Knowt
The Great Gatsby (copy)
Colors:
Blue:
Welcoming and letting people in.
Shows honor/royalty/hope.
Yellow:
Represents death and disease.
Gray:
Lavender:
White:
Represents purity.
Cream:
Off white, something that is trying to disguise itself as purity but is not.
Symbols:
Doctor TJ Eckleberg:
A billboard present that faces Tom and Myrtle’s apartment almost as if it’s watching them.
He has yellow glasses that represent death and disease.
Eyes:
How people’s eye color represents different things and how people are always watching.
Major Characters:
Jordan Baker:
She is very dishonest and eavesdrops on her friends. She lies to maintain her perfect outward image for herself. Wants to be on a high social level along with the rich like Gatsby.
She’s a famous golfer yet cheated her way through to earn her fame.
Gatsby:
A very mysterious and well-kept neighbor of Nick who has a large amount of wealth. He holds large parties at his house almost every day.
He has a rare smile of reassurance and has a strong impression on people. (“An elegant young redneck”) - Seems like a pretty ordinary guy on the outside.
A very ridiculous but also a very careful speaker. He does not drink or participate in his parties.
Is obsessed with Daisy and their past relationship together.
Nick:
The narrator of the story and Gatsby’s neighbor.
Very observant of situations yet tries not to judge people too much.
He’s not always the smartest and sometimes oblivious.
Daisy:
She’s the Wife of Tom and has a little girl with him.
She knows about Tom’s mistress but doesn’t fully acknowledge it in public.
She isn’t afraid to talk back to Tom and is the opposite of Myrtle.
Had a previous relationship with Jay Gatsby 5 years earlier.
Tom:
He’s very racist, and abusive and has very assertive and dominant ideas. He’s very controlling of Myrtle.
He talks down on others and Nick says that he is very unlikable.
He lets others know how wealthy he is, isn’t afraid to hide his mistress Myrtle Wilson from others, and even enjoys showing her off.
Unlike Daisy, he’s very abusive towards Myrtle as she is easily replaceable.
Myrtle (Ms. Wilson)
Tom has almost total control of Myrtle because everything she has is from Tom and she shares his wealth.
She is Tom’s mistress and the complete opposite of Tom’s wife Daisy.
She is not able to talk back to Tom, unlike Daisy.
Has a husband who owns a gas station and garage in the Valley of Ashes and is poor.
Chapter 3:
Gatsby’s “Little” Party:
Lots of guests didn’t actually know Gatsby and sort of just showed up. They also had a lot of doubts about Gatsby’s true identity and spread rumors about him.
There was lots of alcohol yet it was during the prohibition time period which made it illegal to have alcohol. This implies that Gatsby has connections to the smuggling of alcohol and illegal activities.
Gatsby has his own live orchestra present for live music.
Large buffets of endless food.
His parties had endless supplies and he was somehow able to keep things going by having a party every weekend.
“Owl Eyes,” the man in the library:
Doubts Gatsby and spreads/feeds into rumors about him. He is skeptical of Gatsby’s books in his library but is surprised to find out that all his books are real.
He is a symbol of how everyone has different perceptions of Gatsby yet all his positions and personas are real. He also says that looking too close could cause everything to fall apart.
Owls are considered wise so what this man is saying is very important.
Nick’s first encounter with Gatsby:
Nick does not realize he is talking to Gatsby at first until finally, Gatsby reveals himself to Nick very calmly and neutrally.
Gatsby doesn’t seem like some crazy great and high-up figure but more of a normal guy who happens to be filthy rich.
Nick breaking the 4th wall:
Nick explains that he has more important things in his life than Gatsby and also has an interest in Jordan Baker.
He explains that all the parties from Chapters 1, 2, and 3 were very insignificant in his social life and weren’t the only things in his life.
He works a lot and had a short affair with a girl in Jersey City. He technically has a girlfriend but seems to ghost a lot of girls he’s with and never breaks it off.
He eats dinner alone, stalks women secretly after work, and makes imaginary fantasies in his mind about them.
Nick’s message at the end of the chapter:
Very indecisive in relationships and leads on the girl at home even though he doesn’t fully love her.
He is trying to lie to himself that he is not a judging person when he truly is.
Chapter 4:
Gatsby’s backstory:
Nick is very skeptical about the backstory that Gatsby tells him.
Everyone explains Gatsby’s backstory in a slightly different way. Some parts are similar but others are very different.
Chapter 5:
Before their meeting:
Every light in Gatsby’s house was on as Gatsby was going through his house to make sure everything was ready before Daisy came over.
Gatsby sends someone over to cut Nick’s grass and a greenhouse worth of flowers to make his house more presentable for Daisy.
Gatsby is obsessed with all of the preparations and almost makes Nick’s house more like his to help make himself look better on a first impression, but everything seems over the top.
Gatsby wore a white suit to match Diasy with a silver and gold tie to show and symbolize his wealth.
Gatsby was pale, sleepless, and extremely nervous about the meeting. He tries to leave before it’s time for Daisy to arrive. This also symbolizes that Gatsby is too late in life as Daisy is already married to Tom.
Gatsby still hasn’t seemed to move on from Daisy for the past 5 years and only has fantasies about what might happen.
Nick’s House:
It rained when Daisy first arrived to show how things started rough but as the chapter moves on the rain starts to stop to show things are going smoother.
Gatsby goes into panic mode and last second, instead of waiting in the room, decides to show up at the door after Daisy arrives. Instead of being dry and clean he becomes soaked in the rain.
Gatsby is nervous and robotic, their initial conversations are filled with fake emotions and awkward silence. Gatsby tries to act calm but it does not show.
Daisy does not seem happy to see Gatsby as her tone is artificial and her expressions seem frightened and unhappy. Daisy has moved on while Gatsby is obsessed with her.
When Nick leaves and returns, Gatsby and Daisy are in very different spirits and most of the awkwardness is gone.
Gatsby’s house:
Things did not go as perfectly as planned but still, some things go his way.
Gatsby had romanticized their meeting before and there was some disappointment in his happiness because Gatsby had romanticised about her for so long.
While Gatsby was a little disappointed, he still was able to have the best-case scenario.
Gatsby shows Daisy his “scrapbook” of her and for some reason, Daisy does not seem upset about it.
Chapter 7:
Gatsby’s new servants
Gatsby fired all his servants and the rumor is that they weren’t servants at all. They are somehow related to Wolfshein and the old servants were thrown out because they gossip too much. Gatsby is the face of Wolfshein’s operation and his lifestyle is his job. Nothing of Gatsby’s is Gatsby’s and everything that is “his” is Wolfsheins. The new servants are there to babysit Gatsby because he is always off track dealing with things like Daisy.
Weather
The weather is very hot and everyone is mad at each other because of it. It symbolizes the building tension and anger between all of them mostly Tom and Gatsby. It is the hottest day of the summer. Gatsby wants Daisy to make a decision and Tom and Gatsby are feeding with each other over Daisy. Jordan is there for the Gossip and Nick knows about everything and is caught in the middle. End of summer and getting close to fall which symbolizes upcoming change.
Daisy and Tom’s child
Gatsby is surprised to see that Daisy has a child with Tom. Their kid is more of a fashion accessory than a kid. She dresses up like Daisy to be shown off and is taken care of by nurses instead of Tom and Daisy. Gatsby did not fully believe that Daisy had a child until now.
Tom’s discovery
Tom starts to realize that Daisy has an interest in Gatsby and she is not trying to hide it. Tom is also losing Myrtle as she is moving away soon out west. Both his mistress and wife are starting to leave him at the exact same time. Tom does not believe that Daisy would do something like this and is shocked to find out.
“Daisy’s mouth is full of money,”
Gatsby explains to Nick that her mouth is full of money. This basically means that she is a golddigger which is flattering to Gatsby because he likes to be known as the man with all of the money.
Car arrangements
On the way to New York City, Nick, Jordan, and Tom all ride together in Gatsby’s car. Daisy and Gatsby are in Tom’s car together. This is important at the end of the chapter because Myrtle runs in the street because she thinks that Tom is driving the same car as he was earlier when it was actually Gatsby.
Eyes
Doctore TJ Eckleburg makes an appearance again in the Valley of Ashes. Tom also discovers Gatsboy and Daisy’s relationship because of the way that they look at each other. The doctor’s eyes are faded blue which represents lost hope and he wears yellow glasses which represent death and destruction.
Chapter 8:
This is the actual point in Time when Nick finds out about Gatsby’s backstory from Gatsby himself.
Daisy was the first ‘nice’ girl that Gatsby had known. ‘nice’ being that she was a whore and many men had already loved and been with her. He wants Daisy to be able to claim her and be able to get this girl that everybody else wants.
Gatsby’s original intentions with Daisy were to hook up with Daisy to get in and out before someone found out who he was.
After hooking up, Gatsby realized he wanted more of Daisy and that’s when his obsession with Daisy began. For Daisy, however, Gatsby was just another man to hook up with.
It did not take long for Daisy to move on for Gatsby quickly after he went to the war. She went back to having almost half a dozen dates a day and then decided to get married and quickly married Tom Buchanan. Nick shows Daisy as a victimizer and Gatsby as the victim to show that he wants you to change your perception of Gatsby again to like him.
Daisy was the one to turn Gatsby corrupted and confused as his original dream was the American Dream and to turn his life around for the better until Daisy messed with his mind.
Gatsby’s death
Gatsby was shot in the back by Mr. Wilson while lying on an air mattress in his pool. Gatsby was “stabbed in the back” as he did nothing wrong. Myrtle is Tom’s mistress and Daisy was the one who hit Myrtle in the first place with the car. Gatsby is liberated by the water “like a baptism” as he no longer has to play a part in life as he is now dead and doesn’t have to pick an image. Nick trys to change Gatsby’s image by showing how he is the victim in the story.
The innocent people (Gatsby, Mr. Wilson, and Myrtle Wilson (kinda)) are the ones who end up dead while Tom, Jordan, and Daisy go away free.
Chapter 9:
Funeral
It was sad and ironic how no one came to Gatsby’s funeral. It’s ironic as Gatsby held parties for hundreds of people for years, but when he dies, no one comes to his funeral. The only people that showed up were Owl Eyes, Nick, and Gatsby’s dad.
This foreshadows Scott Fitzgerald’s life as very few attended his funeral. Not even his wife Zelda showed up to his.
Nick has to call and even visit Wolfsheim to finally get his attention but Wolfsheim does not show up to Gatsby’s funeral. Wolfsheim is afraid of being seen as suspicious for attending Gatsby’s funeral.
Nick didn’t like Gatsby while he was alive but now he seems to consider Gatsby as a close friend. Nick feels guilty for watching everything unfold while not taking action. Nick could’ve stopped the whole thing but he didn’t.
Tom and Daisy are living their best lives while Nick is left to pick up the pieces.
The green light symbolizes Gatsby wanted and dreaming of a future with Daisy that will never come true.
No one was good to Gatsby, not even Nick until Gatsby was dead.
Gatsby’s true dream was to become rich, and important, and to change the world for the better. Daisy symbolizes the wealth that he wants but when Gatsby finally kisses Daisy, he gives up that dream. Gatsby trying to get back with Daisy is trying to turn back into the man he once was. Even if Daisy did fall for Gatsby, he would be unable to change as he is still stuck in the bootlegging business.