Study Notes: The Great Gatsby

About the AuthorFrancis Scott Fitzgerald (1896 – 1940) grew up in New York City, attended a few private schools, and went to Princeton University. In 1917, Princeton put Fitzgerald on academic probation. He enlisted in the Army. On base in Alabama in 1918, he met and fell in love with Zelda Zayre, who refused to marry him unless he could support her. He returned to New York to pursue fame and fortune. The publication of his first novel, This Side of Paradise, in 1920, made Fitzgerald a literary star. He married Zelda one week later. In 1924, the couple moved to Paris, where Fitzgerald began work on The Great Gatsby. Though now considered his masterpiece, the novel sold only modestly. The Fitzgeralds returned to the United States in 1927. Fitzgerald published several more novels, including Tender is the Night (1933), but none matched the success of his first. Deep in debt because of their ritzy lifestyle, the Fitzgeralds began to spiral into alcoholism and mental illness. Fitzgerald died of a heart attack on 21 December 1940. Zelda died eight years later in a fire.

THE AMERICAN DREAMThe American Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, holds out the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The American Dream is an attitude of hope and faith that this ideal will be realised.

Ideals Behind the Concept The Reality of the DreamIt was based on conservative values and a strong sense of personal morality. America was seen as the land of opportunity for people of vision and courage.

A faster, more commercialised way of life emerged after World War I. Materialism and selfishness replaced many of the old values.

The pursuit of happiness was intended to be spiritual, as well as material.

Spiritual beliefs became corrupted by the pursuit of money, and the good life.

The energy, courage and vision of the pioneer were embodied in the American Dream.

The pioneers were also brash opportunists, who led rough-and-ready lives.

The American Dream.is an ideal. It is intended to be something to which one aspires.

An ideal can never be completely realised, and so the American Dream was doomed to fail.

The Great WarWorld War I (1914 – 1918), known as the Great War, had considerable impact on the America of the 1920s:ð The carnage on the battlefields of World War I gave rise to a 'live for today,

for tomorrow we die' philosophy. Both Nick Carraway and Gatsby served in the army during the war, and moved to the East Coast. In the face of possible death in battle, relationships develop quickly, and with heightened intensity, as in the Gatsby/Daisy story.

ð The 1920s in America were also known as the Jazz Age, a time of dancing, music, drinking and fun, reflected in Gatsby's parties. Many people migrated

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from the farming communities and the small towns of the Middle West to the East Coast, in search of fortune and the good life.

ð The war created social anonymity. Gatsby, a social nobody, is able to meet Daisy, a girl from a rich background, because he is in uniform.

ð The war changed the traditional role of women, many of whom – like Daisy and Jordan Baker – gained greater independence.

Organised Crime in AmericaThe prohibition laws of 1919 made it a crime to manufacture or sell liquor in America. This period – which came to be known as the Prohibition – gave rise to the development of a criminal underworld involved in bootlegging (the illegal manufacture, distribution and selling of liquor) and other criminal activities. Meyer Wolfsheim and Gatsby belong to this world. The corruption of government officials is shown when the traffic officer lets Gatsby off a speeding fine on his way to New York with Nick.

The rise of the “New Rich”Nick is involved in the selling of bonds, which enabled the man in the street to invest in stocks and shares. This created the “new money” of West Egg, which is despised by the 'old money' of East Egg. Tom Buchanan is an example of a man who has inherited enormous wealth. He despises Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, as Mr Nobody from Nowhere.

The values of the Middle West are contrasted with those of New York.The Middle West The East (New York)

In previous generations, the pioneers had gradually moved further west, and established an agricultural and industrial economy.

New York is a great, modern city, where the focus is on everything new and sophisticated – cars, technology, entertainment, and high society.

In the 1920s, agriculture in the Middle West was in a slump. Gatsby’s parents are unsuccessful farmers.

New York is booming, and fortunes are being made, legally and illegally. Gatsby is part of this boom.

After the war, Nick sees the Middle West as the ragged edge of the universe.

New York is exciting and alive, and Nick is initially fascinated by it.

People are more conservative. Nick finally rejects the East, and even Tom, ironically, calls on the old-fashioned values of family life in the showdown at the Plaza Hotel in New York.

People are shallow and materialistic. They are bored and spoiled. Gatsby is forgotten once he no longer hosts his extravagant parties.

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The basic Plotline

Characters in the Novel

Jay GatsbyGatsby is, of course, both the novel's title character and its protagonist. Gatsby is a mysterious, fantastically wealthy young man. Every Saturday, his garish Gothic mansion in West Egg serves as the site of extravagant parties, but no one knows where he comes from, what he does, or how he made his fortune. Later in the novel, we learn that his real name is James Gatz; he was born in North Dakota to an impoverished farming family. When he met Daisy while training to be an officer in Louisville, he fell in love with her. He worked briefly for a millionaire, and became acquainted with the people and customs of high society. Nick also learns that Gatsby made his fortune through criminal activity, as he was willing

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to do anything to gain the social position he thought necessary to win Daisy. This, coupled with his love of Daisy, inspired Gatsby to devote his life to the acquisition of wealth.

Nick CarrawayThe novel's narrator, Nick Carraway is a young man who comes from a well-to-do Minnesota family. After being educated at Yale and fighting in World War I, he travels to New York to learn the bond business. Honest, tolerant, and inclined to reserve judgment, Nick often serves as a confidant for those with troubling secrets. After moving to West Egg, a fictional area of Long Island that is home to the newly rich, Nick quickly befriends his next-door neighbour, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. As Daisy Buchanan’s cousin, he facilitates the rekindling

of the romance between her and Gatsby. Though he is honest, responsible, and fair-minded, Nick does share some of the flaws of the East Egg milieu. However, of all the novel's characters, he is the only one to recognize Gatsby's "greatness," – revealing himself as a young man of unusual sensitivity. The Great Gatsby is told entirely through Nick’s eyes; his thoughts and perceptions shape and colour the story.

Daisy BuchananBeautiful and mesmerizing, Daisy is the apex of sociability. Her privileged upbringing in Louisville has conditioned her to a particular lifestyle, which Tom, her husband, is able to provide her. She enraptures men, especially Gatsby, with her diaphanous nature and sultry voice. She is the object of Gatsby's desire, for good or ill, and represents women of an elite social class. Daisy is Nick's cousin, Tom's wife, and the woman that Gatsby loves. As a young woman in Louisville before the war, Daisy was courted by a number of officers, including Gatsby. She had promised to wait for Jay Gatsby until the end of the war. However, Daisy harbours a deep need to be loved, and

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when a wealthy, powerful young man named Tom Buchanan asked her to marry him, Daisy decided not to wait for Gatsby after all. Now a beautiful socialite, Daisy lives with Tom across from Gatsby in the fashionable East Egg district of Long Island. She is sardonic and somewhat cynical, and behaves superficially to mask her pain at her husband’s constant infidelity.

Tom BuchananTom comes from an old, immensely wealthy Chicago family and takes pride in his rough ways. Powerfully built and hailing from a socially solid old family, Tom is an arrogant, hypocritical bully. He commands attention through his boisterous and outspoken (even racist) behaviour. He leads a life of luxury in East Egg, playing polo, riding horses, and driving fast cars. His social attitudes are laced with racism and sexism, and he never even considers trying to live up to the moral standard he demands

from those around him. He is proud of his affairs and has had many since his marriage. He has no moral qualms about his own extramarital affair with Myrtle, but when he begins to suspect Daisy and Gatsby of having an affair, he becomes outraged and forces a confrontation.

Pammy Buchanan The toddler daughter of Tom and Daisy Buchanan: little mention is made of her and she represents the children of the Jazz Agers. She has very little parental contact, yet the reader is always vaguely aware of her presence.

Jordan Baker Daisy’s friend, a woman with whom Nick becomes romantically involved during the course of the novel. A competitive, professional golfer of questionable integrity, Jordan represents one of the “new women” of the 1920s – cynical, boyish, and self-centred. Jordan is the young, beautiful and single woman of wealth, admired by men wherever she goes. She dates Nick casually, but seems

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offended when he is the first man not to fall for her charms. Although she is savvy, she comes off as somewhat shallow in her approach to life.

Myrtle WilsonMyrtle serves as a representative of the lower class; her lifeless husband owns a run-down garage in the Valley of Ashes. Myrtle herself possesses a fierce vitality and desperately looks for a way to improve her situation. Unfortunately for her, she chooses Tom, who treats her as a mere object of his desire. Through her affair with Tom she gains entrance into the world of the elite, and the change in her personality is remarkable. She conducts a secret life with Tom, wherein she exhibits all the power and dominance she finds lacking in her

everyday life. She eventually suffers a tragic end at the hands of her lover's wife.

George Wilson Myrtle's unassuming husband, the lifeless, exhausted owner of a run-down auto shop and gas station at the edge of the Valley of Ashes. He seems trapped by his position in life but he loves and idealizes Myrtle. Eventually, he finds out about his wife's double life and his response to it helps drive her to her death. George is consumed with grief when Myrtle is killed. George is comparable to Gatsby in that both are dreamers and both are ruined by their unrequited love for women who love Tom. Wilson becomes Fitzgerald's way of expressing the despair prevalent in the seemingly trapped lower-middle class.

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CatherineSister of Myrtle Wilson who is aware of her sister's secret life and willing to partake of its benefits.

Michaelis George Wilson's restaurateur neighbour who comforts Wilson after Myrtle is killed. One of the few charitable people to be found in the novel.

Meyer Wolfshiem Gatsby's business associate and link to organized crime. A professional gambler, Wolfshiem is attributed with fixing the 1919 World Series. Before the events of the novel take place, Wolfshiem helped Gatsby to make his fortune bootlegging illegal liquor. His continued acquaintance with Gatsby suggests that Gatsby is still involved in illegal business.

Dan Cody Worldly mentor of Jay Gatsby. Cody took Gatsby under his wing when Gatsby was a young man and taught him much about living adventurously and pursuing dreams.

Henry C. Gatz Father of Jay Gatsby. Comes from the Midwest to bury his son. Gatz serves as a very tangible reminder of Gatsby's humble heritage and roots.

Owl EyesThe eccentric, bespectacled drunk whom Nick meets at the first party he attends at Gatsby’s mansion. Nick finds Owl Eyes looking through Gatsby’s library, astonished that the books are real.

Ewing Klipspringer Convivially known as Gatsby's "boarder." Klipspringer is a quintessential leech, a representative of the people who frequented Gatsby's parties. As soon as Gatsby dies, Klipspringer disappears – he does not attend the funeral, but he does call Nick about a pair of tennis shoes that he left at Gatsby’s mansion.

Analysis of most important characters

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Jay GatsbyThe title character of The Great Gatsby is a young man, around thirty years old, who rose from an impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota to become fabulously wealthy. However, he achieved this lofty goal by participating in organized crime, including distributing illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities. From his early youth, Gatsby despised poverty and longed for wealth and sophistication — he dropped out of St. Olaf’s College after only two weeks because he could not bear the janitorial job with which he was paying his tuition. Though Gatsby has always wanted to be rich, his main motivation in acquiring his fortune was his love for Daisy Buchanan, whom he met as a young military officer in Louisville before leaving to fight in World War I in 1917. Gatsby immediately fell in love with Daisy’s aura of luxury, grace, and charm, and lied to her about his own background in order to convince her that he was good enough for her. Daisy promised to wait for him when he left for the war, but married Tom Buchanan in 1919, while Gatsby was studying at Oxford after the war in an attempt to gain an education. From that moment on, Gatsby dedicated himself to winning Daisy back, and his acquisition of millions of dollars, his purchase of a gaudy mansion on West Egg, and his lavish weekly parties are all merely means to that end.Fitzgerald delays the introduction of most of this information until fairly late in the novel. Gatsby’s reputation precedes him—Gatsby himself does not appear in a speaking role until Chapter 3. Fitzgerald initially presents Gatsby as the aloof, enigmatic host of the unbelievably opulent parties thrown every week at his mansion. He appears surrounded by spectacular luxury, courted by powerful men and beautiful women. He is the subject of a whirlwind of gossip throughout New York and is already a kind of legendary celebrity before he is ever introduced to the reader. Fitzgerald propels the novel forward through the early chapters by shrouding Gatsby’s background and the source of his wealth in mystery (the reader learns about Gatsby’s childhood in Chapter 6 and receives definitive proof of his criminal dealings in Chapter 7). As a result, the reader’s first, distant impressions of Gatsby strike quite a different note from that of the lovesick, naive young man who emerges during the later part of the novel.Fitzgerald uses this technique of delayed character revelation to emphasize the theatrical quality of Gatsby’s approach to life, which is an important part of his personality. Gatsby has literally created his own character, even changing his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby to represent his reinvention of himself. As his relentless quest for Daisy demonstrates, Gatsby has an extraordinary ability to transform his hopes and dreams into reality; at the beginning of the novel, he appears to the reader just as he desires to appear to the world. This talent for self-invention is what gives Gatsby his quality of “greatness”: indeed, the title “The Great Gatsby” is reminiscent of billings for such vaudeville magicians as “The Great Houdini” and “The Great Blackstone,” suggesting that the persona of Jay Gatsby is a masterful illusion.

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As the novel progresses and Fitzgerald deconstructs Gatsby’s self-presentation, Gatsby reveals himself to be an innocent, hopeful young man who stakes everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dreams are unworthy of him. Gatsby invests Daisy with an idealistic perfection that she cannot possibly attain in reality and pursues her with a passionate zeal that blinds him to her limitations. His dream of her disintegrates, revealing the corruption that wealth causes and the unworthiness of the goal, much in the way Fitzgerald sees the American dream crumbling in the 1920s, as America’s powerful optimism, vitality, and individualism become subordinated to the amoral pursuit of wealth.

Gatsby is contrasted most consistently with Nick. Critics point out that the former, passionate and active, and the latter, sober and reflective, seem to represent two sides of Fitzgerald’s personality. Additionally, whereas Tom is a cold-hearted, aristocratic bully, Gatsby is a loyal and good-hearted man. Though his lifestyle and attitude differ greatly from those of George Wilson, Gatsby and Wilson share the fact that they both lose their love interest to Tom.

Nick CarrawayIf Gatsby represents one part of Fitzgerald’s personality, the flashy celebrity who pursued and glorified wealth in order to impress the woman he loved, then Nick represents another part: the quiet, reflective Midwesterner adrift in the lurid East. A young man (he turns thirty during the course of the novel) from Minnesota, Nick travels to New York in 1922 to learn the bond business. He lives in the West Egg district of Long Island, next door to Gatsby. Nick is also Daisy’s cousin, which enables him to observe and assist the resurgent love affair between Daisy and Gatsby. As a result of his relationship to these two characters, Nick is the perfect choice to narrate the novel, which functions as a personal memoir of his experiences with Gatsby in the summer of 1922.Nick is also well suited to narrating The Great Gatsby because of his temperament. As he tells the reader in Chapter 1, he is tolerant, open-minded, quiet, and a good listener, and, as a result, others tend to talk to him and tell him their secrets. Gatsby, in particular, comes to trust him and treat him as a confidant. Nick generally assumes a secondary role throughout the novel, preferring to describe and comment on events rather than dominate the action. Often, however, he functions as Fitzgerald’s voice, as in his extended meditation on time and the American dream at the end of Chapter 9.Insofar as Nick plays a role inside the narrative, he evidences a strongly mixed reaction to life on the East Coast, one that creates a powerful internal conflict that he does not resolve until the end of the book. On the one hand, Nick is attracted to the fast-paced, fun-driven lifestyle of New York. On the other hand, he finds that lifestyle grotesque and damaging. This inner conflict is symbolized throughout the book by Nick’s romantic affair with Jordan Baker. He is attracted

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to her vivacity and her sophistication just as he is repelled by her dishonesty and her lack of consideration for other people.Nick states that there is a “quality of distortion” to life in New York, and this lifestyle makes him lose his equilibrium, especially early in the novel, as when he gets drunk at Gatsby’s party in Chapter 2. After witnessing the unraveling of Gatsby’s dream and presiding over the appalling spectacle of Gatsby’s funeral, Nick realizes that the fast life of revelry on the East Coast is a cover for the terrifying moral emptiness that the valley of ashes symbolizes. Having gained the maturity that this insight demonstrates, he returns to Minnesota in search of a quieter life structured by more traditional moral values.

Daisy BuchananPartially based on Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, Daisy is a beautiful young woman from Louisville, Kentucky. She is Nick’s cousin and the object of Gatsby’s love. As a young debutante in Louisville, Daisy was extremely popular among the military officers stationed near her home, including Jay Gatsby. Gatsby lied about his background to Daisy, claiming to be from a wealthy family in order to convince her that he was worthy of her. Eventually, Gatsby won Daisy’s heart, and they made love before Gatsby left to fight in the war. Daisy promised to wait for Gatsby, but in 1919 she chose instead to marry Tom Buchanan, a young man from a solid, aristocratic family who could promise her a wealthy lifestyle and who had the support of her parents.After 1919, Gatsby dedicated himself to winning Daisy back, making her the single goal of all of his dreams and the main motivation behind his acquisition of immense wealth through criminal activity. To Gatsby, Daisy represents the paragon of perfection—she has the aura of charm, wealth, sophistication, grace, and aristocracy that he longed for as a child in North Dakota and that first attracted him to her. In reality, however, Daisy falls far short of Gatsby’s ideals. She is beautiful and charming, but also fickle, shallow, bored, and sardonic. Nick characterizes her as a careless person who smashes things up and then retreats behind her money. Daisy proves her real nature when she chooses Tom over Gatsby in Chapter 7, then allows Gatsby to take the blame for killing Myrtle Wilson even though she herself was driving the car. Finally, rather than attend Gatsby’s funeral, Daisy and Tom move away, leaving no forwarding address.Like Zelda Fitzgerald, Daisy is in love with money, ease, and material luxury. She is capable of affection (she seems genuinely fond of Nick and occasionally seems to love Gatsby sincerely), but not of sustained loyalty or care. She is indifferent even to her own infant daughter, never discussing her and treating her as an afterthought when she is introduced in Chapter 7. In Fitzgerald’s conception of America in the 1920s, Daisy represents the amoral values of the aristocratic East Egg set.

Themes in the novel

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Class & Society Three different social classes are portrayed in the novel: “old money” (Tom and Daisy Buchanan); “new money” (Gatsby); and a class that might be called “no money” (George and Myrtle Wilson). “Old money” families have fortunes dating from the 19th century or before, have built up powerful and influential social connections, and tend to hide their wealth and superiority behind a veneer of civility. The “new money” class made their fortunes in the 1920s boom and therefore have no social connections and tend to overcompensate for this lack with lavish displays of wealth.The Great Gatsby shows the newly developing class rivalry between “old” and “new” money in the struggle between Gatsby and Tom over Daisy. As usual, the “no money” class gets overlooked by the struggle at the top, leaving middle and lower class people like George Wilson forgotten or ignored.Class is an unusual theme for an American novel. It is more common to find references to it in European, especially British novels. However, the societies of East and West Egg are deeply divided by the difference between the noveau riche and the older moneyed families. Gatsby is aware of the existence of a class structure in America, as things stand, he is held at arm's length. Gatsby tries desperately to fake status, even buying British shirts and claiming to have attended Oxford in an attempt to justify his position in society. Ultimately, however, it is a class gulf that separates Gatsby and Daisy, and cements the latter in her relationship to her husband, who is from the same class as she is.

Questions about Society and Class1. In The Great Gatsby, does wealth alone decide which class a character belongs to?2. What are the various markings of the upper class in the novel? What distinguishes it

from the other classes?3. Is Gatsby in the same class as Wilson? If not, is he closer to Wilson's class, or to

Tom's? Where does Meyer Wolfsheim stand in all of this?4. Does Gatsby love Daisy, or does he love the lifestyle she represents? Is she only his

ticket to the upper classes? If so, does Gatsby realize this?

Questions about Wealth1. In The Great Gatsby, what role does wealth play in people's life expectations? Could

Gatsby have achieved his childhood goals without wealth? That is, did he really care about the money, or just about the things?

2. Does money bring happiness in The Great Gatsby, destroy happiness, or have no effect?

3. What does Gatsby mean when he says that Daisy's voice is "full of money?" Does he mean this negatively? Why does Nick agree with him? Does this comment say more about Daisy or Gatsby?

Gender RolesIn some respects, Fitzgerald writes about gender roles in a quite conservative manner. In his novel, men work to earn money for the maintenance of the women. Men are dominant

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over women, especially in the case of Tom, who asserts his physical strength to subdue them. The only hint of a role reversal is in the pair of Nick and Jordan. Jordan's androgynous name and cool, collected style masculinize her more than any other female character. However, in the end, Nick does exert his dominance over her by ending the relationship. The women in the novel are an interesting group, because they do not divide into the traditional groups of Mary Magdalene and Madonna figures, instead, none of them are pure. Myrtle is the most obviously sensual, but the fact that Jordan and Daisy wear white dresses only highlights their corruption.

Questions about Gender1. How does class affect the expectations for male and female behaviour?2. What is "work life" like for men of Tom's class, Nick's class, and George Wilson's

class?3. How do men treat women in The Great Gatsby? How does Tom treat his wife Daisy

and his mistress Myrtle? How does Nick treat Jordan? How does Gatsby treat Daisy? How does George Wilson treat his wife Myrtle? And how does the way that a man treats a woman comment on his character in this text?

4. How do women behave at Gatsby's parties? Is this behaviour "normal" or induced by alcohol?

5. Does Daisy represent the "ideal woman" of the upper class? Why or why not?6. What do women want from men in The Great Gatsby? Is it different for different

women? What do men want from women?

Questions about Marriage1. In The Great Gatsby, how common is infidelity? How common is fidelity?2. Do people marry the ones they love in The Great Gatsby, or do they love the ones

they're with? Or neither? Can people marry whomever they love? Why or why not?3. What are the advantages of marriage, if any? Do the disadvantages of being alone

outweigh the disadvantages of being married?

Questions about Love1. Is there a difference between love and romance in The Great Gatsby?2. Is love an expected part of marriage in The Great Gatsby? Why or why not?3. Are love and sex separated in The Great Gatsby?4. Is Gatsby's love for Daisy genuine? Does he love her, or his conception of her? What

about Tom – does he really love Daisy? And whom does Daisy really love, after all? Is it possible, as she said, that she loved both Tom and Gatsby at once?

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Past and Future Nick and Gatsby are continually troubled by time—the past haunts Gatsby and the future weighs down on Nick. When Nick tells Gatsby that you can’t repeat the past, Gatsby says “Why of course you can!” Gatsby has dedicated his entire life to recapturing a golden, perfect past with Daisy. Gatsby believes

that money can recreate the past. Fitzgerald describes Gatsby as “overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves.” But Gatsby mixes up “youth and mystery” with history; he thinks a single glorious month of love with Daisy can compete with the years and experiences she has shared with Tom. Just as “new money” is money without social connection, Gatsby’s connection to Daisy exists outside of history.Nick’s fear of the future foreshadows the economic bust that plunged the country into depression and ended the Roaring Twenties in 1929. The day Gatsby and Tom argue at the Plaza Hotel, Nick suddenly realizes that it’s his thirtieth birthday. He thinks of the new decade before him as a “portentous menacing road,” and clearly sees in the struggle between old and new money the end of an era and the destruction of both types of wealth.

Questions about the Past and the Future1. Nick Carraway says that the future is always receding in front of us, and that we're

forever beaten back towards the past. Is the future attainable in The Great Gatsby? 2. Nick tells Gatsby that "you can't repeat the past," but he insists at the end that we're

constantly "borne back" into it. Did he change his mind, or are these two different ways of saying the same thing?

3. Is the past remembered realistically? Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan alike think nostalgically about the past, but are they ever able to confront reality?

4. Is Gatsby driven by his memory of the past or his dream for the future? Is there a difference?

5. What are Nick's visions of his own future?

Honesty Honesty is does not seem to determine which characters are sympathetic and which are not in this novel in quite the same way that it does in others. Nick is able to admire Gatsby despite his knowledge of the man's illegal dealings and bootlegging. Ironically, it is the corrupt Daisy who takes pause at Gatsby's sordid past. Her indignation at his "dishonesty," however, is less moral than class-based. Her sense of why Gatsby should not behave in an immoral manner is based on what she expects from members of her milieu, rather than what she believes to be intrinsically right. The standards for honesty and morality seem to be dependent on class and gender in this novel. Tom finds his wife's infidelity intolerable, however, he does not hesitate to lie to her about his own affair.

Questions about Lies and Deceit

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1. At one point, Jordan claims that Nick deceived her. Is this true? Or was Jordan deceiving Nick? What kind of dishonesty is she talking about, anyway?

2. Nick briefly mentions that Tom discovered Daisy's deception very close to the time that Wilson discovered that of his own wife. How do these men each deal with the discovery? Does it make them seem more similar, or highlight their differences?

3. Nick assures us he is "one of the few honest people" he knows. How does this affect the way we read his story? Do we trust his narration?

4. Are Nick and Gatsby more similar than Nick would like to admit? Is it possible to see Nick and Gatsby as possessing the same fundamental characteristic of deception?

5. In the showdown scene at the Plaza, Daisy Buchanan is ultimately honest with her husband and Gatsby despite what she might lose. Why does she choose honesty?

The American Dream & DecayThe American Dream – that hard work can lead one from rags to riches – has been a core facet of American identity since its inception. Settlers came west to America from Europe seeking wealth and freedom. The pioneers headed west for the same reason. The Great Gatsby shows the tide turning east, as hordes flock to New York City seeking stock market fortunes. The Great Gatsby portrays this shift as a symbol of the American Dream’s corruption. It’s no longer a vision of building a life; it’s just about getting rich.Gatsby symbolizes both the corrupted Dream and the original uncorrupted Dream. He sees wealth as the solution to his problems, pursues money via shady schemes, and reinvents himself so much that he becomes hollow, disconnected from his past. Yet Gatsby’s corrupt dream of wealth is motivated by an incorruptible love for Daisy. Gatsby’s failure does not prove the folly of the American Dream—rather it proves the folly of short-cutting that dream by allowing corruption and materialism to prevail over hard work, integrity, and real love. And the dream of love that remains at Gatsby’s core condemns nearly every other character in the novel, all of whom are empty beyond just their lust for money.

Decay is a word that constantly comes up in The Great Gatsby, which is appropriate in a novel which centres on the death of the American Dream. Decay is most evident in the so-called "valley of ashes." With great virtuosity, Fitzgerald describes a barren wasteland which probably has little to do with the New York landscape and instead serves to comment on the downfall of American society. It seems that the American dream has been perverted, reversed. Gatsby lives in West Egg and Daisy in East Egg; therefore, Gatsby looks East with yearning, rather than West, the traditional direction of American frontier ambitions. Fitzgerald portrays the chauvinistic and racist Tom in a very negative light, clearly scoffing at his apocalyptic vision of the races intermarrying. Fitzgerald's implication seems to be that society has already decayed enough and requires no new twist.Questions about Visions of America

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1. Does Gatsby achieve the American Dream? If yes, when exactly can he say that he reaches it? If no, what prevents him from truly achieving it?

2. Do you agree with Fitzgerald's criticisms of American culture during the Jazz Age? Would you rather be living then, or are you happy in present-day America?

3. Would you rather live in East Egg or West Egg? The Northeast or the Midwest? Why?4. Nick leaves the East Coast, jaded by his experiences with Gatsby, the Buchanans,

Jordan Baker, etc. Do you think he'll remain cynical even in the Midwest, or will he leave his disgust in New York?

Religion It is interesting that Fitzgerald chooses to use some religious tropes in a novel that focuses on the American Dream, a concept which leaves no room for religion save for the doctrine of individualism. The most obvious is the image of the "valley of ashes," which exemplifies America's moral state during the "Roaring Twenties." This wasteland is presided over by the empty eyes of an advertisement. Fitzgerald strongly implies that these are the eyes of God. This equation of religion with advertising and material gain are made even more terrifying by the fact that the eyes see nothing and can help no one (for example, this "God" can do nothing to prevent Myrtle or Gatsby's deaths).

Questions about Religion1. What is the effect of the absence of religion or of God among the wealthy in The Great

Gatsby? What role does "God" play when he does show up?2. What do the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg have to do with God?3. What guides behavior in The Great Gatsby? Do characters have a concept of "sin,"

"morality," or "immorality"? 4. Are people governed by choice or by fate in The Great Gatsby?

World War IBecause The Great Gatsby is set in the Roaring Twenties, the topic of the Great War is unavoidable. The war was crucial to Gatsby's development, providing a brief period of social mobility which, Fitzgerald claims, quickly closed after the war. Gatsby only came into contact with a classy young debutante like Daisy as a result of the fact that he was a soldier and that no one could vouch for whether he was upper-class or not. The war provided him with further opportunities to see the world, and make some money in the service of a millionaire. Gatsby's opportunities closed up after the end of the war, however, when he found upon returning to America that the social structure there was every bit as rigid as it was in Europe. Unable to convince anyone that he is truly upper-class (although his participation in the war gave him some leeway about lying), Gatsby finds himself unable to break into East Egg society.Violence Violence is a key theme in The Great Gatsby, and is most embodied by the character of Tom. An ex-football player, he

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uses his immense physical strength to intimidate those around him. When Myrtle taunts him with his wife's name, he strikes her across the face. The other source of violence in the novel besides Tom are cars. A new commodity at the time that The Great Gatsby was published, Fitzgerald uses cars to symbolize the dangers of modernity and the dangers of wealth. The climax of the novel, the accident that kills Myrtle, is foreshadowed by the conversation between Nick and Jordan about how bad driving can cause explosive violence. The end of the novel, of course, consists of violence against Gatsby. The choice of handgun as a weapon suggests Gatsby's shady past, but it is symbolic that it is his love affair, not his business life, that kills Gatsby in the end.

Questions about Mortality1. Whose fault is it that Gatsby died? His own? Tom's? Daisy's? Wilson's?2. The characters in The Great Gatsby never explicitly discuss death or life after death.

Why do you suppose they neglect these topics? What does it say about them?3. What is the effect of Nick realizing he has turned thirty in the midst of Gatsby and

Tom's fight over Daisy?4. Speaking of, check out those times when Nick refers to his age. He later refers to his

being thirty with the jaded tone that he is "too old to lie" to himself. What is it about aging that bothers Nick so much?

5. Before Myrtle's death, Nick says that they "drove on toward death through the cooling twilight." Literally, this means they are driving toward the scene of Myrtle's death. But in what other ways are they driving toward death? Might they also be driving to Gatsby's impending death? Or to their own?

Symbolism in the novelThe Green LightSituated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from Gatsby’s West Egg lawn, the green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates it with Daisy, and in Chapter 1 he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal. Because Gatsby’s quest for Daisy is broadly associated with the American dream, the green light also symbolizes that more generalized ideal. In Chapter 9, Nick compares the green light to how America, rising out of the ocean, must have looked to early settlers of the new nation.The Valley of AshesFirst introduced in Chapter 2, the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. It represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth, as the rich indulge themselves with regard for nothing but their own pleasure. The valley of ashes also symbolizes the plight of the poor, like George Wilson, who live among the dirty ashes and lose their vitality as a result.The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg

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The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. They may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never makes this point explicitly. Instead, throughout the novel, Fitzgerald suggests that symbols only have meaning because characters instil them with meaning. The connection between the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and God exists only in George Wilson’s grief-stricken mind. This lack of concrete significance contributes to the unsettling nature of the image. Thus, the eyes also come to represent the essential meaninglessness of the world and the arbitrariness of the mental process by which people invest objects with meaning. Nick explores these ideas in Chapter 8, when he imagines Gatsby’s final thoughts as a depressed consideration of the emptiness of symbols and dreams.

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Chapter Questions

Chapter 11.1 Who is the narrator in the story? 1.2 What type of narrator is employed? 1.3 In what way is the narrator related to the Buchanans? 2. Read Nick's description of Tom Buchanan on p 6 – 7 and then state how you

think he feels about Tom, citing proof for your answer.3. By contrast, state how Nick feels about Daisy, after reading his description

of her on p 8 – 9. Why does he feel this way about her?4. What does the subject of the butler's nose tell us about the general nature

of their conversations and lives?5. Why is Daisy, “… pretty cynical about everything.”? (p 15)6. Tom's racism becomes evident in his interest in a book called The Rise of

the Coloured Empires (p 12). On p18 Daisy refers to her “white girlhood” and “the Nordic race”. What is she doing, and what does this show us about her attitude to her husband's opinions?

Chapter 21. Contrast the description of the area between West Egg and New York on p

20 with the descriptions of East and West Egg in chapter 1.2. Who is Dr T.J. Eckleburg?3. Comment on the change in Myrtle’s personality after she puts on the cream

chiffon dress (p 27).4. Why has Tom lied to Myrtle about Daisy being Catholic?5. What is ironic about Myrtle’s statement, “… he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe.”?

(p 31)6. Explain the paradox on p 32: “I was within and without, simultaneously

enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”

Chapter 31. What do the stories told about Gatsby (p 39 – 40) show us about the way

in which he is perceived?2. Comment on the ostentatious nature of Gatsby's parties. What do you think

he's trying to prove by hosting parties like this? 3. Who is Belasco, and why does the drunken man compare Gatsby to him (p

41)? 4. Why does Gatsby seem to be “… picking his words with care.”? (p 44)5. Why does Nick characterise Jordan as dishonest? (p 53) 6.1 Why doesn't Nick get involved with Jordan at this stage? 6.2 How does this influence his credibility as a narrator?

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Chapter 41. Why doesn't Nick believe Gatsby's story about his background? 2. Why does Gatsby always refer to Nick as “old sport”? 3. What do Meyer Wolfshiem’s cuff-links tell us about him (p 65)? 4.1 Describe the events that occurred the night before Daisy's wedding. 4.2 Why do you think Daisy was so upset? 5. After they were married, explain why was Daisy reluctant to let Tom out of

her sight? (p 70)6. Why can it be said that everything that Gatsby has done has been an

attempt to get close to Daisy?

Chapter 51. Why are Gatsby's words on page 77, “It's too late!” ironic? 2. Why is it significant that' Gatsby leans against the clock during his meeting

with Daisy? 3. Comment on the green light at the end of Daisy's dock and its importance to

Gatsby? 4. What does Fitzgerald mean when he writes: “There must have been

moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams – not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion.” on page 88?

Chapter 61. In what way does Gatsby reject his parents and become the epitome of the

self-made man? 2. Who is Don Cody? 3. Why does Daisy offer Tom her “little gold pencil” on page 97? Comment

on this gesture. 4. Even though Daisy didn't enjoy the party she defends Gatsby's guests to

Tom on p 99 Why? 5. What does Gatsby want Daisy to do in order for them to have a relationship? 6. Is there any truth in Gatsby's assertion that you can repeat the past (p

101)? Discuss.

Chapter 71. Why did Gatsby change his entire staff? 2. Why do you think Gatsby looks at Daisy and Tom's child with so much

surprise? 3. What is Tom referring to when he asks Nick and Jordan, “Did you see

that?” on p 111? 4. Why is Wilson in such a hurry to move West? 5. What is implied in the statement: “You must have gone there about the

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6. Why is Tom's objection to Daisy's affair with Gatsby so ironic? 7. Discuss Daisy's reactions during the encounter between Gatsby and Tom in

the hotel room. 8. Why does Tom insist that Daisy go home with Gatsby?9. Comment on the dramatic irony of Nick's words on p 124: “So we drove on

toward death through the cooling twilight.”10. Describe the accident that occurred outside Wilson's garage. 11. Who was driving the car which killed Myrtle? 12. What connection is Nick hinting at on p 133?13. Comment on the scene at the Buchanan's kitchen table on p 133. 14. Why is Gatsby lurking outside?

Chapter 81. Why won't Gatsby go away? 2. Judging by Gatsby description of Daisy on p 136 would you say that he was

in love with Daisy or the wealth that she represented? Validate your answer. 3. What do the words, “She wanted her life shaped now, immediately – and

the decision must be made by some force …” on p 139 tell us about Daisy?

4. Why has Gatsby, “… lost the old worn world,”? (p 149)5. Outline what happens to Gatsby and Wilson that afternoon and state why it

takes place.

Chapter 91. What does Slagle's telephone call confirm about Gatsby's business dealings? 2. What does Gatsby's schedule (p 159) indicate about him? 3. Why is it ironic that Gatz is one of the few to attend the funeral? 4. What had Tom told Wilson? Why? 5. Find evidence of Klipspringer's heartlessness and non-caring attitude. 6. What is Fitzgerald saying about human nature in the final two paragraphs of

the novel?

Sources:http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/http://www.shmoop.com/great-gatsby/http://www.gradesaver.com/the-great-gatsby/study-guide/http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-great-gatsby/

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