforced by recurring motifs. Delve into a guide to the way motifs color and enrich this work.

The Bottom Line

• Use our analysis, gathered quotations , and description for help with homework assignments, tests, and essays on this novel.

What's Next? More Great Gatsby Analysis and Study Guides!

Understand how the book is put together by looking at its genre, narrator, and setting .

Learn the background of and context for the novel in our explanations of the history of the composition of the book and the biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald .

Get a sense of how the novel has been adapted by reading about its many film versions .

Read an overview of how to write analytical essays about the characters in the Great Gatsby before diving into the nitty-gritty for each main character (including the question of if Jay Gatsby really is great ).

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The great gatsby essay examples.

• By Amelia W.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a famous American novel that explores the highs and lows of the American Dream during the Jazz Age . This collection of The Great Gatsby essay examples examines different aspects of the book, like its characters, settings, and important themes. Each essay helps us understand how the story reflects on topics like wealth, love, and the pursuit of dreams. Through these essays, we can see how The Great Gatsby still has relevance today, raising questions about ambition, morality, and the consequences of our desires.

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The Role of Social Class in “The Great Gatsby”

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s seminal novel “The Great Gatsby,” social class plays a pivotal role in shaping the narrative, characters, and themes. Through his vivid portrayal of 1920s America, Fitzgerald presents a stark critique of the American Dream and exposes the rigid class structure that underpins society. This essay will examine how social class influences the characters’ motivations, relationships, and ultimate fates, demonstrating that class distinction is not merely a backdrop but a driving force in the novel.

The novel’s setting immediately establishes the importance of social class. Fitzgerald strategically divides his fictional world into distinct areas that represent different social strata. East Egg, home to old money families like the Buchanans, stands in sharp contrast to West Egg, where the nouveau riche like Gatsby reside. This geographical division serves as a physical manifestation of the class barriers that the characters must navigate. The Valley of Ashes, situated between these wealthy enclaves and New York City, represents the struggling working class, further emphasizing the vast inequality present in society.

Gatsby’s rise from poverty to extreme wealth is central to the novel’s exploration of class. His transformation from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby is driven by his desire to win over Daisy, a goal inextricably linked to achieving high social status. Fitzgerald writes, “He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God” (110). This poetic description reveals how Gatsby conflates love with social ascension, viewing Daisy as both a romantic interest and a symbol of the upper class he aspires to join.

However, Gatsby’s newly acquired wealth cannot fully bridge the gap between old and new money. Tom Buchanan, secure in his inherited wealth and social position, dismisses Gatsby as an upstart. He scathingly remarks, “I’ll be damned if I see how you got within a mile of her unless you brought the groceries to the back door” (132). This cutting comment underscores the entrenched nature of class distinctions and the disdain with which the established elite view social climbers like Gatsby.

The character of Myrtle Wilson further illustrates the power of class in shaping aspirations and behavior. Trapped in the working-class Valley of Ashes, Myrtle desperately clings to her affair with Tom as a means of accessing a higher social sphere. Her attempts to adopt the mannerisms and lifestyle of the upper class are both tragic and comical, highlighting the performative nature of class identity. When Nick observes her transformation at the apartment in New York, he notes, “With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change.

The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur” (30). This description emphasizes how deeply Myrtle associates class status with personal worth and identity.

The rigid class structure in “The Great Gatsby” proves to be destructive. The characters’ obsession with wealth and status leads to moral decay, broken relationships, and even death. Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy, fundamentally a pursuit of a higher social standing, leads to his downfall. The fact that only Nick Carraway attends Gatsby’s funeral serves as a damning indictment of the shallow, class-obsessed society Fitzgerald portrays.

In conclusion, social class is not merely a theme in “The Great Gatsby,” but the very foundation upon which the story is built. Through his detailed portrayal of characters from different social backgrounds, Fitzgerald exposes the hollowness of the American Dream and the destructive power of class distinctions. The novel serves as a powerful critique of a society where worth is measured by wealth, and where the pursuit of status comes at the cost of genuine human connection and moral integrity.

The American Dream in “The Great Gatsby”

The elusive american dream: illusion and disillusionment in “the great gatsby”.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” offers a scathing critique of the American Dream, presenting it as a beautiful yet ultimately unattainable illusion. Through the experiences of Jay Gatsby and other characters, Fitzgerald exposes the hollowness of materialistic pursuits and the corruption of the idealistic notion that anyone can achieve prosperity and happiness through hard work and determination. This essay will examine how the novel deconstructs the American Dream, revealing its flaws and the disillusionment that follows its pursuit.

The character of Jay Gatsby embodies both the allure and the tragedy of the American Dream. His transformation from the poor James Gatz to the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby seems, at first glance, to be a realization of the dream. Fitzgerald writes, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself” (98). This line underscores how Gatsby has reinvented himself, seemingly achieving the self-made success that the American Dream promises.

However, Gatsby’s wealth is built on illegal activities, suggesting that the dream is not achievable through honest means. His obsessive pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, whom he sees as the pinnacle of success, reveals the emptiness at the heart of his achievements. Nick observes, “He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” (180). This poignant description highlights how the American Dream remains perpetually out of reach, even for those who seem to have attained it.

The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock serves as a powerful symbol of the American Dream’s illusory nature. Gatsby’s yearning for this light represents the universal desire for something just out of reach. Fitzgerald writes, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…” (180). This passage encapsulates the eternal optimism that fuels the American Dream, as well as its ultimately unattainable nature.

The Valley of Ashes, contrasted with the opulence of East and West Egg, provides a stark reminder of the reality that underlies the dream of universal prosperity. The description of this desolate area, where the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg look down from a faded billboard, serves as a critique of the idea that the American Dream is accessible to all. Fitzgerald writes, “This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens” (23). This vivid imagery suggests that for many, the American Dream yields only dust and disappointment.

The character of Myrtle Wilson further illustrates the destructive nature of pursuing the American Dream. Her affair with Tom Buchanan is driven by her desire to escape her working-class life and access the world of the wealthy. Her tragic death, violently struck down by Gatsby’s car, symbolizes the crushing of dreams by the very objects of desire they pursue.

Even the narrator, Nick Carraway, is not immune to disillusionment. His initial fascination with the glamorous lives of the wealthy gives way to disgust and moral revulsion. By the end of the novel, he reflects, “I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all—Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life” (176). This realization suggests that the American Dream, as pursued in the novel, is fundamentally at odds with traditional American values.

In conclusion, “The Great Gatsby” presents the American Dream as a destructive force that leads to moral decay and personal tragedy. Fitzgerald’s characters, in their pursuit of wealth, status, and happiness, ultimately find themselves disillusioned and morally bankrupt. The novel suggests that the dream itself is flawed, built on materialism and empty promises. Through Gatsby’s tragic story, Fitzgerald warns readers about the dangers of placing too much faith in the idea that wealth and status can bring fulfillment, urging instead a reevaluation of what truly constitutes the American Dream.

The Corruption of the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” presents a scathing critique of the American Dream, portraying it as a noble ideal corrupted by the excesses of the Roaring Twenties. Through the novel’s characters and their pursuits, Fitzgerald illustrates how the dream of prosperity and self-made success becomes twisted into a nightmare of materialism, moral decay, and ultimately, disillusionment. This essay will examine how the novel deconstructs the American Dream, revealing its corruption through the experiences of Jay Gatsby and the other characters.

At its core, the American Dream promises that anyone, regardless of their origins, can achieve success through hard work and determination. Jay Gatsby initially appears to be the embodiment of this ideal. Nick Carraway describes Gatsby’s extraordinary gift for hope, stating, “If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him” (2). This description suggests Gatsby’s unwavering belief in his ability to shape his own destiny, a cornerstone of the American Dream.

However, Fitzgerald quickly reveals the corrupt foundation of Gatsby’s success. His wealth is built on illegal activities, primarily bootlegging. This detail is crucial, as it suggests that the American Dream is no longer achievable through honest means. Gatsby’s criminal background is hinted at throughout the novel, with characters like Tom Buchanan dismissively referring to his “drug-stores” (124). This corruption of Gatsby’s means to achieve the dream foreshadows its ultimate hollowness.

The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock serves as a powerful symbol of the American Dream’s allure and unattainability. Gatsby’s yearning for this light represents not just his love for Daisy, but his broader aspirations. Fitzgerald writes:

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…” (180).

This passage encapsulates both the eternal optimism that fuels the American Dream and its ultimately illusory nature. The dream always remains just out of reach, prompting endless pursuit but never true fulfillment.

The contrast between the opulent settings of East and West Egg and the desolate Valley of Ashes further underscores the corruption of the American Dream. While the wealthy indulge in lavish parties and careless behavior, the working class struggles in poverty. The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, looking down from a faded billboard, seem to pass judgment on this inequity. Fitzgerald writes, “But above the gray land and the spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg” (23). This imagery suggests that the promise of universal prosperity in the American Dream is a facade, hiding a stark reality of inequality and moral decay.

The character of Myrtle Wilson further illustrates the destructive nature of pursuing the corrupted American Dream. Her affair with Tom Buchanan is driven by her desire to escape her working-class life. Her tragic death, violently struck down by Gatsby’s car, symbolizes how the pursuit of wealth and status can lead to destruction. Fitzgerald describes the aftermath: “The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners, as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long” (137). This vivid imagery underscores the violent end to Myrtle’s dreams of ascending the social ladder.

Even the narrator, Nick Carraway, is not immune to the disillusionment that comes from witnessing the corruption of the American Dream. His initial fascination with the glamorous lives of the wealthy gives way to disgust. By the end of the novel, he reflects, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness” (179). This realization suggests that the pursuit of wealth and status has stripped the characters of their moral responsibility and human empathy.

In conclusion, “The Great Gatsby” presents the American Dream as a once-noble ideal that has been corrupted by greed and materialism. Fitzgerald’s characters, in their pursuit of wealth and status, lose sight of the dream’s original promise of self-improvement and fulfillment. Instead, they find themselves morally bankrupt and ultimately unfulfilled. Through Gatsby’s tragic story, Fitzgerald warns readers about the dangers of equating the American Dream with mere wealth and social status, urging instead a return to more fundamental values of personal growth and genuine human connection.

The Deconstruction of the American Dream in “The Great Gatsby”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” offers a profound exploration of the American Dream, presenting it as a beautiful yet ultimately destructive illusion. Through the novel’s complicated narrative and complex characters, Fitzgerald deconstructs the idea that prosperity, happiness, and social mobility are achievable for all, revealing instead a society marred by class divisions, moral corruption, and unfulfilled aspirations. This essay will examine how the novel systematically dismantles the concept of the American Dream, exposing its flaws and the disillusionment that follows its pursuit.

The character of Jay Gatsby serves as the primary vehicle through which Fitzgerald explores and ultimately critiques the American Dream. Gatsby’s transformation from the poor James Gatz to the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby initially appears to be a realization of the dream. Nick Carraway observes, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself” (98). This reinvention embodies the self-made man ideal central to the American Dream.

However, Fitzgerald gradually reveals the hollowness of Gatsby’s achievement. His wealth, built on illegal activities, suggests that the dream is unattainable through honest means. Gatsby’s obsessive pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, whom he sees as the culmination of his aspirations, further underscores the emptiness of his success. Nick reflects:

“He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night” (180).

This poignant observation highlights the elusive nature of the American Dream, always seeming within reach yet ultimately unattainable.

The novel’s setting plays a crucial role in illustrating the class divisions that undermine the promise of the American Dream. The contrast between the opulent East and West Egg and the desolate Valley of Ashes serves as a stark reminder of the reality that underlies the dream of universal prosperity. Fitzgerald writes:

“This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23).

This vivid imagery suggests that for many, the American Dream yields only dust and disappointment, a far cry from the promised land of opportunity.

The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock emerges as a powerful symbol of the American Dream’s illusory nature. Gatsby’s yearning for this light represents the universal desire for something just out of reach. In the novel’s final passages, Fitzgerald writes:

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther….” (180).

This passage encapsulates both the eternal optimism that fuels the American Dream and its ultimately unattainable nature, forever receding into the future.

The character of Myrtle Wilson provides another lens through which to view the destructive nature of pursuing the American Dream. Her affair with Tom Buchanan is driven by her desire to escape her working-class life and access the world of the wealthy. Her tragic death, violently struck down by Gatsby’s car, symbolizes the crushing of dreams by the very objects of desire they pursue. Fitzgerald describes the aftermath with haunting detail:

“The mouth was wide open and ripped at the corners, as though she had choked a little in giving up the tremendous vitality she had stored so long.” (137) This graphic description serves as a metaphor for the violent death of Myrtle’s aspirations and, by extension, the American Dream itself.

Even the narrator, Nick Carraway, undergoes a journey of disillusionment that mirrors the novel’s deconstruction of the American Dream. His initial fascination with the glamorous lives of the wealthy gives way to moral disgust. By the novel’s end, he reflects: “I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all—Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life” (176). This realization suggests that the American Dream, as pursued in the novel, is fundamentally at odds with traditional American values, leading not to fulfillment but to moral decay.

In conclusion, “The Great Gatsby” serves as a powerful critique of the American Dream, revealing it to be a destructive force that leads to moral compromise and personal tragedy. Through the experiences of Gatsby, Myrtle, and others, Fitzgerald exposes the dream’s empty promises and the disillusionment that inevitably follows its pursuit. The novel ultimately suggests that the American Dream, as conceived in the materialistic 1920s, is deeply flawed, urging readers to reconsider what truly constitutes success and fulfillment in American society.

The Use of Symbolism in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is renowned for its rich symbolism, which serves to deepen the novel’s themes and critique of the American Dream. Through carefully crafted symbols, Fitzgerald illuminates the characters’ aspirations, the era’s decadence, and the ultimate hollowness of materialistic pursuits. This essay will explore how Fitzgerald uses key symbols to underscore the novel’s central ideas and enhance its commentary on 1920s American society.

The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is perhaps the most iconic symbol in the novel. It represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams, particularly his desire for Daisy and the life she represents. Fitzgerald writes: “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…” (180). This passage encapsulates not only Gatsby’s personal yearning but also the broader concept of the American Dream—always tantalizingly close yet ultimately unattainable. The color green itself evokes ideas of spring, renewal, and money, further tying the symbol to the novel’s exploration of wealth and ambition.

The Valley of Ashes, a desolate area between West Egg and New York City, serves as a powerful symbol of the underside of the American Dream. Fitzgerald describes it vividly: “This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23).

This bleak imagery symbolizes the poverty and decay that exist alongside great wealth, highlighting the stark inequalities of 1920s America. The Valley of Ashes stands in stark contrast to the opulence of East and West Egg, serving as a reminder of the human cost of the era’s excesses.

Within the Valley of Ashes, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg on a faded billboard take on symbolic significance. These eyes, “blue and gigantic—their retinas are one yard high,” seem to watch over the desolate landscape. For characters like George Wilson, they come to represent the eyes of God, watching and judging (23). This symbol underscores the moral decay of the era and the characters’ sense of being watched or judged for their actions.

Gatsby’s lavish mansion and the extravagant parties he throws symbolize the excessive materialism and empty pursuit of pleasure characteristic of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald describes these gatherings in sensory detail: “The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher” (40). The mansion and parties symbolize Gatsby’s attempt to win Daisy through displays of wealth, but they also represent the hollowness of such pursuits. Despite the grandeur, Gatsby remains isolated and unfulfilled.

The weather in the novel often serves as a symbol of the characters’ emotions or the tone of events. For instance, the oppressive heat during the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom in the hotel room mirrors the rising tensions: “The room was large and stifling, and, though it was already four o’clock, opening the windows admitted only a gust of hot shrubbery from the Park” (119). This use of weather as a symbolic backdrop enhances the reader’s understanding of the characters’ internal states and the overall mood of key scenes.

Finally, the symbolism of East and West Egg themselves cannot be overlooked. These two areas, separated by a body of water, represent old money (East Egg) and new money (West Egg). This geographical divide symbolizes the larger social divide in American society, with Gatsby (in West Egg) forever trying to reach Daisy (in East Egg). The fact that they are separated by water suggests the difficulty, perhaps impossibility, of crossing this social divide.

In conclusion, Fitzgerald’s masterful use of symbolism in “The Great Gatsby” adds depth and richness to the novel’s exploration of the American Dream. From the iconic green light to the desolate Valley of Ashes, these symbols serve to illuminate the characters’ aspirations, the era’s excesses, and the ultimate emptiness of purely materialistic pursuits. By interweaving these symbolic elements throughout the narrative, Fitzgerald creates a work that resonates beyond its specific time and place, offering a timeless commentary on the nature of ambition, wealth, and the human condition.

The Character of Jay Gatsby

Jay Gatsby, the titular character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” stands as one of the most complex and enigmatic figures in American literature. A self-made man shrouded in mystery, Gatsby embodies both the allure and the tragedy of the American Dream. This essay will explore the complicated character of Jay Gatsby, examining his origins, motivations, and the symbolic role he plays in Fitzgerald’s critique of 1920s American society.

Gatsby’s background is revealed gradually throughout the novel, adding to his mystique. Born James Gatz to a poor farming family in North Dakota, he reinvents himself as Jay Gatsby, a wealthy and mysterious figure. Fitzgerald writes:

“The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God – a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that – and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty” (98).

This passage underscores Gatsby’s self-creation and his almost religious devotion to his own idealized self-image. His transformation embodies the self-made man ideal central to the American Dream, yet Fitzgerald imbues this transformation with a sense of artifice and illusion.

Gatsby’s pursuit of wealth is inextricably linked to his love for Daisy Buchanan. Their brief romance before Gatsby went to war becomes the defining moment of his life, and everything he does afterward is in service of winning her back. Nick Carraway observes:

“He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was…” (110).

This obsession with the past and his idealized memory of Daisy reveals Gatsby’s romantic nature, but also his inability to face reality. His wealth and lavish parties are all part of an elaborate performance designed to attract Daisy’s attention.

The source of Gatsby’s wealth – bootlegging and other illegal activities – adds another layer to his character. While he projects an image of refinement and old money, the truth of his criminal connections underscores the corruption at the heart of his version of the American Dream. This aspect of Gatsby’s character serves as a critique of the notion that wealth and success are always achieved through honest means.

Despite his criminal activities, Gatsby maintains a certain innocence and idealism that sets him apart from the other characters. Nick reflects:

“Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men” (2).

This assessment suggests that Gatsby’s true tragedy lies not in his own moral failings, but in the corrupt society that ultimately destroys him.

Gatsby’s famous smile is another key element of his character. Fitzgerald describes it as having “a quality of eternal reassurance in it” (48). This smile represents Gatsby’s charisma and his ability to make others believe in his carefully constructed persona. However, it also symbolizes the illusion at the heart of Gatsby’s character – a dazzling exterior hiding a more complex and troubled interior.

The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, which Gatsby watches longingly, becomes a powerful symbol of his character and his dreams. Fitzgerald writes:

This passage encapsulates Gatsby’s eternal optimism and his refusal to relinquish his dreams, even as they prove impossible to achieve. It’s this quality that makes Gatsby a tragic figure – his unwavering belief in the possibility of recreating the past and achieving his perfect future.

In conclusion, Jay Gatsby is a character of contradictions – a self-made man built on illusions, a criminal with an almost childlike idealism, a figure of immense wealth who is ultimately alone. Through Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores the American Dream, presenting it as both alluring and destructive. Gatsby’s tragic fate serves as a warning about the dangers of becoming too enamored with wealth, status, and the idea of a perfect future. Ultimately, Gatsby’s character remains an enigma, a shimmering mirage of the American Dream that dissipates under scrutiny, leaving behind a poignant commentary on ambition, love, and the nature of success in America.

The Role of Women in “The Great Gatsby”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” offers a complex and often troubling portrayal of women in 1920s American society. Through the characters of Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson, Fitzgerald explores the limitations, expectations, and struggles faced by women during this era. This essay will examine how these female characters reflect and challenge the societal norms of their time, and how their roles contribute to the novel’s broader themes.

Daisy Buchanan, the object of Gatsby’s desire, is perhaps the most prominent female character in the novel. She embodies the ideal of the “golden girl” of the 1920s – beautiful, charming, and wealthy. However, Fitzgerald quickly reveals the hollowness behind this facade. Nick Carraway describes her voice as “full of money,” noting:

“That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it…” (120).

This description suggests that Daisy’s allure is inextricably linked to her social status and wealth, reducing her to a commodity rather than a fully realized individual.

Daisy’s actions throughout the novel reveal her entrapment within societal expectations. Despite her apparent love for Gatsby, she ultimately chooses the security and status of her marriage to Tom Buchanan. Her statement, “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” is particularly telling (17). It exposes her cynical view of a woman’s place in society and suggests her own disillusionment with the limited options available to her.

Jordan Baker, a professional golfer and Daisy’s friend, presents a different model of womanhood. She is more independent and career-oriented, embodying the emerging “new woman” of the 1920s. Fitzgerald describes her as “incurably dishonest” (58), suggesting that her success comes at the cost of her integrity. Jordan’s character highlights the challenges faced by women who sought to break free from traditional roles, implying that such independence often came with a price.

Myrtle Wilson, Tom Buchanan’s mistress, represents women from a lower social class striving for upward mobility. Her affair with Tom is driven by her desperate desire to escape her working-class life. Fitzgerald describes her transformation when she’s with Tom:

“With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change. The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur” (30).

This passage underscores how Myrtle sees adopting the trappings of wealth as a means of changing her identity and social status. Her tragic death, violently struck down by Gatsby’s car, symbolizes the crushing of her aspirations and the dangers faced by women who attempt to transgress social boundaries.

The novel’s treatment of female sexuality is also noteworthy. While the male characters engage in extramarital affairs with relative impunity, women face harsher judgement for similar behavior. Tom’s casual infidelity is treated as almost expected, while Myrtle pays the ultimate price for her affair. This double standard reflects the societal norms of the time and highlights the unequal treatment of men and women.

It’s important to note that all three main female characters are primarily defined by their relationships with men. Daisy is torn between Gatsby and Tom, Jordan is a potential romantic interest for Nick, and Myrtle is Tom’s mistress. This relational definition of women’s identities underscores their lack of autonomy in the society Fitzgerald portrays.

The absence of strong mother figures in the novel is also significant. Daisy’s relationship with her daughter is distant, and the child is largely absent from the narrative. This lack of emphasis on motherhood suggests a broader societal shift away from traditional family values in the hedonistic 1920s.

In conclusion, the portrayal of women in “The Great Gatsby” reflects the complex and often contradictory expectations placed on women in 1920s America. While the era brought new freedoms and opportunities, women remained constrained by societal norms and expectations. Through Daisy, Jordan, and Myrtle, Fitzgerald explores themes of objectification, limited choices, and the struggle for independence. Their stories serve as a critique of a society that values women primarily for their beauty and status, offering little room for genuine self-realization. Ultimately, the women in “The Great Gatsby” are as much victims of the American Dream as they are participants in it, trapped in a gilded cage of societal expectations and limited opportunities.

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Morality and Ethics in “The Great Gatsby”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” presents a scathing critique of the moral decay in 1920s American society. Through its cast of characters and their actions, the novel explores themes of ethical compromise, corruption, and the erosion of moral values in pursuit of wealth and status. This essay will examine how Fitzgerald uses his characters and plot to illuminate the ethical challenges of the era and comment on the moral implications of the American Dream.

At the heart of the novel’s moral landscape is Jay Gatsby himself. Gatsby’s pursuit of wealth through illegal means (bootlegging and other criminal activities) raises immediate ethical questions. Nick Carraway, the narrator, reflects on Gatsby’s character:

This passage suggests that while Gatsby’s methods may be questionable, Nick sees him as morally superior to the other characters due to the purity of his dream and his capacity for hope. Fitzgerald thus presents a complex moral picture, where traditional notions of right and wrong are blurred.

In contrast, Tom and Daisy Buchanan represent the moral bankruptcy of the old money elite. Their actions throughout the novel – Tom’s casual infidelity, Daisy’s carelessness, and their final desertion of the chaos they’ve created – exemplify a lack of ethical consideration. Nick’s final judgment of them is damning:

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (179).

This assessment highlights how wealth and privilege can insulate individuals from the moral consequences of their actions, leading to a kind of ethical negligence.

The character of Meyer Wolfsheim, Gatsby’s business associate, serves to underscore the corruption inherent in the pursuit of wealth. His involvement in fixing the 1919 World Series represents a cynical exploitation of America’s pastimes for personal gain. Fitzgerald uses Wolfsheim to suggest that the accumulation of wealth often involves moral compromise and the corruption of societal institutions.

The valley of ashes, with the watchful eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg overlooking it, serves as a powerful symbol of moral decay. Fitzgerald describes it as:

“a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23).

This desolate landscape, juxtaposed with the opulence of East and West Egg, represents the moral and spiritual wasteland that underlies the glittering surface of 1920s society.

The treatment of women in the novel also raises ethical questions. The casual infidelity of Tom Buchanan, the objectification of Daisy, and the violent death of Myrtle Wilson all point to a society that devalues and commodifies women. This misogyny is presented as another symptom of the era’s moral decline.

Even Nick Carraway, who initially positions himself as a moral observer, becomes complicit in the ethical compromises around him. His involvement in Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy and his initial admiration for the wealthy lifestyle implicate him in the moral ambiguity of the world he’s observing. His final disillusionment and retreat to the Midwest can be seen as an acknowledgment of the corrupting influence of this society.

The novel’s climax, with Gatsby taking responsibility for Myrtle’s death to protect Daisy, presents a complex moral scenario. Gatsby’s willingness to sacrifice himself for Daisy could be seen as noble, but it also enables Daisy and Tom to escape the consequences of their actions, perpetuating a cycle of moral irresponsibility.

Fitzgerald uses the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock as a symbol not just of Gatsby’s dream, but of the broader American Dream. The ultimate unattainability of this light suggests that the pursuit of this dream often leads to moral compromise:

This passage implies that the relentless pursuit of wealth and status can lead to a continual deferral of ethical considerations.

In conclusion, “The Great Gatsby” presents a society in which traditional moral values have been eroded by the pursuit of wealth and status. Through his characters and their actions, Fitzgerald explores how the American Dream, when reduced to material success, can lead to ethical compromises and moral decay. The novel serves as a cautionary tale, warning against the dangers of prioritizing wealth and social status over moral integrity. Ultimately, Fitzgerald suggests that a society built on such shaky ethical foundations is unsustainable, foreshadowing the economic and social collapse that would follow in the Great Depression.

The Significance of the Setting in “The Great Gatsby”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is deeply rooted in its setting, with the novel’s locations serving as powerful symbols that reinforce its themes. The distinct areas of New York and Long Island in the 1920s become characters in themselves, each representing different aspects of the American Dream and the social stratification of the era. This essay will explore how Fitzgerald uses setting to enhance the novel’s commentary on wealth, class, and the corrupting influence of materialism.

The novel’s primary settings can be divided into three main areas: East Egg, West Egg, and the Valley of Ashes, each with its own symbolic significance.

East Egg represents old money and established social privilege. It’s where Tom and Daisy Buchanan reside, in a house Nick describes as:

“a cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay. The lawn started at the beach and ran toward the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walks and burning gardens…” (6).

This description emphasizes the effortless grandeur of old money, with its sense of permanence and entitlement. East Egg symbolizes the unreachable upper echelon of society, secure in its position and indifferent to the struggles of others.

In contrast, West Egg represents new money. It’s where Gatsby and Nick reside, with Gatsby’s mansion described in ostentatious terms:

“The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard… with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (5).

The extravagance of Gatsby’s home reflects the need of the nouveau riche to display their wealth conspicuously. West Egg symbolizes the aspirational aspect of the American Dream, the belief that anyone can rise to the top through hard work (or, in Gatsby’s case, through less scrupulous means).

The contrast between East and West Egg is crucial. Despite Gatsby’s enormous wealth, he remains an outsider to the old money set, separated from Daisy not just by the physical bay between their homes, but by an unbridgeable social divide. This geographical separation becomes a powerful metaphor for the rigid class distinctions of 1920s America.

Between Long Island and New York City lies the Valley of Ashes, perhaps the most symbolically loaded setting in the novel. Fitzgerald describes it vividly:

This desolate industrial wasteland represents the underside of the American Dream, the forgotten people and places left behind in the pursuit of wealth. It’s where Tom’s mistress Myrtle lives, symbolizing her position trapped between the world of the wealthy and her own working-class roots.

Overlooking the Valley of Ashes is the billboard of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, with its enormous, faded eyes. This serves as a symbolic stand-in for God in this moral wasteland, watching but not intervening, much like the way the wealthy observe but do not assist those struggling in the Valley of Ashes.

New York City plays a significant role as well, representing a space of possibility and moral ambiguity. It’s where Tom keeps his apartment for trysts with Myrtle, where Gatsby’s business associate Meyer Wolfsheim operates, and where the climactic confrontation between Gatsby and Tom takes place. The city embodies the excitement and danger of the Roaring Twenties, a place where identities can be remade but also where moral boundaries blur.

Gatsby’s mansion, with its lavish parties, serves as a microcosm of the era’s excess and aspirational ethos. Fitzgerald writes:

“There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (39).

These parties, open to all yet ultimately hollow, symbolize the superficiality of the new wealth and the futility of Gatsby’s attempt to buy his way into high society.

Even the weather in the novel takes on symbolic significance. The oppressive heat during the novel’s climax mirrors the rising tensions and impending violence:

“The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer” (114).

This use of weather reinforces the emotional intensity of key scenes and contributes to the overall atmosphere of impending doom.

In conclusion, the settings in “The Great Gatsby” are far more than mere backdrops to the action. They are elaboratively woven into the narrative, serving as physical manifestations of the novel’s themes. From the ostentatious wealth of the Eggs to the desolation of the Valley of Ashes, each location contributes to Fitzgerald’s critique of the American Dream and the society that pursues it.

The geographical divisions mirror the social divisions, and the decay beneath the glittering surface of 1920s New York becomes a powerful metaphor for the moral decay at the heart of the era’s pursuit of wealth and status. Through his masterful use of setting, Fitzgerald creates a rich, symbolic landscape that continues to resonate with readers nearly a century after its creation.

The Influence of Wealth on Relationships in “The Great Gatsby”

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” offers a piercing examination of how wealth shapes, distorts, and often corrupts human relationships. Through the interactions of its characters, the novel explores how money influences love, friendship, and social connections in 1920s America. This essay will analyze how wealth impacts various relationships in the novel, revealing Fitzgerald’s critique of a society where human connections are increasingly commodified.

The central relationship in the novel, between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, is fundamentally shaped by wealth. Their initial romance years before the novel’s events is cut short due to Gatsby’s lack of financial status. Gatsby’s subsequent pursuit of wealth is entirely motivated by his desire to win Daisy back. As Jordan Baker explains to Nick:

“Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (78).

This revelation underscores how Gatsby views wealth as a means to bridge the gap between himself and Daisy. His lavish parties and ostentatious displays of wealth are all part of an elaborate performance designed to attract Daisy’s attention and prove his worth.

However, Fitzgerald reveals the hollowness of this wealth-based pursuit. When Gatsby and Daisy reunite, their interaction is awkward and falls short of Gatsby’s romantic ideals. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, which Gatsby has long yearned for, loses its enchantment once attained:

“Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever…. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one” (93).

This passage suggests that the pursuit of wealth as a means to love is ultimately unfulfilling, stripping romance of its mystery and reducing it to a transaction.

The marriage of Tom and Daisy Buchanan presents another perspective on how wealth influences relationships. Their union is described as one of social convenience rather than love. Nick observes:

“They moved with a fast crowd, all of them young and rich and wild, but she came out with an absolutely perfect reputation. Perhaps because she doesn’t drink. It’s a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people” (77).

This description implies that their relationship is more about maintaining social status than emotional connection. Their wealth allows them to weather marital problems that would destroy less affluent couples, but it also insulates them from the consequences of their actions, leading to a kind of moral bankruptcy.

The relationship between Tom Buchanan and his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, illustrates how wealth can create power imbalances in relationships. Tom’s wealth allows him to keep Myrtle as a mistress, treating her as a commodity he can buy with gifts and the promise of status. Myrtle, in turn, sees the affair as a means of escaping her working-class life. This dynamic is evident when Tom casually breaks Myrtle’s nose after she mentions Daisy:

“Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (37).

This act of violence, quickly glossed over, demonstrates how Tom’s wealth allows him to treat Myrtle with impunity, highlighting the vulnerability of those without financial power.

Even friendships in the novel are colored by considerations of wealth. Nick Carraway’s relationships with both Gatsby and the Buchanans are influenced by their financial status. His initial fascination with their lifestyle is evident:

“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life” (35).

This ambivalence reflects the seductive power of wealth to influence even platonic relationships. Nick’s eventual disillusionment with the wealthy set reveals Fitzgerald’s critique of how money can corrupt genuine human connections.

The novel also explores how the pursuit of wealth can lead to the commodification of human relationships. This is perhaps best exemplified by Meyer Wolfsheim, Gatsby’s business associate, who boasts of his ability to profit from human connections:

“I raised him up out of nothing, right out of the gutter. I saw right away he was a fine-appearing, gentlemanly young man, and when he told me he was an Oggsford I knew I could use him good” (171).

Wolfsheim’s view of relationships as opportunities for profit represents the extreme end of wealth’s corrupting influence on human connections.

Gatsby’s lavish parties serve as a microcosm for how wealth impacts social relationships. The partygoers, most of whom don’t even know Gatsby, use these events for social climbing and networking. Their shallow interactions and gossip about their mysterious host highlight how wealth can create a facade of social connection without genuine human bonds.

In conclusion, “The Great Gatsby” presents a sobering picture of how wealth influences relationships in 1920s America. From romantic pursuits to marriages, affairs, and friendships, money shapes every connection in the novel. Fitzgerald suggests that while wealth can facilitate social interactions and even help achieve romantic goals in the short term, it ultimately corrupts genuine human connections. The characters who are most defined by their wealth – Tom, Daisy, and even Gatsby – are ultimately the most isolated and unfulfilled. Through these portrayals, Fitzgerald critiques a society where human relationships are increasingly viewed through the lens of financial status, leading to a moral and emotional impoverishment that no amount of money can rectify.

The Role of Nick Carraway as the Narrator

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s choice of Nick Carraway as the narrator in “The Great Gatsby” is pivotal to the novel’s structure, themes, and overall impact. As both an observer and a participant in the events of the story, Nick provides a unique perspective that allows readers to simultaneously be immersed in and distanced from the decadent world of the novel. This essay will explore Nick’s role as narrator, examining how his character shapes the narrative and influences the reader’s interpretation of events.

Nick introduces himself at the beginning of the novel, establishing his credibility and positioning as an observer:

“In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores” (1).

This self-characterization as a non-judgmental listener sets Nick up as a reliable narrator, one whom other characters trust with their confidences. It also establishes a sense of intimacy with the reader, as if we are being let in on secrets.

However, Nick’s claim of being non-judgmental is quickly revealed to be not entirely accurate. His descriptions of other characters are often laced with subtle judgments:

This passage demonstrates Nick’s ability to provide insightful, critical observations of the characters around him, belying his initial claim of reserving judgment.

Nick’s outsider status is crucial to his narrative role. As a Midwesterner newly arrived in New York, he provides a fresh perspective on the excesses and moral decay of East and West Egg. His background allows him to be simultaneously fascinated and repulsed by the lifestyle he observes:

“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” (35)

This duality in Nick’s position – being both insider and outsider – allows Fitzgerald to provide a detailed critique of the society he depicts.

Nick’s relationship with Gatsby is central to the narrative. His initial skepticism about Gatsby gives way to admiration, providing readers with a evolving perspective on the titular character:

“He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life” (48).

Through Nick’s eyes, we see Gatsby’s charm and mystery, as well as his flaws and delusions. This complex portrayal adds depth to Gatsby’s character and complicates the reader’s response to him.

As the narrator, Nick also serves as a moral compass in a world of moral ambiguity. His growing disillusionment with the wealthy elite of New York provides a counterpoint to their excesses:

“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money…” (179).

Nick’s final judgment of the Buchanans encapsulates the novel’s critique of the wealthy class, giving voice to the moral center of the story.

Nick’s narrative style, which often jumps between past and present and includes his personal reflections, adds complexity to the storytelling. For example:

“Reading over what I have written so far, I see I have given the impression that the events of three nights several weeks apart were all that absorbed me. On the contrary, they were merely casual events in a crowded summer…” (56).

This self-reflexive narration reminds readers that we are getting a curated version of events, filtered through Nick’s memory and perspective.

Importantly, Nick’s role as narrator allows Fitzgerald to maintain an air of mystery around Gatsby. By presenting Gatsby through Nick’s limited perspective, the author can preserve Gatsby’s enigmatic quality:

This famous closing passage, with its shift from the personal “he” to the collective “us,” demonstrates how Nick’s narration moves from the specific story of Gatsby to broader reflections on the American Dream.

In conclusion, Nick Carraway’s role as narrator is essential to the power and complexity of “The Great Gatsby.” His position as both insider and outsider, participant and observer, allows Fitzgerald to present a complex critique of 1920s American society. Through Nick’s eyes, we witness the allure and the danger of the American Dream, the moral bankruptcy of the wealthy elite, and the tragic consequences of unchecked ambition. Nick’s evolving perspective and moral judgments guide the reader’s own journey through the novel, making him not just a narrator, but a crucial lens through which the themes and characters of the story are refracted and understood.

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FAQs on The Great Gatsby Essay Examples

What are some common themes in the great gatsby .

Some common themes include the American Dream, class conflict, love and relationships, wealth and materialism, and the pursuit of happiness.

How can I start my essay on The Great Gatsby ?

Start with an engaging hook that captures the reader’s interest. You can use a quote from the novel, a provocative question, or a brief anecdote related to the themes. Follow this with some background information on the novel and end the introduction with your thesis statement.

What is a good thesis statement for an essay on The Great Gatsby ?

Important symbols include the green light, the Valley of Ashes, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg, and Gatsby’s mansion. Each of these symbols carries significant meaning related to the themes and characters.

How can I incorporate quotes from the novel into The Great Gatsby essay?

Incorporate quotes by integrating them smoothly into your sentences, providing context, and explaining their relevance to your argument. Always analyze the quotes rather than just inserting them.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Great Gatsby — The Settings and Associated Imagery in The Great Gatsby

The Settings and Associated Imagery in The Great Gatsby

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185 The Great Gatsby : Best Topics and Examples

Looking for some creative titles for The Great Gatsby essay? There are many themes to explore about this novel. We offer you The Great Gatsby essay examples about symbolism, character analysis, the style of the novel, and many other topics.

📙 The Great Gatsby – Essay Writing Tips

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The Great Gatsby, the masterpiece written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, will help you dive into the Roaring Twenties’ wealth atmosphere. This is a story of a millionaire Jay Gatsby and his passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan

Your professor may ask you to analyze topics such as decadence, money, American Dream, or symbolism in your The Great Gatsby Essay. But what if you have no idea what to write? Well, below, you can find some tips and essay samples that you may use to compose your papers

Tip #1. Analyze symbolism in The Great Gatsby

First, let’s define what symbolism is. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, symbolism is “practice of using symbols, especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible using visible or sensuous representations.” The Great Gatsby story is full of symbols. And here are just two examples of them:

• The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg painted on a billboard in the Valley of Ashes. You can find a lot of The Great Gatsby essay samples that draw the conclusion that Eckleburg represents God. However, let’s ask a few more questions. Why do these eyes have no mouth or arms, or legs? Does this mean that Eckleburg can only watch people transgressions without any ability to punish them as a God-like entity? Does this billboard mean anything?
• Use of color in Fitzgerald’s story. If you carefully read the novel, you might notice the use of a few colors throughout the book. They are green, gray, gold, and yellow. Think, what do these colors can symbolize and represent these ideas in your paper.

Tip #2. Think about point of view in The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is written in the first-person point of view. Nick Carraway, one of the main characters, tells us about the life and thoughts of Gatsby. In your writing, you can imagine how different the novel would be if it were told in the third-person point of view.

You also can provide some examples if the story was told from Gatsby’s perspective.

Tip #3. Assess how the book relates to the American Dream

If you look through the vast majority The Great Gatsby essay titles, you can find out plenty of samples that address the validity of high society or the social class divide. Gatsby had achieved the American Dream by building his wealth. However, he’s still not satisfied with the shallowness of the upper class and wants something more.

In your paper, you can argue why does one can never attain the American Dream, and why dreamers always want more.

Tip #4. Analyze the characters and their relations

Fitzgerald put each character into the novel for a particular reason. And your job is to analyze what they represent and why they are in the story. For example, Tom represents evil, while Daisy represents innocence. Another aspect you should examine is relationships between Daisy and Gatsby, Tom and Daisy, Nick and Gatsby.

Tip #5. Examine the tone of the novel

When we talk about the tone of the story, we mean how the author describes the events and characters. In your paper, decide what the tone of the novel is and analyze how it affects the readers’ attitude to characters and events.

Now, check The Great Gatsby essay examples below and use the acquired ideas to write your own paper!

• The Great Gatsby Reflection Paper Throughout the novel the major character Nick who was the narrator managed to bring out the main themes of the novel as well as developing other characters.
• Analysis of the Shirt Scene in “The Great Gatsby” Film Although the shirts mean nothing to Gatsby without Daisy, the audience watches Gatsby’s facial expression display a great deal of empathy and love whenever Daisy seems distressed, especially in this scene when she begins to […]
• Daisy Buchanan: “I Did Love Him Once, but I Loved You, Too” Another scene shows Daisy’s immoral behavior when she is in the room with Gatsby, Jordan, and Nick. This view shows Daisy’s lustful side in that she pushes Jordan to do the same and is out […]
• The Clock as a Symbol in “The Great Gatsby” By incorporating metaphorical elements that allude to the fleeting nature of time, “the Great Gatsby” emphasizes the idea of the futility of life and the inescapability of the past and its mistakes.
• Tom and Gatsby: Compare and Contrast Essay In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald pays attention to the relationships between both Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan. Scott Fitzgerald’s book is mainly focused on the relationship of Daisy with Gatsby and Tom, […]
• Nick as the Narrator in The Great Gatsby Therefore, his connection with the Gatsby’s story is that he is depended upon to serve as the mouthpiece of the older generation as he metaphorically transcends through time to retell the Great Gatsby tale accurately […]
• The Great Gatsby: Analysis and Feminist Critique The feminist critique is an aspect that seeks to explore the topic of men domination in the social, economic, and political sectors.
• American Culture in the Novel “The Great Gatsby” In The Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald documents these changes through an in-depth exploration of cultural changes such as the rise in consumerism, materialism, greed for wealth, and the culture of loosening morals in the 1920s […]
• Silver & Gold: Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Although the color palette presented in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is rich, the problem of differing social status is most vividly described in the novel through the use of golden and silver colors that stand […]
• Daisy’s Character Study in “The Great Gatsby” The argument is that the author attempts to describe her as a pure and innocent female to ensure that the reader understands the perspective of Jay, but particular aspects of her true identity are revealed […]
• Female Characters in A Streetcar Named Desire & The Great Gatsby: Comparative It can be seen in the case of Stella and Daisy wherein in their pursuit of what they think is their “ideal” love, they are, in fact, pursuing nothing more than a false ideal that […]
• Autobiographical Elements in “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The story is set during the roaring twenties, a period of significant social and cultural change, and it incorporates many of the author’s personal experiences, feelings, and perceptions of the time.
• Fairy Tale Traits in The Great Gatsby Basing on the several evident parameters, for instance, the character traits, the behavior of prince and princess, and gender distinctions amongst others, Fitzgerald’s masterwork stands out as a variation and sophisticated version of the fairy […]
• Why is Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby a Satire? Another aspect of satire in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is the wealth associated with Gatsby, as the reader observes in chapter two.
• The Great Gatsby and Winter Dreams by Scott Fitzgerald In this analysis, the researcher will try to confirm the argument that the Great Gatsby was a continuation of the Winter Dreams.
• “The Great Gatsby” Film by Baz Luhrmann The Great Gatsby is a film that stars Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Tom Buchanan, and the Southern Belle Daisy. The influence of the past comes out throughout the course of the film.
• The Great Gatsby All these characteristics of America during 1920 are evident and inherent in the main character, Jay Gatsby, in the novel The Great Gatsby. This is one of the themes in the novel The Great Gatsby.
• Novel Analysis: The Great Gatsby and Siddhartha Hesse’s Siddhartha seems complementary to The Great Gatsby as Brahman, the main role in Siddhartha, finds contentment in self-realization and not in money, sensuality, and love.
• Gatsby & Nick in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is a novel of vibrant characters, and paradox is one of the main themes of the book. Even though Daisy and Tom are married, Nick agrees to help Gatsby be with the […]
• ‘The Great Gatsby’: Tom and Blanche Like Tom, Blanche in the book of Street Car Named Desire, is loyal to her sister who is the only member of her family that we come across.
• Time as a Theme in The Great Gatsby The embodiment of these negative aspects comes in the form of Gatsby and his life, which in the end is seen as hollow and empty, just as the morals and values of the characters seen […]
• Architecture in “The Great Gatsby” by Fitzgerald From this perspective, the case of Gatsby’s mansion is a symbolic call for leaving behind the anachronistic ideas of aristocracy and embracing American ideals.
• “The Great Gatsby” by Baz Luhrmann The filmmakers never stop depicting Gatsby’s wealth and his otherness. He throws money around and he is a topic of heated debates in the society.
• ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Literature Comparison Stella is a devoted wife struggling to make her marriage work, even though her husband Stanley, subjects her to a lot of pain and suffering.
• The American Dream in The Great Gatsby After spending some time in this neighborhood, Nick finally attends Gatsby’s exuberant parties only to realize that Gatsby organizes these parties to impress Daisy, Nick’s cousin, and wife to Tom.
• Babylon Revisited & The Great Gatsby: Motifs & Themes When he pleads his case to the guardians of Honoria, his sister-in-law Marion, and her husband, he continually evades his escapades of the past and recounts his hard work and sincerity of the present.
• Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’, Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ and the American Dream “The America Dream’ is a longstanding common belief of the American population that in the United States, people are free to realize the full potential of their labor and their talents and every person in […]
• The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald Review Gatsby’s dream to become wealthy to gain Daisy’s attention “is simply believable and is still a common dream of the current time”. However, Gatsby is the story’s main character and is a “personification” of the […]
• Fertile Questions: “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald The two fertile questions arising from the novel are: what are political and economic impacts of the World War I? and what are the challenges faced by American students born from poor families post-World War […]
• Tom and George in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby At the same time, the motives of Tom and George’s behavior differ due to their backgrounds, origins, and belonging to different social classes.
• “The Great Gatsby”: The American Dream in the Jazz Age The Jazz Age is a period in the history of the United States of America from the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression due to the remarkable popularity of […]
• Women’s Role in “The Great Gatsby” by Fitzgerald Though the women in the novel are depicted as careless, treacherous, and selfish, the author uses them to underscore the power of the will to rebel against societal norms in pursuit of happiness.
• “The Great Gatsby Directed” by Baz Luhrmann This is due to the fact that the film is an indirect adaptation of Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald’s book “The Great Gatsby”.
• The Corrupted American Dream and Its Significance in “The Great Gatsby” The development of the American dream and its impact on the society of the United States is a pertinent topic of discussion for various authors.
• Jay Gatsby: The Great Fool or the Unfortunate Genius The main idea of the work is to show the unfairness of the fate of a poor young man who cannot marry the girl he loves.
• “The Great Gatsby” by Scott Fitzgerald Who will take care of the dead creatures seems not to be in Tom’s order of what to bother him and together with the wife is comfortable enjoying their wealth while the creatures are rotting […]
• Characters in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” and Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” The author presents challenges faced in the society as a result of the mixture racial and gender discrimination that a young black girl goes through in search of her dream and personal identity.
• Greene’s “Our Man in Havana” and “The Great Gatsby” by Fitzgerald It is imperative to realize that the purpose of the paper is not to carry out a critical analysis of the plays but to carry out a comparison of the attributes in which they relate […]
• What Money Cannot Buy: ‘The Great Gatsby’ Book by F. S. Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby is a book that unveils the instrumental role of the social aspect of life among people; which not only concentrates on the economic part of it.
• First-Person Narrative in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” Joyce’s “The Boarding House,” Bowen’s “The Demon Lover” In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Joyce’s short story “The Boarding House,” and the Scottish poem The Demon Lover, the first-person narrative is used differently to achieve the authors’ objectives and create a comprehensive picture of […]
• First-Person Narrative in Bowen’s ”The Demon Lover,” Updike’s ”A&P,” Fitzgerald’s ”The Great Gatsby” In this work, the unworked, repressed experience of the First World War is personified and embodied in the image of the ghost of a person who died in this war.
• “The Great Gatsby” by Fitzgerald: Betrayal, Romance, Social Politics and Feminism This work seeks to outline the role of women in the development of the plot of the book and in relation to the social issues affecting women in contemporary society.
• Jay Gatsby, Jean Valjean and Henry Fleming: The Compare and Contrast Analyses of the Characters The way the characters of the main protagonists are revealed in the novel is one of the most important things in every piece of literature.
• “The Great Gatsby” Novel by Francis Scott Fitzgerald However, what the reader should acknowledge is that the author manages to present a wholesome and clear image of the issues and occurrences that defined the United States throughout the 1920s.
• The Great Gatsby’ by Scott Fitzgerald Literature Analysis This is one of the details that can be identified. This is one of the issues that can be singled out.
• Political Satire in American Literature Scott Fitzgerald was one of the more famous satirists of the time, particularly in his production of the work The Great Gatsby.
• The Dilemmas of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is a story of a young man in the early twentieth century who seems to know what he wants in the way of that dream and what to do to achieve it.
• The Great Gatsby – Love, Wealth, and Illusion In the novel, the fictional village of West Egg is perhaps one of the key items that symbolize the life of the new millionaires in the city.
• Gatsby & Jean Valjean He is a mysterious person, and no one exactly knows his origins and the ways he used to acquire his fortune.
• The Ethicality of an Action Jay Gatsby As well, an action is “wrong” if it results in the opposite of happiness to the people. Mill’s utilitarian theory can be used to assess the ethically of Jay Gatsby’s action, as presented in the […]
• Francis Scott Fitzgerald & His American Dream In the novel “Tender is the Night,” Fitzgerald describes the society in Riviera where he and his family had moved to live after his misfortune of late inheritance.
• Jay Gatsby & Eponine From Les Miserables: Compare & Contrast Gatsby is the main character in the book “The Great Gatsby,” while Eponine is one of the characters in the book “Les Miserables”.
• Jay Gatsby & Gean Valjean: Characters Comparison This essay compares and contrasts the characters of Gatsby and Jean Valjean in the Les Miserable novels and films. Gatsby strikes the readers as a na ve and lovesick individual though his character is negative.
• Jay Gatsby and Valjean in ‘Les Miserables’: Comparative Valjean’s life contains a series of misfortunes in the sense that he has to hide his true identity. Most of the people in his life were there just for convenience and for the fact that […]
• The Idea of Love in The Great Gatsby and the Parallels or Contrasts That Can Be Drawn With the Presentation of Love in The Catcher in the Rye Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Jerome Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, it is possible to state that the notion of love is presented there similarly even though the texts are absolutely different and […]
• Fitzgerald’s American Dream in The Great Gatsby & Winter Dreams To my mind, Winter Dream is a perfect example of the American Dream, since the main hero, Dexter, implemented each point of it, he was persistent and very hard-working, he was a very sensible and […]
• What Are the Literary Devices Used to Create the Image of Jay Gatsby?
• Analyze How Fitzgerald Uses Imagery in the Great Gatsby
• What Do Colors Symbolize in the Great Gatsby?
• How Does Fitzgerald Use Geographical Setting to Show the Contrast Between Social Classes in the Novel?
• How Does Fitzgerald Convey a Notion of the American Dream Through Metaphors and Symbols?
• What Does the Green Light in Daisy’s Window Represent in the Great Gatsby?
• What Does the Valley of Ashes Symbolize in the Great Gatsby?
• What Role Does Nick Carraway’s Narration Play in the Story? If We Got It Through an Omniscient Third-Person Narrator, What Would We Gain or Lose?
• Could the Story Have Been Set in Other Places, Like Chicago or Los Angeles, or Were New York City and Long Island Absolutely Necessary?
• Look at the Novel’s Opening Lines. If We Accept Nick’s Advice When We Read the Story, Will Our Views of It Change? Or, in Other Words, Does Refraining From Criticism Promote Compassion?
• Is There a Hidden Meaning of the Title of the Great Gatsby? What Is It?
• How Is the Color White Used Within the Novel? When Does It Make a False Representation of Innocence? When Does It Truly Represent Innocence?
• What Is the Role of a New York Setting in the Novel’s Storyline?
• What Is the Real Meaning of ‘Great’ in the Title of the Great Gatsby?
• What Significance Do Colors Have in the Party’s Descriptions in Chapter 3?
• Elaborate on the Green Light as the Symbol of the American Dream
• What Is the Meaning of the Phrase “Can’t Repeat the Past?.. Why of Course You Can!” What Does Gatsby Really Want From Daisy?
• What Role Do the Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Play in the Great Gatsby?
• How Is the Great Gatsby a Satirical Representation of the Society?
• Are the Rich in the Novel Really So Careless as Everyone Believes Them to Be?
• Create an Alternative Ending for the Great Gatsby. Justify Your Choice
• What Is the Relationship Between Those Born Rich and Those Who Became Rich in the Novel?
• Discuss Female Characters and Their Significance in the Great Gatsby
• Compare Gatsby and Wilson. In What Ways Are They Similar?
• Who Is the Most Responsible for Gatsby’s Death? Why Is It So?
• Why Do Tom and Daisy Stay Together at the End of the Novel?
• Does Gatsby’s Money Bring Him Real Happiness?
• Can Jay’s Feelings for Daisy in the Great Gatsby Be Considered Love?
• How Do Secondary Characters Affect the Story?
• Who Is the Real Hero in the Great Gatsby?
• Can We Call Jay Gatsby a Romantic Hero or a Villain?
• What Does Jay Gatsby Really Live For in the Novel: the Present or the Past?
• Compare Myrtle and Daisy
• What Does Tom’s Quarrel With Myrtle in Chapter 2 Tell Us About His Personality?
• Elaborate on How Both Tom and Gatsby Want to Change Not Only the Future, but the Past in Chapter 7.
• What Was Gatsby’s Power of Dreaming Like? Was Daisy a Worth Object?
• Is Anyone to Blame for Gatsby’s Death?
• Are There Any Moral Characters in the Novel?
• Can Jordan and Daisy Be Considered Perfect Role Models for the Upper Class in America? Why or Why Not?
• Is Gatsby Really Great? In What Way? How Does His Greatness Evolve as the Plot Unfolds?
• How Does Nick’s Character Change over the Course of the Great Gatsby?
• Does Gatsby Deserve the Definition of a Self-Made Man? Why or Why Not?
• What Role Does Daisy Play in the Conflict Between Gatsby & Tom?
• Describe How F.S. Fitzgerald’s Life Experiences Influenced the Great Gatsby
• What Are the Central Themes in the Great Gatsby?
• What Roles Do Fidelity and Infidelity Play in Fitzgerald’s the Great Gatsby?
• What Importance Does Sex Have in the Story?
• What Role Does Alcohol Play in the Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald?
• Did Fitzgerald Really Criticize the Idea of the American Dream in the Great Gatsby?
• Does Love Play Have Any Importance in the Great Gatsby?
• What Role Does the Relationship Between Geography and Social Values Play in the Novel?
• What Is the Meaning of Time in the Great Gatsby?
• How Do the Aristocratic East Eggers, Tom and the Sloanes, Regard Gatsby in Chapter 6? How Is Their Contempt Connected to the Theme of Social Class in the Novel?
• Analyze the Great Gatsby Through the Prism of Feminist Theory
• How Are the Themes of Kindness and Compassion Presented in the Great Gatsby?
• Describe How the Theme of Ambition Is Presented in the Novel
• Elaborate on How Fitzgerald Contrasts Education and Experience in the Great Gatsby
• Make a Critical Comparison of the Novel With the 2013 Movie
• Make a Comparison of the Novel With the 1949 Movie
• Compare the Great Gatsby Movies of 1949 and 2013
• Compare and Contrast Two Classic American Novels: The Great Gatsbyand the Grapes of Wrath
• How Are Donald Trump and the Great Gatsby’s Tom Buchanan Alike?
• Compare Miller’s Death of a Salesman and the Great Gatsby
• What Other Fictional or Non-fictional Character From a Book or Movie Can Nick Carraway Be Compared To?
• Make a Critical Comparison of the Sun Also Rises and the Great Gatsby
• Compare the Great Gatsby With a Farewell to Arms
• Make a Comparison of Daisy From the Great Gatsby With Henrietta Bingham From Irresistible
• What Pop Stars of Nowadays Daisy Can Be Compared To?
• Macbeth vs. Jay Gatsby: Make a Character Comparison
• Why does Daisy cry about the shirts in chapter 5 of The Great Gatsby?
• What is Daisy’s opinion of Gatsby’s party in chapter 6?
• How does The Great Gatsby explore the ideas of illusion versus reality?
• How did Gatsby measure the success of his party in chapter 6?
• What is the true relationship between Daisy and Tom in The Great Gatsby?
• What does Gatsby tell Nick about himself and his past?
• What role do the first lines of The Great Gatsby play?
• What destroyed Gatsby’s dreams in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald?
• What is the cause of the problem between Jordan and Nick?
• Describe Daisy and Gatsby’s new relationship. What is it like?
• Why does Jordan want to leave the group from East Egg?
• What does Old Money vs. New Money mean in The Great Gatsby?
• Which excerpt from The Great Gatsby is the best example of foreshadowing?
• How does Fitzgerald represent the society of his time in thenovel? Would you like to live in the Jazz Era? Why or why not?
• How does Nick describe himself at the beginning of The Great Gatsby?
• How do we know that Myrtle Wilson is not an intellectual?
• Who does the narrator think Daisy is at the end of the story?
• What role does the book “The Rise of the Colored Empires” play in The Great Gatsby?
• How is America shown in The Great Gatsby? What values do the East and the West represent?
• Why did Gatsby fail to achieve the American Dream?
• How did F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby reflect the culture of the 1920s?
• Which excerpt from The Great Gatsby best indicates that Nick is not fully content with his life?
• What role does social class in The Great Gatsby play?
• What does Nick mean by the last line of The Great Gatsby?
• What are the main differences between The Great Gatsby book and movie?
• How does Fitzgerald provide a critical social history of Prohibition-Era America in his novel?
• How does Nick know Daisy and Tom in The Great Gatsby?
• What did Dan Cody do for Gatsby? What did Gatsby learn from him?
• How does Myrtle behave as the party progresses in chapter 2?
• Describe the meeting between Gatsby and Daisy in chapter 5. What was it like?
• How does The Great Gatsby reflect the Jazz Age?
• What were the rumors about Gatsby?
• What does The Great Gatsby’s ending mean?
• What part does social class play in The Great Gatsby?
• Why was young Gatsby drawn to Daisy?
• How does Nick describe Tom Buchanan in chapter 1?
• In The Great Gatsby, is Nick a reliable narrator?
• What is the main conflict in The Great Gatsby?
• How does Nick meet Gatsby for the first time?
• Why is Gatsby great?
• How women are portrayed in The Great Gatsby?
• Who killed Myrtle in The Great Gatsby?
• What was Jay Gatsby’s real name & background?
• How is Gatsby different from his guests?
• Who killed Gatsby and how did that happen?
• In chapter 7, why does Gatsby stop giving parties?
• Does money buy love in The Great Gatsby?
• What does “owl eyes” reveal about Gatsby’s books?
• What does Gatsby want from Daisy in chapter 6?
• How does the Narrator describe Gatsby?
• What is Gatsby doing when Nick first sees him?
• How did Gatsby get rich?
• Is The Great Gatsby about love or money?
• Why did Daisy marry Tom in The Great Gatsby?
• What role does Dan Cody’s yacht play in Great Gatsby?
• Who attended Gatsby’s funeral?
• What is the climax of The Great Gatsby?
• What is Gatsby’s real history?
• How is society shown in The Great Gatsby?
• What does “her voice is full of money” mean?
• Short Summary
• Summary (Chapter 1)
• Summary (Chapter 2)
• Summary (Chapter 3)
• Summary (Chapter 4)
• Summary (Chapter 5)
• Summary (Chapter 6)
• Summary (Chapter 7)
• Summary (Chapter 8)
• Summary (Chapter 9)
• Symbolism & Style
• Quotes Explained
• Questions & Answers
• F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Biography
• A Good Man Is Hard to Find Essay Ideas
• The Road Not Taken Topics
• The Yellow Wallpaper Ideas
• Their Eyes Were Watching God Ideas
• The Picture of Dorian Gray Questions
• Heart of Darkness Essay Ideas
• Jane Eyre Ideas
• The Old Man and the Sea Research Topics
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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The Great Gatsby: Social Settings Shaping Conflict and Resolution

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The Impact of Physical Setting on Conflict

Social setting and its impact on resolution.

Gatsby: A Reflection of Social Settings

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