The Great Gatsby Overview and Analysis

The Great Gatsby Overview

• Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, considered a seminal text of the 20th century.
• Set in the summer of 1922 in New York, composed of 9 chapters, narrated by Nick Carraway, an unreliable narrator.
• The novel follows Nick's memories of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy man obsessed with winning back Daisy Buchanan, a married woman he loves.
• Gatsby throws lavish parties in an attempt to impress Daisy. The story unfolds as Gatsby's dreams are challenged by Daisy's husband, Tom Buchanan.
• Explores themes of the Roaring Twenties, The American Dream, class, and the struggle between the past and future.
• Captures the spirit, excitement, and violence of the "Jazz Age."
• Important symbols include: the green light, Dr. T.J. Eckleburg's eyes, the Valley of Ashes, the East vs. West divide, and Gatsby's mansion.

Literary Influences and the Modernist Period

• Fitzgerald was writing during the Modernist period, a time of rapid technological advancement and societal change.
• Despite this, his poetic writing suggests influence from the Romantic period.
• Some critics believe Fitzgerald was influenced by John Keats, specifically "Ode to a Nightingale," where the speaker is torn between the allure of death and the uncertainty of life.
• Fitzgerald's portrayal of Daisy echoes this theme. When Daisy sees a nightingale, she refers to it as "romantic," suggesting an "enchanted" feeling toward it.
• This moment is interrupted by the "shrill" sound of a telephone, seemingly representing modernity's interruption of nature's beauty.
• Fitzgerald also looked to T.S. Eliot, calling himself a "worshipper" of Eliot's poetry.

Key Characters

• Jay Gatsby: A self-made millionaire through illegal activities during Prohibition. Represents the "new money" of the Jazz Age, a tragic hero and devoted lover.
• Nick Carraway: The unreliable narrator who recounts Gatsby's story, describing himself as "one of the few honest people that [he has] ever known." He is Daisy's cousin and criticizes her and Tom's lifestyle. Represents a romantic critic of 1920s America.
• Daisy Buchanan: Gatsby's love interest, Nick's cousin, and Tom Buchanan's wife. She values material possessions and superficiality. Her loyalty to her unfaithful husband betrays Gatsby's hopes. Represents the lust for money and the corruption of society in the 1920s.
• Jordan Baker: Nick's love interest, but he later criticizes her as "incurably dishonest" for cheating in golf.
• Tom Buchanan: Daisy's husband and the antagonist of the story. He is a wealthy, misogynistic, racist, and violent man representing the "old money" class.
• Myrtle Wilson: Tom's mistress and George Wilson's wife. She desperately desires a better life but faces violence from her husband, indifference from Tom, and a fatal encounter with Gatsby's car. Represents the lower class trapped in poverty and exploitation.
• George Wilson: Myrtle's husband and owner of a garage in the Valley of Ashes. He loves his wife but turns violent after discovering her affair. His grief and anger drive him to instability.
• Meyer Wolfsheim: Gatsby's friend and business partner. He is a gambler involved in organized crime known for fixing the 1919 World Series.

Chapter 2: The Valley of Ashes and Gender Roles

• The "Valley of Ashes" depiction echoes the bleak, materialistic, and consumerist landscape portrayed in T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land," published in 1922, the same year as The Great Gatsby.
• This bleak "valley" symbolizes the people excluded from the Roaring Twenties' excesses.
• The "ashes" reference the "foul dust" that preyed on Gatsby, referencing his potential involvement in bootlegging.
• The "eyes" of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg looking down on the valley evokes Nietzsche's theory of "the death of God" and reflects the rise of media and advertising power.
• Gatsby's fascination with wealth highlights the shallow nature of both Gatsby himself and those who gossip about him.
• Gatsby's pursuit of the American Dream is corrupted by his need to reinvent himself to escape his past. James Gatz, his birth name, would not have achieved wealth because of his Jewish German heritage.
• Despite his success, he fails in his dream to win Daisy back. Her rejection confirms the corruption of the American Dream and makes her a symbol of it.

Key Quotes & Analysis

• "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."

• Contrasts "wheat" and "gardens", associated with life and nature, with "ashes," representing death. This highlights the destruction of beauty and the spread of immorality in 1920s America.

• The long list of ash-made objects emphasizes the scope of decay.

• Repetitive use of "and" (polysyndeton) slows the pace, emphasizing the drudgery of life in the valley.

• The "transcendent effort" depicts the men's struggle to simply exist, highlighting their crumbling state.

• "I want you to meet my girl"

• Tom's bold statement reveals his lack of regard for the consequences of introducing his mistress to Daisy's cousin. This highlights the double standards of the time. Men's mistresses are considered attractive, while women who take lovers face consequences like death (Myrtle) or isolation (Daisy).

• "She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her flesh sensuously as some women can [...] looking at him flush in the eye. Then she wet her lips..."

• Myrtle's seductive description highlights the desperation of lower-class women seeking to transcend their status through romantic relationships. This ultimately results in self-destruction, as shown by Tom's violence towards her and George's jealous rage.

• Myrtle's submissive nature reflects societal expectations of women, while Tom's behavior exemplifies male dominance.

• "'You see,' cried Catherine triumphantly. She lowered her voice again. 'It's really his wife that's keeping them apart. She's a Catholic and they don't believe in divorce.' Daisy was not a Catholic, and I was a little shocked at the elaborateness of the lie."

• Tom's "elaborateness of the lie" highlights his manipulative power and disregard for truth. This exposes his exploitation of the women in his life.

• Myrtle's obliviousness to her own exploitation further fuels sympathy for her character.