The Great Gatsby Flashcards

Flashcards covering the biography, plot, characters, themes and legacy of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

An author who 'made literary capital out of the dirty little secret in American culture that social class matters even—or especially— in a society that denies that it does.'

McQuillan Family

Irish immigrants who ran a successful grocery empire and provided wealth to F. Scott Fitzgerald's family.

Ginevra King

A wealthy socialite and the daughter of a successful stockbroker. Fitzgerald's breakup with her due to class differences inspired Jay Gatsby's longing for Daisy Buchanan.

Zelda Sayre

A Southern belle who exhibited the attitudes of the 'new woman' of the 1920s and became F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife.

This Side of Paradise

Fitzgerald's first novel, published in 1920, which brought him literary acclaim and financial success.

Max Perkins

An editor at Charles Scribner’s Sons who championed Fitzgerald’s writing and played a significant role in American literary history.

The Beautiful and Damned

Fitzgerald's second novel, which sold well but did not garner critical acclaim.

The Vegetable

A play written by Fitzgerald that bombed, leading him to continue writing short fiction to recover from debt.

Edouard Jozan

A young French airman with whom Zelda Fitzgerald had a flirtatious and potentially adulterous relationship.

The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald's third novel, which he intended to be a formally sophisticated and significant work of literature.

Trimalchio in West Egg

An early title that Fitzgerald considered for The Great Gatsby.

Ernest Hemingway

An American author and contemporary of Fitzgerald, who achieved greater critical acclaim during Fitzgerald’s lifetime.

Sheila Graham

A young journalist with whom Fitzgerald lived during his final years.

The Last Tycoon

An unfinished novel by Fitzgerald, published posthumously, that offers an incisive look at the movie industry.

Nick Carraway

The narrator of The Great Gatsby, an affluent Midwesterner who moves to the East Coast.

East Egg

The more fashionable and elite part of Long Island, home to old money and established wealth.

West Egg

A neighborhood in Long Island that is a poor imitation of the more elite neighborhood composed of new money.

Valley of Ashes

A desolate industrial region between West Egg and New York City, representing a space outside the glamor of the wealthy.

Doctor T. J. Eckleburg

A billboard in the valley of ashes advertising an eye doctor, symbolizing a loss of moral perspective in the pursuit of materialism.

Jay Gatsby (James Gatz)

A self-made millionaire who throws lavish parties in an attempt to win back his former love, Daisy Buchanan.

Meyer Wolfshiem

A Jewish gangster and business associate of Gatsby, modeled after Arnold Rothstein.

Dan Cody

A millionaire who took Gatsby under his wing and inspired him to pursue a life of wealth and success.

Daisy Buchanan (Fay)

Nick's cousin and the woman Gatsby longs to be with.

Tom Buchanan

Daisy's wealthy and arrogant husband, who is openly racist and has a mistress.

Jordan Baker

A famous golfer and friend of Daisy, and love interest of Nick, who is described as dishonest and cynical.

Myrtle Wilson

Tom's mistress, who lives in the valley of ashes and is killed by Daisy while driving Gatsby's car.

George Wilson

Myrtle’s husband, a mechanic who owns a garage in the valley of ashes, and who kills Gatsby before killing himself.

American Dream

The ideal of having the freedom to create any kind of life, and be anyone you want, in the United States.