The Great Gatsby Flashcards

Flashcards covering key aspects of 'The Great Gatsby' including plot, characters, themes, and symbols.

The Great Gatsby

A novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald published in 1925, characterized by tragedy, realism, modernism, and social satire.

Genre

Tragedy, Realism, Modernism, Social Satire

Plot Summary

Narrated by Nick Carraway, the story follows Jay Gatsby's attempt to rekindle a past love with Daisy Buchanan in the summer of 1922 on Long Island, ultimately ending in tragedy.

Setting of The Great Gatsby

Summer 1922, Long Island, New York

Significance of Opening Scene

Introduces Nick Carraway as the narrator, establishes the setting, and foreshadows themes of the American Dream, social mobility, and moral decay.

The Green Light

A symbol representing Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future, associated with Daisy - at the end of her dock

The Valley of Ashes

Represents the moral and social decay resulting from the uninhibited pursuit of wealth and the failure of the American Dream.

Significance of the Ending

Illustrates the failure of the American Dream and the moral decay of the wealthy, as Gatsby's dream ends in tragedy and the Buchanans face no consequences.

The Decline of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values, evidenced by cynicism, greed, and the empty pursuit of pleasure, with characters embodying these trends.

West Egg

Represents the newly rich, portrayed as vulgar, gaudy, and lacking social graces - Jay and Nick

East Egg

Represents the old aristocracy, possessing grace, taste, subtlety, and elegance - Tom and Daisy

Portrayal of Love and Marriage

Ideals of love and marriage are strained, depicted through loveless marriages based on convenience or advantage rather than actual love.

Jay Gatsby

Lives in a monstrously ornate mansion, wears a pink suit, drives a Rolls-Royce, and does not pick up on subtle social signals

Nick Carraway

Narrator/observer; moves in next to Jay; provides insight into the lives of the wealthy characters and serves as a moral compass throughout the story.

Tom

Buchanan, wealthy and aggressive, embodies old-money privilege and is married to Daisy. He engages in an affair with Myrtle Wilson, illustrating the moral decay of the wealthy.

George and Myrtle Wilson

Unions of convenience or advantage rather than actual love. Myrtle marries George because she thought he was a “gentleman” and hoped to raise her social status.

Nick and Jordan Baker

Their relationship has its moments of warmth and kindness, both parties generally seem lukewarm and emotionally distant

Gatsby and Daisy

Their relationship is marked by a passionate yet ultimately unattainable love, driven by Gatsby's desire to reclaim the past and Daisy's struggle between her feelings and social expectations.

Daisy and Myrtle

Myrtle is Daisy's husband's mistress, leading to a tragic confrontation when Daisy accidentally kills Myrtle with her car, while Gatsby is wrongly blamed for the incident. .

Tom and Daisy

Characterized by a facade of wealth and sophistication, masking underlying tensions and infidelities that ultimately reveal their emotional disconnect.

The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg

Represent the essential meaninglessness of the world and the arbitrariness of the mental process by which people invest objects with meaning.

Gold

symbolizing true wealth and privilege

Yellow

No matter how materially wealthy Gatsby is, his money is not generational, so he will never truly belong to the old money crowd of East Egg.

Somber Blue

Gatsby’s estate and the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg

Green

symbol of greed and envy, so it seems fitting that it is associated with Gatsby’s yearning for an ultra-wealthy society that will never accept him