Great Gatsby Essay

Submitted By jkoo8197
Words: 4815
Pages: 20
Open Document
The Great Gatsby-RRS

Title: The Great Gatsby Publication Date: 1925
Author: F. Scott Fitzergerald Nationality: American

Author's Birth/Death Date: September 24, 1896, December 21, 1940

Distinguishing Traits of Author:

F. Scott Fitzergerald was an American author who wrote novels and short stories whose writings were the epitome of the Jazz Age, a term he invented. His life is parallel to that of Jay Gatsby in the way that both met someone who encouraged them to strive for personal achievement and success. This someone for Fitzgerald was Father Sigourney Fay who he met while attending the Newman School, a Catholic prep school in New Jersey. All of Fitzgerald's novels are set in places where he lived for a while. He rented a house in Great Neck, Long Island with his wife and baby daughter. This would soon be the place where Gatsby would host his famous parties.As a writer during the Flapper Age when the economy was growing, social manners were changing, and confidence was booming, Fitzgerald managed to depict all this in his novels, especially in The Great Gatsby. He is now known as one of the most famous American novelists of the 20th century.

Setting:

In the beginning of the novel, The Great Gatsby, the story takes place in the early 19th century in West Egg, a part of Long Island, where those who have recently made their fortunes live. Neighboring West Egg is East Egg, where the more conservative upper-class live. Nick Carraway had just arrived to live there from Minnesota and has found his neighboring house to be a extravagant Gothic mansion making his modest house look small comparison. It is at Gatsby's house where weekly parties are held every Saturday night that Carraway realizes the lifestyle of the East Coast can be both fast-paced while being damaging. Unlike his West Egg neighbors, Carraway has social connections to East Egg.From time to time, he visits his second cousin, Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom who live in East Egg. "A cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay" with a lawn that "started at the beach and ran toward the front door for a quarter of a mile" (6), the Buchanan's house is grandiose in comparison to Carraway's own small humble house.

Brief Plot Synopsis:

The story begins with Nick Carraway, the narrator, telling the reader how he is tolerant, open-minded, a good listener, and non-judgmental. He is a young man from Minnesota who after going to Yale and fighting in World War I, moves to New York to learn about the bond business. He rents a modest house in West Egg of Long Island, the "less fashionable of the two" (5). West Egg is filled with those who have made their wealth recently while East Egg is filled wight hose who have their fortunes for a while now and have many social connections. When Nick first arrives as West Egg, he notices a humongous Gothic mansion which belongs to Jay Gatsby. Nick is different from the rest of West Egg because he has social connections in East Egg; his cousin Daisy lives there with her husband Tom Buchanan, who was a classmate of Nick's at Yale. One night Nick drives out to their house where he is introduced to Jordan Baker, a competitive golfer. During dinner, Nick finds out that Tom has a lover in New York. One day, Nick and Tom ride the train into the city and get out at a random stop. Tom takes Nick to George Wilson's garage whose wife, Myrtle, is Tom's lover. They all go to New York together to Myrtle's sister's apartment where Myrtle begins to taunt Tom by repeating Daisy's name. Angered and annoyed, Tom breaks her nose. Every Saturday night, Gatsby has a party complete with an orchestra and a bar. One day, Nick receives an invitation to one of Gatsby's famous parties where he runs into Jordan Baker. Throughout this party, Nick hears numerous rumors about Gatsby including one that says Gatsby was a graduate of Oxford and that he once killed a man. On
Show More

Related Documents: Great Gatsby Essay

Why Is The Great Gatsby Great

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is great because of the way he is perceived by the people for living out the the American Dream. Gatsby's mansion, lavish parties and wealth give him a reputation of being great because he is living what people dream of. Gatsby is also great because he is a genuine romantic and will do anything to obtain his lifelong love Daisy, who is occupied by another man, Tom. Gatsby believes that Daisy doesn't truly love Tom and that Daisy truly loves him…

Words 1449 - Pages 6

Gatsby: The Great Gatsby and Gatsby Essay

THE GREAT GATSBY.. In the Great Gatsby the story is narrated in the past tense and seen through the eyes of Mr Nick Carraway.He is a young man from Minnestota, who after serving in World War 1, went on to New York to learn the bond business. He moves to the West Egg and soon becomes friends with his neighbour, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald, the author uses the the settings of the East and West Egg to present the differences in the classes and the demise of the American dream in the…

Words 1007 - Pages 5

Gatsby: The Great Gatsby and Gatsby Essay

11 (3) 22 April 2013 Lies and Deceit Frederick Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby portrays a rich man who obsesses over the love of his past and as a result ends his life. Lies and deceit take a major role during the novel, the biggest lie of them all being Mr. Jay Gatsby himself. All humans are innately dishonest and superficial which reveals the characters true disposition and as a result leads to discontent and in Gatsbys case, death. Frederick uses Symbolism, Characterization, and Diction to…

Words 1001 - Pages 5

Is The Great Gatsby Really Great

In life we aim to be great to always be caring and loving towards others and to have a legacy everyone will remember, but it's not easy to be all good. Not everyone is truly great everyone has flaws. To be great we must have Integrity and a special set of morals that we won't ever turn against, they always do the right thing. We must think of others before ourselves and do everything we possibly can to be good. Gatsby has fabricated an entire life built up with lies, the people around him are no…

Words 1638 - Pages 7

Love In The Great Gatsby

topic of many novels, movies, and songs. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, people see many different themes but the one that stands out to me most is the theme of love. The relationships in The Great Gatsby are not always centered around love, instead some are centered around status or wealth. Also, we see in the book how far some people are willing to go in hopes to acquire the one they love. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald uses the characters to…

Words 497 - Pages 2

The Great Gatsby Analysis

Fitzgerald wrote the classic, “The Great Gatsby” in 1925. It is considered a portrait of the golden age of jazz and all of its excesses. A typical book on the story begins with Jay Gatsby meeting and falling in love with a young Daisy while he is still an impoverished officer. When he is sent over seas Daisy marries the very rich yet brutal Tom Buchanan. Gatsby pursues wealth endlessly until he is a self made millionaire. Gatsby moves to New York and buys a great mansion. He begins to throw lavish…

Words 264 - Pages 2

Essay on The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald In F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' he proves the American dream to be nothing people pretending to be something they're not in hopes of a better life. So is the American dream still a living dream today? Well you would think it would be because you still hear some people still talk about it here and there, so that's what I hoped to find out. Here are some things I discovered in the process. It seems the American dream is very popular in American…

Words 1312 - Pages 6

Hope In The Great Gatsby

world is centered around fantasizing and dreaming, just like in The Great Gatsby. F Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, wanted “something new and beautiful”, this book was exactly that as millions of copies were sold. The book was published in the 1920’s; surrounding wealth, parties, alcohol, materialism, and love. With all of the events in the book, they are all tied to some sort of ‘hope’. In the novel The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the color ‘green’ to symbolize the main character…

Words 795 - Pages 4

Relationships In The Great Gatsby

within The Great Gatsby Throughout the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald compares the connections between Gatsby/Daisy, Tom/Myrtle, Nick/Jordan; there are importance to these individuals. They can be between lovers, friends, and families. The novel shows these, but also the wrong types of relationships such as people having affairs.Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the relationships between the different characters, are dysfunctional, arrogant and materialistic. One can see that Gatsby and Daisy…

Words 840 - Pages 4

Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald is a man who believes that God can be found in many places, which is prevalent in his book, The Great Gatsby. Throughout The Great Gatsby, one can find a plethora of religious references that are brought to light by the book’s characters Owl Eyes, Doctor Eckleburg, and Gatsby.This symbolism is found in the character’s actions and how the other characters react to them. One prevalent character that represents a divine deity is Owl Eyes. Within the book, there are several instances…

Words 1511 - Pages 7