The Great Gatsby Study Guide

Nick Carraway

Nick is the narrator of Gatsby's journey up until his death. He is an essential character to the moral and theme of the book.

Nick Carraway's origin

Nick is from the Midwest and fought in the Great War, aka WW1.

Daisy Buchanan

Daisy is Nick Carraway's cousin.

Nick Carraway as the moral compass

Nick was a loyal and kind friend to Gatsby until the very end, showing that his morality towards Gatsby was greater than greed.

Nick Carraway's role in coming-of-age theme

Nick is represented as a character of optimistic innocence, disillusionment, and moral awareness of the American Dream.

Nick Carraway's fascination

Nick becomes fascinated by Gatsby and his wealth, all while becoming disillusioned by the glamour and wealth of the people in the East.

Jay Gatsby's original name

Jay Gatsby's original name is James Gatz.

Jay Gatsby's wealth status

Jay Gatsby is considered new-money.

Jay Gatsby's obsession

Jay Gatsby is obsessed with Daisy Buchanan.

Jay Gatsby and the American Dream

Jay Gatsby embodies the idea of the American Dream to prove that starting from nothing can get you to success.

Jay Gatsby's name change

Gatsby legally changed his name when he was 17 to form a new identity and persona.

Jay Gatsby's wealth acquisition

Jay Gatsby got wealthy by bootlegging (selling illegal liquor) in his drugstore and other criminal activities.

Daisy Buchanan's marriage

Daisy Buchanan is married to Tom Buchanan.

Daisy Buchanan's symbolism

Daisy symbolizes the American upper class as she grew up rich, is described as elegant, and is socially powerful, but also shallow and careless.

Daisy Buchanan's voice

Nick characterizes her voice as 'full of money', symbolizing how Daisy's voice is alluringly dangerous, like money.

Daisy Buchanan's character traits

Daisy is both beautiful and charming, but shallow and selfish, using her beauty to get what she wants.

Daisy Buchanan's child

Daisy has one daughter, Pammy Buchanan.

Tom Buchanan's marriage

Tom Buchanan is married to Daisy Buchanan.

Tom Buchanan's wealth status

Tom Buchanan is considered old-money.

Tom Buchanan's personality traits

Tom is described as a strong man with a presence that demands attention, reflecting the theme that wealth and privilege can hide moral corruption.

Tom Buchanan's affair

Tom Buchanan is in an affair with Myrtle Wilson.

Myrtle Wilson's marriage

Myrtle Wilson is married to George Wilson.

Myrtle Wilson's affair motivation

Myrtle chooses to have an affair to escape her life and husband and explore the riches she usually can't have.

Myrtle Wilson's character traits

Myrtle is described as a curvy, sensuous woman with a lively, confident energy, but also vain and materialistic.

Myrtle Wilson's fate

Myrtle gets hit by Gatsby's car and dies.

Jordan Baker's representation

Jordan Baker represents an independent, modern, and socially bold 'new woman' who challenges traditional gender roles.

George Wilson's role

George Wilson is Myrtle Wilson's husband and owns a gas station and an auto repair shop.

George

Important character who goes crazy when Myrtle dies, kills Gatsby, and then himself.

Meyer Wolfsheim

A gambler known for fixing the 1919 World Series, highlighting Gatsby's shady business connections.

Illusion of the American Dream

The belief that money and success will bring happiness, often hiding emptiness and corruption.

East Egg

Home to 'old money' families who inherited their wealth, looking down on 'new money' residents of West Egg.

West Egg

Home to 'new money' people who earned their fortunes, representing a different view of the American Dream.

Valley of Ashes

Symbolizes moral and social decay, a gray place left behind by the rich chasing money.

Importance of the Valley of Ashes to the Wilsons

Symbolizes the Wilsons' poverty and abandoned dreams, with Myrtle seeing it as an escape and George as decay.

New York City

Symbolizes the fast-paced, vibrant Jazz Age, known for modernity and new trends.

Climax of the story in New York

The setting where Gatsby and Tom confront each other, and where Daisy reveals the truth.

Gatsby's Mansion

Symbolizes the hollowness of the upper class, being beautiful outside but empty inside.

Gatsby's attempt to win Daisy's love

His mansion symbolizes his efforts to impress Daisy, reflecting his loneliness despite wealth.

The American Dream

Gatsby's pursuit of wealth and status driven by the desire to win back Daisy.

Corruption of the American Dream

Gatsby's story illustrates how the ideal becomes corrupted through materialism and luxury.

Contrast between Gatsby's dream and 1920s America

Gatsby's pure vision of love collides with a world driven by greed and moral emptiness.

Social class differences

Reinforced by the rivalry between East Egg and West Egg, reflecting divisions within the upper class.

Moral decay

Symbolized by the Valley of Ashes, representing the consequences of greed.

Isolation in death

Gatsby's relationships are shown to be empty through Wolfsheim's refusal to attend the funeral.

Pursuit of the American Dream

East Egg sees it as preserving status, while West Egg views it as something to earn.

Jazz Age

Characterized by a fast-paced lifestyle and vibrant social scene in New York.

Gatsby's wealth

Represents the materialism that corrupts his original dream of love.

Abandoned dreams

Symbolized by the Valley of Ashes, reflecting the Wilsons' struggles.

Gatsby's idealized dream

A vision of love and success that contrasts with the reality of societal greed.

Empty relationships

Gatsby's wealth does not translate to meaningful connections, as shown by his funeral.

Greed's impact

The Valley of Ashes illustrates how the pursuit of wealth leads to social decay.

Ultimate hollowness of the dream

The novel portrays the ultimate hollowness of the dream by showing that, despite Gatsby's wealth and determination, his dream remains unfulfilled, leaving him isolated and exposing the emptiness behind his success.

Old money vs. new money

Old money simply refers to a status where people earned their money from hard work, while the new money status refers to people who recently inherited their riches.

Impact of class on relationships and fates

The novel shows how class shapes relationships and fates by revealing that old money and social status create barriers Gatsby can't overcome, ultimately determining who is accepted, who is rejected, and who survives.

Insurmountable divide between social classes

The novel highlights the insurmountable divide between social classes by showing that no matter how wealthy Gatsby becomes, he can never truly belong to Daisy's old-money world.

Wealth influences behavior and morality

Money drives people to greed and selfishness. It tears apart relationships and causes people to lose their morality.

Gatsby's attempt to recreate his past with Daisy

Gatsby attempts to win back Daisy and recreate his past with her by becoming rich. He makes money the dirty way by bootlegging. Despite his hard work, Daisy still does not marry him in the end, symbolizing how dirty work is not honest and will get you nowhere.

Consequences of living in the past

Living in the past can affect your present day and future life. It can cause self-hatred, constant regret, and distorted perceptions of what could've been. It's bad for mental health. By living in the past, Gatsby never moved on from Daisy. This causes Gatsby to stay in constant regret and shame, promising to make a comeback, but he never had a family or married someone else like Daisy did.

Impossibility of reliving or changing the past

Gatsby believes he can recreate his and Daisy's past love. His delusions of reliving and changing the past with Daisy cause heartbreak for him in the end when he realizes Daisy has moved on, while he hasn't.

Nick's reflection on the past at the end of the novel

At the end of the novel, Nick compares boat currents to people's reflections on the past. Boats during a strong current struggle to pull back from the ocean and try to fight it, but only struggle harder. This is what Gatsby and most people do to put up with the past and the future.

Corrupting influence of wealth on morality

People's wealth corrupts their morals, making them selfish, greedy, and willing to do anything to keep their money and make more in the process.

Emptiness behind the glamorous facade of the rich

Behind all of the wealth, people are just greedy and lonely. They crave attention, love, and relationships. Having money helps bring all of those desires; it helps with the loneliness and emptiness they feel. Despite being rich, Gatsby's mansion was always empty. No one loved him, just his money and parties.

Pursuit of wealth as a driving force for characters

Money drives people to do things they'd never thought possible. Money drove Gatsby to illegally sell liquor and win back Daisy. Since Daisy was born into a wealthy family, Gatsby wanted to provide for her by having riches and everything she desired. Money drove Gatsby to incredible lengths to win his girl back.

Critique of the excessive materialism of the Roaring Twenties

The novel points out how, during the Roaring Twenties, people got so caught up in chasing money and showing off that they lost sight of what really matters, ending up feeling empty inside. It even ended up killing Gatsby.

Gatsby's created persona vs. his true self

Gatsby's created persona shows a confident, strident, and flashy man who has it all, but really, Gatsby is a vulnerable, yet hopeful man who dreams of love.

The gap between characters' perceptions and reality

The characters in this novel have different perceptions on how they see themselves and others versus how the world sees them, leading to deception, heartbreak, and misunderstandings.

The facade of the upper class hides moral bankruptcy

The upper class in the novel presents themselves as classy and proper, but underneath, they are morally selfish and lack basic manners and values.

The Green Light

Represents Gatsby's hopes and dreams and symbolizes the unattainable nature of the American Dream, located at the end of Daisy's dock.

The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg

A billboard in the Valley of Ashes that symbolizes absent moral oversight in society and is often interpreted as the eyes of God watching over a morally bankrupt world.

Weather as symbolism

Heat symbolizes tension, rain symbolizes rebirth and cleansing, and fog represents confusion and uncertainty.

Colors in symbolism

Green represents hope and the future, white represents false innocence, yellow/gold represents wealth and corruption, and grey represents lifelessness and moral decay.

The Valley of Ashes

Symbolizes the moral and social decay beneath the beautiful facade of the Roaring Twenties and represents the plight of the poor in contrast to the wealthy.

Nick moves to West Egg

Nick rents a house next to Gatsby's mansion in West Egg and reconnects with Daisy and Tom in East Egg.

Gatsby and Daisy's reunion

Gatsby nervously invites Daisy to his mansion for tea, leading to an awkward initial meeting that soon rekindles their emotional connection.

Affair between Gatsby and Daisy

Gatsby and Daisy begin secretly seeing each other again, rekindling past feelings complicated by Daisy's marriage to Tom.

Confrontation in the Plaza Hotel

Tom confronts Gatsby about his relationship with Daisy, leading to rising tensions and exposing cracks in their relationships.

Car accident and Myrtle's death

Daisy, driving Gatsby's car, accidentally hits and kills Myrtle Wilson, setting off a chain of tragic events.

Gatsby's murder and sparse funeral

George Wilson kills Gatsby, believing he was responsible for Myrtle's death, and Gatsby dies alone with very few attendees at his funeral.

Nick's disillusionment with the East

Nick becomes tired of the East's shallow lifestyle and decides to leave, rejecting the empty glamour of the East.

First-person narration

Nick serves as an unreliable narrator, leading to a skewed perspective of the events.

Nick's view of rich people

Changes in the end because he realizes that the wealthy are fake and selfish, lacking morality.

Importance of experiencing events through Nick's eyes

Nick grew up in the middle class, allowing him to view the rich lifestyle without bias.

Flashbacks

Major events revealed through flashbacks include Gatsby's past, background, meeting Dan Cody, Daisy's marriage to Tom, Tom's affairs, the night before Daisy's wedding, and Gatsby's military service.

Foreshadowing

Hints at future events, creating tension and anticipation.

Car accident foreshadowing

In Chapter 3, Nick sees a car in a ditch, foreshadowing Myrtle's death.

Jordan's near accident

In Chapter 3, Jordan nearly runs someone over, foreshadowing Daisy and Gatsby running over Myrtle.

Gatsby reaching for the green light

When Nick first meets Gatsby, it foreshadows Gatsby's unexpected and sudden death.

The Roaring Twenties

Post-World War I economic boom with changing social norms and values, and rise of consumer culture.

Prohibition

Illegal production and sale of alcohol from 1920-1933, connected to organized crime and bootlegging.

The Jazz Age

Characterized by new music and dance styles, changing roles for women, and increased social freedom.

Technological advancements

Automobiles, telephones, and radio changed communication and play roles in the novel's plot.

Key Quote: 'So we beat on, boats against the current…'

Symbolizes the struggle against the past and fits the theme of letting go and living in the present.

Key Quote: 'Gatsby believed in the green light…'

Symbolizes Gatsby's hopes for a future with Daisy and the unattainable nature of the American Dream.

Key Quote: 'Her voice is full of money.'

Describes Daisy's voice as beautiful yet indicative of her greed and fakeness.

Key Quote: 'Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!'

Shows Gatsby's refusal to accept reality and his belief in the possibility of rekindling past love.

Key Quote: 'They were careless people, Tom and Daisy…'

Summarizes Tom and Daisy's lack of morality and their belief that wealth absolves them of consequences.