: The story takes place during the 1920's, (1921-1922) there are four major settings:
1.
East egg- The East Egg (Manhassette) is the "fashionable" side of Long Island where the Buchanans and other "old money" people live.
2.
West Egg- The West Egg (Garden City) is the "less fashionable" side of Long
Island where Gatsby and Nick live; New Money.
3.
The valley of ashes - The Valley of Ashes (Hempstead) is the desolate wasteland where the Wilsons live. Billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg aka the eyes of God;
“Looking over the moral decay of society.” Diner, Garage w/ apartment over it and a vacant office. Road goes through it; as does a train-track that traverses a small, foul river.
4.
New York City. New York City is a symbol of what America has become in the
1920's : a place where anything goes, where money is made and bootleggers flourish, and where the World Series can be fixed by a man such as Meyer
Wolfsheim. (Al Rothstein)
5.
Minnesota-St. Olaf’s College, Gatsby attended for 2 weeks, worked as a janitor.
6.
North Dakota- Where the Gatz Farm is located
7.
Louisville- Daisy Faye’s Hometown
8.
Chicago-Tom Buchanan’s Hometown
9.
San Francisco- Where Gatsby says he’s from
10.
France- During the War, both Nick and Gatsby spent time there…
11.
Montenegro- Small Mediterranean country that gave Gatsby a medal
12.
Oxford- Gatsby attended this university after the War on the GI bill
13.
New Haven- Both Nick and Tom attended school here (Yale)
:
 1. Nick Carraway - The narrator of the novel; 1 st
person. He moves from the
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Midwest to New York to learn the bond business.
2. Jay Gatsby – (AKA James or Jimmy Gatz) Lives next to Nick in a mansion; throws huge parties, complete with catered food, open bars, and orchestras; people come from everywhere, and every aspect and level of society to attend these parties, but no one seems to know much about the host. Innuendo and gossip abound where there is an absence of hard facts.
 3. Daisy Buchanan - Shallow girl who is the embodiment of Gatsby's dreams;
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 she was going to marry Gatsby but he went off to war, married Tom B. instead.
4. Tom Buchanan - Husband of Daisy; a cruel and careless man who lives life irresponsibly, without a thought of his actions.
5. Jordan Baker - A cynical and conceited woman who cheats in golf; wants
Nick to go out with her, later says that she is engaged.

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6. Myrtle Wilson - Tom has an affair with this married woman, and then abandons her after he become bored with her.
7 . Meyer Wolfshiem (Al Rothstein)- Gatsby’s business “gonnection” who fixed the 1919 world series
8 . Old Owl Eyes - represents God, present at Gatsby’s party and funeral.
9 . George Wilson - Husband to Myrtle, is pale and “is so stupid he doesn’t know he’s alive.” Kills Gatsby, mistakes him for his wife’s murderer.
10 . Catherine - Myrtle’s sister; shows surprising class and restraint when speaking to the reporters after the double homicide.
11 . Dr. TJ Ecklberg - “God Sees Everything” and “A Wild Wag of an oculist”
:
1. Nick Carraway having graduated from Yale and fought in World War I, has returned home to begin a career. He is restless and has decided to move to New York to learn the bond business. The novel opens early in the summer of 1922 in West Egg, Long Island, where Nick has rented a house. Next to his place is Gatsby's mansion.
2. Tom and Daisy Buchanan live in East Egg. Daisy is Nick's cousin and Tom had been in the same senior society at Yale. They invite Nick to dinner at their mansion, and he meets a young woman golfer named Jordan Baker, whom Daisy wants Nick to be interested in. During dinner the phone rings, and when Tom and Daisy leave the room,
Jordan informs Nick that the caller is Tom's woman from New York.
3. Myrtle Wilson, Tom's woman, lives is a section of Long Island known as the Valley of
Ashes. In the Valley of Ashes is George Wilson's garage. Painted on a large billboard nearby is a fading advertisment for an optician with the eyes of a Doctor looking over them with a pair of glasses.
4. One day Tom takes Nick to meet the Wilsons. The party breaks up when Myrtle starts using Daisy's name, and Tom breaks her nose with a blow of his open hand. Several weeks later Nick is invited to one of Gatsby's elaborate parties. Nick watches Gatsby and notices that he does not drink nor join in the revelry of the party.
5. At a luncheon with Nick in New York, Gatsby tells Nick that he graduated from
Oxford. During lunch Gatsby introduces Nick to his business associate, Meyer
Wolfsheim, who fixed the World Series in 1919.
6. At tea that afternoon Nick finds out the Gatsby wants Nick to arrange a date between him and Daisy. Gatsby had loved Daisy five years ago, but he had been sent oversees by the army. Daisy had given up waiting for him and had married Tom. Gatsby decides to win Daisy back and his first step is to buy a house in West Egg. His house is across the bay from Daisy's house, and he can see a green light at the end of Daisy's dock. It represents his hope.

7. Gatsby and Daisy meet for the first time in five years, and he tries to impress her with his mansion and his wealth. Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, Nick and Jordan go into the city where the truth is revealed about Gatsby and Daisy. Daisy will not go away with Gatsby and the five year dream is over. Gatsby and Daisy go home together in a yellow Rolls Royce. On the way home they get into a car accident in which Myrtle was killed. Gatsby will take the blame for Daisy who was driving. George Wilson shoots Gatsby and then kills himself.
8. Not many people showed to Gatsby's funeral except Nick, Mr. Gatz, and a few servants and Owl Eyes. Nick returns to his home town.
:
1.
Hope - represented by the light across the bay that Gatsby was fixated on. It was the embodiment of his sole goal in life, which was a reunification with Daisy.
2.
Success - Gatsby felt that the only way he would win Daisy was through his money.
3.
Ignorance - The characters have little self-knowledge and even less knowledge of each other.
4.
Judgment - Nick misinterprets the advice of his father and tries not to judge people.
5.
Disillusionment Gatsby dreams of getting back together with Daisy even though she is married and has a daughter.
6.
Morals - The morals of people with great wealth seem to be less than desirable, but many times are more socially accepted than lower classes.
:
1. Success - Gatsby uses a corrupt form of the American dream to acquire the wealth he thinks he needs to win back Daisy. Tom and Daisy must have a huge house, a stable of polo ponies, and friends in Europe. Gatsby must have his enormous mansion before he can feel confident enough to win Daisy. The energy that might have gone into the pursuit of noble goals has been channeled into the pursuit of power and pleasure, and a very showy, but fundamentally empty form of success. Gatsby had been in love with Daisy for a long while. He tried every way that money could buy to try to satisfy his love and lust for Daisy. Instead of confronting her with his feelings, he tried to get her attention by throwing big parties with high hopes that she might possibly show up. Gatsby was actually a very lonesome and unhappy man who lived in a grand house and had extravagant parties. He did it all for one woman, who initially was impressed with his flagrant show of wealth. Daisy was extremely disenchanted after she found out how
Gatsby had aquired his fortune.
2. Morals - The characters in this novel live for money and were controlled by money. Love and happiness cannot be bought, no matter how much money was spent. Tom and Daisy were married and even had a child, but they both still

committed adultery. Daisy was with Gatsby and Tom was with Myrtle. They tried to find happiness with their lovers, but the risk of changing their lifestyles was not worth it. They were not happy with their spouses but could not find happiness with their lovers. Happiness cannot be found or bought. Daisy lost her love and respect for Gatsby when she found out he was a bootlegger. Tom, after having an affair himself was angry about Daisy's affair. Hypocrisy tends to be a trait in the very rich.
3. Hope - Gatsby bought a house in West Egg, in the hopes that he would win
Daisy back. He did this so that he could look across the bay to the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He expected her to turn up at one of his parties, and when she didn't, he asked Jordan to ask Nick to ask Daisy. Fitzgerald stresses the need for hope and dreams to give meaning and purpose to man's efforts. Striving towards some ideal is the way by which man can feel a sense of involvement, a sense of his own identity. Fitzgerald goes on to state that the failure of hopes and dreams, the failure of the American dream itself, is unavoidable, not only because reality cannot keep up with ideals, but also because the ideals are in any case usually too fantastic to be realized. Gatsby is naive, impractical and oversentimental. It is this which makes him attempt the impossible, to repeat the past.
There is something pitiful and absurd about the way he refuses to grow up.
:
1.
Money cannot buy happiness.
2.
You cannot relive the past.
3.
If dreams are too fantastic, and reality cannot keep up with ideals they are usually not fulfilled.
4.
The wealthy are careless and crush the weak and escape responsibility.