AP English Literature
Meredith Narrowe, Stanford ‘04
AP Study Form
Title: The Great Gatsby by Frances Scott Fitzgerald, 1896-1940. Lived in Minnesota, New York,
Paris, the Riviera. The Great Gatsby originally published in 1925.
FOUR MAIN CHARACTERS (+ONE SENTENCE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EACH)
Jay Gatsby, the rich mysterious, naïve, tragic hero, is obsessed with Daisy Buchanan and devotes
himself and his life to recapture her and their past love.
Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbor and only true friend, is the story’s partially involved narrator
and serves as the voice of the author. He becomes embroiled in the plot because of his family
relation to Daisy.
Daisy (Fay) Buchanan, who is seen by society as an object and is treated like a prize to be won, is
a superficial, gold-plated beauty with no conscience.
Tom Buchanan, Gatsby’s obstacle to reclaiming Daisy, is a rich arrogant, brutal playboy who
likes to be in control and fears instability.
TWO MINOR CHARACTERS (+ONE SENTENCE, DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EACH)
Jordan Baker, an athletic, dishonest, careless, selfish gossip is Nick’s temporary belle and reveals
to the reader Nick’s judgmental side.
George Wilson, a tragic hero and the book’s only semi-religious, moral character, is a dull,
overly-trusting, eager-to-please mechanic who murders Gatsy after his wife, Myrtle, has an affair
with Tom and is killed by Daisy.
THREE MAIN SETTINGS (AND ONE SENTENCE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EACH)
Described in gold and yellow hues, Gatsby’s mansion, located in the less fashionable West Egg
and across the bay from the Buchanan house, is a vehicle for the satire of the superficial society
and prosperity and is the scene of many parties and Gatsby’s murder.
Described in tones of gray, the bleak, dismal, grotesque Valley of Ashes, located between West
Egg and New York, represents the contempt the rich have for regular humanity and serves as a
contrast to Gatsby’s mansion.
The Buchanan mansion, located in snobby East Egg, is an elaborate Georgian Colonial mansion
decorated in red and white to emphasize Daisy’s submission to Tom’s authority.
ONE PARAGRAPH PLOT OUTLINE
In June, Nick Carraway, a bond salesman, moves to West Egg, Long Island. His modest house is
located between two huge mansions, one which belongs to Jay Gatsby, who throws huge parties
every weekend. Soon after moving, he is invited to the Buchanan house in East Egg for dinner,
where he meets Jordan Baker, a golfer, and learns of Tom’s affair. Soon after, Tom introduces
Nick to his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, who lives with her husband, George, in the Valley of Ashes.
At a party in New York, Tom breaks Myrtle’s nose for saying Daisy’s name. Nick is invited to
attend one of Gatsby’s parties, where he expands his relationship with Jordan and meets Gatsby
for the first time. In July, Nick has tea with Jordan, who explains that Gatsby, when he was of
modest means, had fallen in love with Daisy five year earlier and wanted to rekindle their
relationship. Nick arranges a meeting. Gatsby gives Daisy a tour of his mansion and she begins
crying because she realizes that Gatsby created his life to impress her. Nevertheless, they begin to
spend a lot of time together. On a hot August afternoon, Jordan, Gatsby, and Nick go to the
Buchanan house for lunch. It is then that Tom realizes his wife’s affair. The party goes to New
York where Gatsby unsuccessfully prods Daisy to tell Tom she never loved him. On the drive
home, Myrtle is hit by Gatsby’s car. Both Tom and George are heartbroken. Daisy had been
driving, but Gatsby takes the blame. Tom, even though he knows of Daisy’s guilt, informs
George that it was Gatsby who killed Myrtle. George murders Gatsby and then himself. Tom and
Daisy move away. No one attends Gatsby’s funeral but his father, Nick, and one of the many
party guests. Nick ends his relationship with Jordan and makes plans to return west. On his last
night in Long Island, Nick looks across the bay to the green light at the end of the Buchanan
dock. It was the materialistic immorality of the 1920s that cost Gatsby his only dream and his life.
TWO SYMBOLS, MOTIFS, OR ALLUSIONS AND THEIR MEANINGS/SIGNIFICANCE
The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg are located on a giant billboard and observe their despair of the
Valley of Ashes. They are symbolic of God or absence of one in the materialistic, immoral, nondevout society of the 1920s.
The green light at the edge of the Buchanan dock, which can be seen from Gatsby’s mansion,
symbolizes the hopes and dreams of an unknown future. It separates Gatsby from Daisy and
figuratively turns red by the end of book.
TWO OR THREE SENTENCES ON AUTHOR’S STYLE
Fitzgerald’s use of stiff, formal syntax provides the reader with a constant reminder of the level of
high society portrayed. Key scenes are not narrated but presented in sparse, convincing, dialogue
that achieves characterization and intense drama. Words shimmer in fully developed descriptions
that are rich with images of color and sound. The use of Nick as the involved yet distant narrator
informs the reader of moral judgments, gives unity of the book and serves as a vehicle for the
author’s views of society.
TWO OR THREE SENTENCES ON DOMINANT PHILOSOPHY/THEME
One of the many themes is that the past cannot be recaptured. Gatsby’s whole life resides on his
belief that he and Daisy can return to what they once were. However, his colossal illusion is hard
to meet and Daisy tumbles short of his expectations. Gatsby is crippled by a past he cannot
escape, and no reality can ever match his elaborate fantasy. His disappointment at his inability to
achieve his dream ultimately leads to his downfall.
THREE SHORT QUOTES TYPICAL OF THE WORK (INCLUDE SPEAKER & OCCASION)
“Can’t repeat the past… why of course you can!”
- Gatsby after being warned by Nick that Daisy may not meet his expectations
“The bar is in full swing and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until the air
is alive with chatter and laughter and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot and
enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other’s names.”
- Nick, describing Gatsby’s parties and the people in attendance.
“ While we admired be brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher – shirts with stripes
and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple green and lavender and faint orange with monograms of
Indian blue. Suddenly with a strained sound Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry
stormily. ‘They’re such beautiful shirts,’ she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. ‘It
makes me sad because I’ve never seen such – such beautiful shirts before.”
- Daisy upon realizing Gatsby’s entire life was created to impress her.
YOUR PERSONAL RESPONSE TO WORK’S STYLE AND CO
I viewed The Great Gatsby with ambivalence. I enjoyed dissected Fitzgerald’s story t
o make discoveries about symbols, characters, and messages. The imagery was amazing and the
repetition of colors to emphasize character personality was ingenious. However, the plot was not
fast or dramatic enough for my interest. The use of Nick as a narrator allowed comprehensive
descriptions of all developments, but his tone was monotonous and unvaried, making the reading
mundane.