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Kathmandu University School of Management

Balkumari, Lalitpur

"The Great Gatsby"

Book review

Submitted by:
Jiya Tamrakar
BBA 1st year, 2nd Semester
Group E, 207108

Submitted to:
Bharat Prasad Neupane
English faculty
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Contents
Introduction to the writer.............................................................................................................................3
Context and Setting.....................................................................................................................................4
Character Sketch.........................................................................................................................................4
Jay Gatsby................................................................................................................................................4
Nick Carraway..........................................................................................................................................5
Daisy Buchanan.......................................................................................................................................5
Tom Buchanan.........................................................................................................................................5
Jordan Baker............................................................................................................................................5
Myrtle Wilson..........................................................................................................................................6
George Wilson.........................................................................................................................................6
Summary.....................................................................................................................................................6
Theme.........................................................................................................................................................8
Love and Marriage...................................................................................................................................8
Class.........................................................................................................................................................8
The American Dream...............................................................................................................................8
Tragedy....................................................................................................................................................8
Realism....................................................................................................................................................8
Symbols.......................................................................................................................................................9
The Green Light.......................................................................................................................................9
Valley of ashes.........................................................................................................................................9
The eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg.............................................................................................................9
Daisy........................................................................................................................................................9
Gatsby's Mansion....................................................................................................................................9
References...................................................................................................................................................9
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Introduction to the writer

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald born on September 24 1896 A.D, Saint Paul, Minnesota United
states. He was the only son of an unsuccessful, aristocratic father and an energetic, provincial
mother. He is best known as a Novelist, essayist, Screenwriter and short story writer. Fitzgerald
is famous for his depictions of the Jazz age.
Fitzgerald had a typically ambivalent American feelings regarding the American life, which
seemed vulgar as well as promising, he also had an interest in the romantic imagination.
American novelist tried hard not to become for popular until at Princeton University he came
close to realize about his brilliant dream as he became a prominent figure in the literary life of
the university. He became a leading figure and dedicated himself to honing his craft as a writer,
writing scripts for Princeton's famous triangle club musicals as well as frequent articled for the
Princeton Tiger magazine and storied for the Nassau Literary Magazine. He dropped out of the
school in November 1917 and got deployed to join the U.S army.
While he was stationed near Montgomery, Alabama he met Zelda Sayre, the daughter of an
Alabama Supreme Court judge. They fell in love and they both headed to New York determined
to achieve success and to marry Zelda. They got married at spring of 1920. Their marriage was
not much of a happy and prosperous ride, it became a failure and his despair towards Zelda
started to grow and soon afterwards he became an alcoholic. By 1937, he had come back far
enough to become a scriptwriter in Hollywood and there he met ad Sheilah Graham and fell in
love again and for rest of his life he stayed with her quietly.
He was turned into country's promising young writers overnight with his book "The side of
Paradise" in 1920 at the age of 24, with his extravagant lifestyle he earned the reputation of the
playboy and hindered his reputation as a serious literary writer. Alongside, the books like "The
beautiful and damned" in 1922, He said," It was an age of satire. After that, he published "The
great Gatsby" in 1925 which is one of his greatest writing creation that is pre-eminent to reading
to all generations to generations. Even though, it was one of the greatest creation the book didn’t
received the fame until 1950s, long after the death of Fitzgeland.it was regarded as the definitive
portrait of "roaring twenties" as well as one of the greatest American Novel ever written.
Furthermore, he published "Tender Is the Night" in 1934 and "The Love of the Last Tycoon"
started at 1939 and couldn’t complete it.
The love of the last tycoon was his final attempt to create his dream of the promises of American
life and of the man who could realize them. In the intensity which it was imagines he died of
heart attack with his Novel half-finished at the age of 44 on December 21, 1940 A.D
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Context and Setting

Set on the prosperous Long Island in 1922, The Great Gatsby provides a critical and social
history of American Jazz era. This era is known for its music, economic prosperity, flapper
culture, libertine mores and rebellious youth. The great Gatsby vividly capture its historical
moment: the economic boom of America. Story narrating by Nick Carraway who is fascinated
by the way of living of his mysterious neighbor and gradually gets to know the life of the rich
people and story of his only neighbor. The story tells us about the era in which unrestrained
materialism set the tone of the society as how Gatsby used to throw a lavish party and the age to
the moral emptiness and hypocrisy beneath. As Fitzgerald later remarked in an essay about the
era, it was "a whole race going hedonistic, deciding on pleasure. The brazenly lavish culture of
west egg is a reflection of the new prosperity that was possible during prohibition when the
illegal schemes involving the black market which was also the major source of income for the
guy like Gatsby. In ways, The Great Gatsby represents Fitzgerald's attempt to confront his
feeling about this age, like Gatsby the part of him longed for his absent moral center and how he
became the person he despised.
The story of, "The great Gatsby" takes place from New York City to the suburbs known as West
egg and East egg. In the northern shore there is long Island and midway between eggs and
Manhattan lies "Valley of ashes" in real life location. The corridor between New York and the
suburbs there are variety of social classes. Nick describes this city with full of optimism as he
says New York is full of possibilities and anything can happen here. East egg is full of inherited
wealth and fashionable but in contrast west egg the only resident who is wealthy is Gatsby in
Long Island. This novel suggests that the city, the suburbs and the valley of ashes all share a
sense of spiritual desolation and psychological desperation as in the end it seems to matter little
where all the character find themselves through New York and Eggs. Nobody seems to be happy
about their lot in life.

Character Sketch
Jay Gatsby
Jay Gatsby who is known as The Great Gatsby is a young man, around thirty years old who is the
protagonist of the story. Gatsby didn’t had a fond childhood, he was from a rural North Dakota with an
impoverished childhood and later he became fabulously wealthy. He became royal rich engaging in the
organized crime which included distributing illegal alcohol and trading stolen securities. Though, Gatsby
has always wanted to be rich conquer the world and his major motivation was Daisy Buchanan, whom
he meet when young in World war I in 1917. Immediately fell in love with Daisy and her luxury aura,
grace and charm, he lied about himself and his life to prove he was good for her. Daisy already married,
Gatsby wanted to win her back and purchase a huge mansion in front of Daisy's house.
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Fitzgerald introduces Gatsby a little later in the story as a man who throws a lavish party waiting for his
long list love to show up. Gatsby created his own character from the name James Gatz as he is an
extraordinary character who turns his dreams into reality. Gatsby has rather a contradicted character
between loving daisy and being obsessed with her. He is loyal good hearted men but at the same time
has a dual personality. The title "The Great Gatsby" characterized Gatsby as a masterful illusion.

Nick Carraway
Nick Carraway is a quiet and reflective person totally opposite of the Gatsby who is extravagant. He is
the next door neighbor of Gatsby who is new to the world of New York. He is also daisy's cousin who
comes to know about the affair of Daisy and Gatsby. Nick is the perfectly suited character to narrate
"The great Gatsby" being a temperament, tolerant, open minded and a good listener. As he is the only
person that Gatsby open his heart to and tell all his secrets. Gatsby trusts him and treat him as a better
person. He is rather a supporting but one of the major character as hoe he narrates the whole story
exploring through the life in long island and being a confidant that Gatsby trusts.

Nick's role in narrating is a perfect choice as he evidences a strongly missed reaction to life on the east
coast which creates a powerful conflicts. He is attracted to the fun-driven life of New York but at the
same time he finds the sophisticated life rather damaging and life threatening. His character doesn’t
much develop throughout the story but he realizes many things as how the life in east coast is not as he
expected it to be. It is rather full of the emptiness and revelry behind the curtains,

Daisy Buchanan
Daisy is the lover and love interest of Gatsby. She is graceful, has wealth and represents the paragon of
perfection but is suppressed in this male dominate society. She thinks that the women are beautiful
fools and nothing else. She is all beautiful and charming but she is more of a fickle, shallow, bored and
coward type of function. As being trapped in the not great marriage she has forget the will to fight and
have become a careless person.

Daisy is rather a person who walks away in the difficult situation and doesn’t confront her feelings of her
being in the wrong side. Her character is in love with wealth, ease and material luxury who is capable of
affection but contains no loyalty. She is a mother but has never acted like on in this whole story.

Tom Buchanan
Tom is the husband of Daisy, he is physically tough and mentally inflexible. Tom's body is a "cruel body"
with enormous power. Even though his physical appearance is powerful his mental state is a single
minded. His way of thinking towards this world is very narrow and supports the racism. Tom is a
manipulative character who stubbornly maintains that they have always loved each other and that they
always do no matter what happens. Due to his mental and physical hardness he has a brutish personality
that uses threats and violence to maintain control.

His personality related to the larger arc of his life as how he was a nationally known football star but his
failure to maintain it infuses hi life with a sense of melancholy.

Jordan Baker
Jordan Baker is a mysterious, aloof, and alluring character who belongs to upper class society. Her whole
social prominence is full of lies and dishonesty. Jordan constantly bends the truth in order to keep a
world at a distance and protect herself from the cruel side of the world. She is cynical and self-center
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women. She is an independent women who doesn’t rely on anyone but herself, it's like she has paved a
new way for women to stand for themselves and to survive alone.

Myrtle Wilson
Myrtle's character who is poor and don’t have much of the wealth seeks a better life than one she has.
Being married to a man who doesn’t give much attention to his wife, Myrtle feels that she imprisoned in
her marriage. She attempts to escape this harsh reality by becoming a mistress to Tom Buchanan, who
gives her everything she desires. In this story, she is a constant prisoner in both, the affair and the
marriage. She treats the low class people as a servant forgetting where she actually came from who later
gets killed.

George Wilson
George who is the husband of Myrtle is an important character in this story. Even though he doesn’t
have much of a role in this story but he is one of the important characters who changes the course of
the story. He kills Gatsby without knowing the actual truth and afterwards killing himself. He was a poor
mechanic who couldn’t pull his life together.

Summary
"The Great Gatsby", is a story that starts with Nick Carraway in the psychiatrist clinic telling the doctor
about the greatest man he even met in his life, Jay Gatsby. He mention how that man has changed his
life and made him who he was. Seeing nick talk with so much passion about the man the doctor
becomes curious. Later, doctor urges Nick to tell about him but nick says he cannot express it verbally.
Doctor then suggests him to write in somewhere or anywhere. Then, nick starts writing about his time
with Gatsby as a story.

In the summer of 1922, Nick has arrived in New York and have started the bond business. He has rented
a house in West egg, Long island. Nick had earned the fortune recently who neither have social
connections nor the refinement to move among the West Egg. He is comparatively modest among the
lavish displays of wealth and garish poor taste. His neighbor is mysterious Gatsby who lives in a large
mansion. One night he drives out of the east egg to have a dinner with his cousin Daisy and her husband
Tom, who was a former friend from Yale. There he meets Jordan Baker sitting with Daisy. In the midst of
the conversation Tom leaves to take a phone call and daisy follows him shortly. Nick comes to know that
the phone call was of Tom's lover from New York. After the awkward dinner, the party ends up and nick
leaves. After reaching home, he saw Gatsby for the first time, who was young, handsome standing on
the lawn with this arms reaching out for dark water but all Nick could see was Green light in the distant.

One day, Nick and tom rides a train to the city where tom forces nick to follow him out of the train to
the stop which leads to George Wilson's garage. Wilson is lifeless yet handsome man who is the husband
of Tom's lover. Tom taunts and belittle Wilson and orders myrtle to follow him to the train. Tom takes
both of them to New York City to the Morningside Heights apartment. There nick meets Myrtle sisters
and they began to drink excessively. Nick becomes drunk and tries to leave the party until the
conversation of Tom and Myrtle grows louder and starts to fight. He leaves, drunkenly and ends up
taking 4a.m train back to long island.

After that night in the next morning the chauffer of Gatsby brings an invitation to nick about the parties.
Nick makes the short walk to Gatsby's house to join and runs to Jordan Baker. Gatsby's party is lavishly
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luxurious with a lot of crowd. Later, Nick and Jordan being curious about the host of party starts to
search for him. At midnight, Nick and Jordan sit at a table with a handsome young man who introduces
himself as Jay Gatsby. Gatsby's speech is elaborate and formal who have a habit of calling everyone "Old
Sport". Nick becomes much fascinated by him and his way of thinking. Gatsby meet with Jordan in secret
and Nick says goodbye as Gatsby has an immediate phone call. After this night, Nick starts seeing Jordan
Baker despite knowing she is fundamentally dishonest person.

Gatsby describes a trip that he took to New York to nick, as they drive he tells nick about his past and
detail about his set of accomplishments. He claims that he have been educated in Oxford and have been
awarded medals in World War I. Seeing Nick's reaction Gatsby shows his medal to him. Gatsby's car
speed up through the valley of ashes and later in lunch he introduces nick to Meyer Wolfsheim, who is a
shady character and claims was responsible for fixing 1919 World Series. After lunch, Nick sees Jordan
Baker who finally tells him the detail of mysterious conversation she had with Gatsby. She states that
Gatsby is in love with daisy, who married Tom when Gatsby was at war. Though she chooses Tom over
Gatsby and is faithful for her husband but Tom was not. Jordan also tells that Gatsby brought this house
to be near daisy and he has asked her to convince Nick to arrange a reunion between Gatsby and Daisy.

Nick agrees to help Gatsby meet daisy after Gatsby desperately seems to make Nick happy. Gatsby even
offers Nick a chance to earn money but nick is little offended and refuses his offer. It rains on the day of
meeting and Gatsby seems nervous. He worries that things will not be same as before with Daisy but
when Nick brings daisy to his house Gatsby suddenly disappears. Suddenly, there is a knock at the door
having Gatsby returned from a walk around the house. At first, Gatsby reunion is little bit awkward and
nick leaves Gatsby alone. Daisy is happy shedding tears and Gatsby is glowing. Later, the rain stops and
Gatsby invites Nick and daisy over to his house. Later, in Gatsby's house daisy is overwhelmed with his
luxury and their romance fully blossoms. Gatsby calls Klipspringer and he plays a song called "Ain't We
Got Fun", Nick realizes that he is being a third wheel and leaves them alone.

The rumors about the Gatsby Circulate in New York, Nick interrupts the story to relate Gatsby's personal
history that is not a rumor but the truth. The history of Gatsby comes to open as how he was born as Jay
Gatz. The truth finally unfolds as how Gatsby began to love wealth and luxury. After that, nicks sees
neither Gatsby nor Daisy for several weeks after their reunion. Later, being suspicious tom has stopped
at Gatsby's house for drink. Gatsby seems nervous and agitates, and invites Tom and Sloanes for dinner
but they refuse. In sense of politeness, Tom invites Gatsby for dinner at his house and he accepts. The
following Saturday night, Tom and Daisy attends party at Gatsby's house. Without the interest in party,
his dislike for Gatsby and just want to keep an eye on Daisy. Due to this troubling situation it puts Nick in
much more unfavorable this time. Gatsby and daisy disappear in the midst of the party. Later, Tom and
Daisy left the party and Gatsby tells nick that he is unhappy that Daisy had an unpleasant time.

On the hottest day of summer, Nick takes the train to East egg for lunch at house of Tom and Daisy and
finds Gatsby and Jordan Baker there too. Gatsby confronts the child of daisy who she is not much
interested in and finds it surreal. Gatsby and Daisy cannot seems to hide love for each other where Tom
becomes certain pf their feelings. Seizing the opportunity, Tom agrees on daisy's suggestion to go to
New York all together, where Daisy and Gatsby rides together. In the heat of the New York city, the
group books a suite and Toms starts to mocks Gatsby for his habits and tells Daisy still loves him. In the
heat of the moment, Tom and Gatsby has a heated argument regarding the history of Tom and Daisy.
Daisy who was in love with Gatsby moves closer and closer to Tom as she observes the quarrel.
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Driving back to Long Island, Nick, Tom and Jordan encounters a heavy and frightening situation in Valley
of ashes. Someone has fatally hit by the car, who was myrtle the lover of Tom. Nick realizes that myrtle
must have been hit by Gatsby's car and toms assumes Gatsby was the driver. Back at Tom's home, Nick
finds Gatsby hiding in the bushes as he says he has been waiting for Nick to show up and tells Nick that it
was daisy who was driving the car. Gatsby becomes alone there in the middle of the night as Nick finds
Daisy eating Cold Chicken with Tom.

Days after the traumatic incident, George goes to find Tom and asks who was driving the car, trying to
bend the truth he says it was Gatsby who was driving the car. In the other side, Gatsby tells nick that he
will always love her no matter what and nick lefts to go office. Eventually, Wilson goes to Gatsby's house
and shoots Gatsby and then shoots himself. Nick hurries back to West Egg to find Gatsby floating in the
pool. Nick imagines the emptiness and meaningless life without daisy and his dream. Later at the
funeral, everyone was blaming Gatsby for his death and not even much attend the funeral. Daisy didn’t
even show up with a flower that day, it was devastating.

Theme
Love and Marriage
The great Gatsby, centers the loveless marriages of two people. It shows that marriage seems to be
convenience or advantage than actual love and care. Daisy nearly backed out from the marriage, tom
having an affair and myrtle trying to improve her standards. There was no love between them without
seeking for the advantages or benefits. Gatsby's passion towards Daisy was much of the desire to
possess something unattainable than actual love. Meanwhile, the relationship between Nick and Jordan
was not love but the closest thing to love.

Class
In the world, The Great Gatsby, class influences all the factors of life and love. Myrtle desire to have a
standard class which she expected from his husband but couldn’t attain. Gatsby pursue towards Daisy to
stand up with the class. Class was the main reason Tom and daisy survived, George and Myrtle got
destroyed also Gatsby and Daisy never happened. Nick mentions that the class of Tom and Daisy is a
careless people who let other clean up their mess.

The American Dream

An American Dream, maybe an illusion where Gatsby thought that with money and power he could
attain all his dream. Novel itself critics that if the American Dream is actually attainable at all. As Gatsby
suffers the most as he transcend his lower class life and becomes the wealthiest man only to know that
all his dreams would scatter.

Tragedy
The Great Gatsby can be considered as a tragedy which revolves around a man who has a larger than life
dream which is impossible to pursuit blinds him with goals and is struck by reality to death. Gatsby's
tragic flaw and his inability to avoid his fate and his reality cost him his whole belief towards his dream.

Realism
The Great Gatsby is a perfect example of the literal realism as it depicts the world as it really is. This
story includes realist geographical settings a locations. This story represents the economic disparity of
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the early 1920s and contrast between the Gatsby's extravagant life and the reality of the valley of valley
of ashes.

Symbols
The Green Light
The Green light at the end of Daisy's dock is by far the most important symbol in the novel. The green
light represents the hopes and dreams of Gatsby for the future. He associates the light with daisy, as he
reaches towards in the darkness as if it was guiding him. The light is symbolic of his pursuit to change
the past.

Valley of ashes
Situated between the East Egg and West Egg, it represents the moral and social status from the
uninhibited pursuit of wealth. As rich involve themselves with nothing but their own pleasure, the valley
of ashes symbolizes the life of poor, like George and Myrtle Wilson who lives in these dirty and dark
land.

The eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg

Nick says in the story that it symbolizes the eyes of God, it's always watching everyone and everything. It
represents that someone is judging American society with the meaningless look. It can be also
considered as the Gatsby's depressed thoughts and emptiness.

Daisy
She is the main center of Gatsby's life from beginning to his death. Daisy symbolizes the lack of virtue
and moral. Daisy representing as a flower it has both pretty, innocence side and unreliable, vulnerable
side.

Gatsby's Mansion
Grand and lavish mansion symbolizes his high quality lifestyle that foreshadows his loneliness ad
emptiness behind the close door. It also represents his evergreen love for Daisy but in irony it doesn’t
brings him any good nor satisfaction. Just like his unfulfilled dream the mansion represents the false and
dark hopes.

References
 https://literarydevices.net/the-great-gatsby-symbolism/
 https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-great-gatsby/character-map
 https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/symbols/
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