The Great Gatsby
Historical Background
and Context
The American Dream
• The term was first used by James Truslow
Adams in his book The Epic of America
which was written in 1931. He states: "The
American Dream is "that dream of a land in
which life should be better and richer and
fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each
according to ability or achievement. It is a
difficult dream for the European upper
classes to interpret adequately, and too many
of us ourselves have grown weary and
mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor
cars and high wages merely, but a dream of
social order in which each man and each
woman shall be able to attain to the fullest
stature of which they are innately capable,
and be recognized by others for what they
are, regardless of the fortuitous
circumstances of birth or position."
• 34 million immigrants came to the USA between 1820 and
1920.
• Many sought a ‘land of milk and honey’ – a new beginning of
promise, hope and prosperity. They were fleeing persecution in
other countries such as Ireland, Russia, Germany and Italy.
• They believed that the old class distinctions and the restrictions
that went with them wouldn’t apply in this new land. They saw
America as a place where old conventions would be forgotten
and the ills of society would be remedied.
EMMA LAZARUS: THE NEW COLOSSUS
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Francis Scott Fitzgerald, born 24th September 1896
Attended Princeton University.
Dropped out and joined the army in Nov 1917.
Met Zelda Sayre, daughter of a Supreme Court
Judge, and the two fell deeply in love. However,
Fitzgerald had to improve his financial
circumstances before they could marry.
Left for NY determined to make his fortune but was
forced to take a low paid marketing job. Zelda broke
off their engagement.
Wrote his first novel: “This Side of Paradise” in
1920 which made him famous.
Flush with new wealth and fame, he married Zelda
and the pair had their first child.
New family relocated to France, where he began to
write “The Great Gatsby”. He completed ‘Gatsby’ in
Rome at the beginning of 1925.
Became a heavy drinker and Zelda began a slow
decent into madness and suffered two mental
breakdowns, from which she never truly recovered.
Marriage suffered greatly. Fitzgerald became an
alcoholic and fell in love with someone else.
On 21st December 1940, he suffered a heart attack
and died. His grave is inscribed with the final words
of “The Great Gatsby”.
The Jazz Age
The decade following the First World War in America has become known as
the ‘Jazz Age’, a time when Jazz music was almost universally popular across
the country.
This period was also known as ‘The Roaring Twenties’, a time of pleasure
seeking and reckless exuberance. This period forms the backdrop of the novel
and it’s influence can be seen particularly through the female characters, who
epitomise the move away from conventional values towards a more liberated
mindset, with short skirts, short hair, make up and socialising becoming
commonplace for the new age woman.
The post WW1 generation have further been described as the ‘lost
generation.’ After such a brutal war, the ‘war to end all wars’, people
descended into a life without purpose and chose to indulge to excess like never
before. The novel shows that this quest for indulgence was never far from a
collapse into desperation and Gatsby’s sense of hope is a rare quality to be
found in anyone.
The Mass Market
The Great Gatsby was written against the backdrop of an explosive
growth in the availability and production of commodities for purchase.
For the first time, products were being mass produced, distributed
nationwide and consumers were being presented with a wealth of
choice.
This boom went hand in hand with the birth of branding and
advertising. New advertising techniques sought to create a desire for
products rather than simply inform people of them.
In short, the American landscape was changing forever and the world
that we know today, where advertising and materialism consume our
everyday lives, was beginning to flourish.
Prohibition and Organised Crime
Prohibition commenced on 16th January 1920 and was intended to
increase the country’s moral standards. In practice it had the opposite
effect. Bootlegging became big business and it is suggested that this is
the primary source of Gatsby’s wealth in the novel.
The criminal underworld is represented in the novel by Mayor
Wolfshiem and Gatsby has close links with the Mayor.
The illegality of selling alcohol doesn’t stop Gatsby’s parties from
being wild and exuberant and filled with drunk guests.
Prohibition was eventually repealed in 1933.
Wealth and Prosperity
In 1920 , for the first time, there were more people living in cities than in
the countryside. People were no longer ‘living off the land’, rather they
were working in insurance and the stock market and went to work wearing
a suit.
People had more money than ever before. Coupled with a desire to spend it
society grew more indulgent. In turn, people became more interested in
status and sought to create the right impression of themselves, a
perception that would enhance both their social standing and their ego.
In The Great Gatsby, status is everything. There are those who can be
classed as old money, those who were wealthy even before the economic
boom. Then there are those who were perhaps deemed as ‘working class’
before the war but who have now profited from a rapidly evolving nation,
the ‘new money’ about town.
Chapter One: Summary
Nick Carraway begins his narration, introducing himself and the novel’s
other main characters: Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and
Nick’s mysterious neighbour, Jay Gatsby.
● The novel opens with some self analysis from Nick, who remembers his
upbringing and the lessons his father taught him. We learn of his past, his
education and his sense of moral justice. It is important to note that the
narration takes place more than a year after the incidents described in the
novel, so we are not witnessing events at first hand. Nick has returned to the
Midwest to write a book and is recreating events for us with the benefit of
hindsight.
● The story begins when Nick moves from the Midwest to West Egg, Long
Island, seeking to become a "well-rounded man" and to recapture some of the
excitement and adventure he experienced as a soldier in WWI. As he tries to
make his way as a bond salesman he rents a small house next door to a
mansion which, it turns out, belongs to Gatsby.
● Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom live across the bay in the fashionable
community of East Egg. Nick goes to visit his cousin, Daisy and Tom, an
acquaintance from Yale University. There he meets Jordan Baker, a professional
golfer and a girlhood friend of Daisy's. As they lounge around the Buchanans'
estate they discuss the day's most pressing matters: the merits of living in the
East, what to do on the longest day of the year and other shallow topics.
● Tom is a physically powerful and extremely wealthy man. He makes racist
comments in response to a book he has read but the manner and content of his
speech suggests a certain lack of intelligence which conflicts with his air of social
superiority. When Tom takes a telephone call, Jordan informs Nick that Tom's
mistress is on the line. Tom, known for his infidelities, makes no pretence to cover
up his affairs.
● As Tom and Daisy attempt to set up Nick and Jordan they question him about
his supposed engagement to a girl back home. Nick reassures them there is no
impending marriage, merely a series of rumours that aren’t true.
● Upon returning home that evening Nick catches his first glimpse of Gatsby,
gazing as if transfixed by a green light at the end of the Buchanans’ dock across
the bay.
Chapter One: Analysis
Nick Carraway’s perceptions and attitudes regarding the events and characters of the
novel are central to The Great Gatsby. Writing the novel is Nick’s way of trying to
come to terms with experiences in which he played a vital part. He has come "back
from the East last autumn," jaded and embittered by what happened there. He is
distanced from the events at hand and is recounting them by way of memory. It is
imperative that we trust him then, because time can distort memories, and the
reception to the story hinges largely on his impartiality and good judgement.
However, when reading The Great Gatsby we must be aware of what is being revealed
about Nick, as well as of what he is revealing about others.
It is 1922. Fitzgerald introduces one of the novel's key themes, wealth, upon Nick's
arrival in the East. Nick settles in West Egg, rather than East Egg, living in a small
rental house adjacent to Gatsby's mansion, paying $80 per month, rather than the
$3000 to $4000 per month for which the houses around him rent. This detail
immediately encourages readers to see the difference between the "haves" and the
"have nots." Although both Eggs have beautiful mansions, East Egg is home to "old
money," people whose families have had great wealth for generations. West Egg,
although also home to the rich, is home to "new money," people whose wealth was
recently earned, as well as to working class people such as Nick.
Daisy and Tom appear in stark contrast to the image of Nick: he is relatively
industrious (he came East by himself to make his fortune rather than staying home
and doing what is expected of him), the Buchanans live in the lap of luxury.
Arriving at the mansion, Nick is greeted by Tom, dressed in riding clothes. Tom is an
impressive figure, dressed for a sport linked closely with people of wealth and means.
He stands boldly, with "a rather hard mouth," "a supercilious manner," "two shining
arrogant eyes," and speaks with "a touch of paternal contempt." Clearly, Tom is not a
gentle and sensitive man. Rather, he is harsh and powerful, caring little for social
equality. He has rank and privilege and status and that's the way he wants to keep it.
The first words out of his mouth — "I've got a nice place here" — reveal his inbred
superiority. As the story unfolds, Tom serves as the opposite to Gatsby, marking a
striking contrast from Gatsby's newly found wealth and dreamy nature.
Fitzgerald sets the women, Daisy and her friend Jordan Baker, in a dreamlike setting,
emphasising their inability to deal with reality. Both young women are dressed
entirely in white, suggesting purity or a lack of something such as intellectualism.
Both women's dresses are "rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back
in after a short flight around the house." As Tom shuts the windows and the breeze
dies down, "the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor." A languid image is
created. These are not people who concern themselves with struggling for a living.
As the scene unfolds and they begin conversation, the superficial nature
of these socialites becomes even more evident. Daisy speaks in a voice
known for its ability to draw people in (a voice that Gatsby later defines
as having money in it). She appears as though she hasn't a care in the
world.
The conversation at dinner reveals a few key details: this collection of
East Eggers focuses on matters of little importance and when they do
speak of what they perceive to be important matters, the parts of
themselves they reveal are not flattering. For instance, when Tom
chooses to discuss politics, he reveals himself not just as one who
discriminates against people on the basis of class but also a racist. He
comes from a land of privilege and unlike Nick, doesn't subscribe to the
principle of reserving judgment because not everyone has had the same
advantages. For Tom, all that matters is that he has had advantages;
everything he does in the book comes from his selfish attempt to keep
himself in a certain class while denying anyone else access, even his
mistress, who is introduced in Chapter 2.
Another key theme introduced at the dinner party is that of societal
expectation. Much of The Great Gatsby centres on appearances and the rift
between who or what one is and who or what society wishes or expects.
Fitzgerald has already given a sense of this when first introducing the
Buchanans: they're expected to be gracious and generous, but instead seem
shallow and superficial. Just as Nick prepares to head home for the night,
Daisy calls for him to wait because she "forgot to ask him something, and
it's important." "We heard you were engaged to a girl out West," Daisy
begins. Nick denies the rumour flatly: "It's a libel. I'm too poor“. Daisy
insists, "But we heard it . . . we heard it from three people, so it must be
true." Nick, aware of what they are referring to, reveals that the hometown
gossip over his engagement was part of what brought him East; he had
"no intention of being rumoured into marriage." Nick, strong enough to
withstand social pressure, becomes a striking contrast to the people
introduced throughout the rest of the story who will, time after time,
succumb to the power of suggestion and expectation.
Nick, strangely "confused and a little disgusted" as he drives
home, finds a curious sight waiting for him when he arrives at
his house. While sitting outside he sees Gatsby's silhouette as
he crosses to the water. Nick, seeing something in Gatsby's
behaviour that suggests he wishes to be alone, remains in the
shadows watching.
Gatsby proceeds to the water and stretches out his arms,
trembling. Nick, looking to see what Gatsby was gesturing
to, finds nothing but "a single green light, minute and far
away, that might have been the end of a dock." The light
marks Daisy's house — Gatsby's gesture toward it, as the
later chapters show, is a gesture of love.
Chapter One: Close Reading
1. What is your first impression of Nick Carraway?
2. Find a quotation from the opening pages that shows:
a) Nick’s sense of morality (goodness).
b) Nick’s potential sense of superiority.
3. Describe the contrast in Nick’s initial description of Gatsby.
4. What are the differences between East and West Egg.
5. Give your first impression of the following characters and provide a
quotation to support this impression:
a) Daisy
b) Tom
c) Jordan
6. Collectively, what do these characters represent?
7. a) Describe the nature of Tom and Daisy’s relationship?
b) Why do you think Daisy stays with Tom?
8. How does Fitzgerald create an air of mystery around Gatsby at the
end of the chapter.
Chapter Two: Summary
Tom introduces Nick to his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. We also meet her husband,
the unsuspecting George Wilson.
They go to an apartment in New York where a small party takes place and the
characters proceed to get drunk, despite the laws of prohibition being in effect.
● Halfway between West Egg and New York City sprawls a desolate
area, a grey valley where New York’s ashes are dumped. Overhead, two
huge, blue, spectacle-rimmed eyes stare down from an enormous
advertising hoarding. These unblinking eyes, the eyes of Doctor T. J.
Eckleburg, watch over everything that happens in the valley of ashes.
● The commuter train that runs between West Egg and New York passes
through the valley, making several stops along the way. One day, as Nick and
Tom are taking the train into the city, Tom leads Nick off the train to George
Wilson’s garage, which sits on the edge of the valley of ashes.
● Tom’s lover Myrtle is Wilson’s wife. Wilson is a lifeless yet handsome man,
coloured grey by the ashes in the air. In contrast, Myrtle has a kind of
desperate vitality; she strikes Nick as sensuous despite her stocky figure. Tom
taunts Wilson and then orders Myrtle to follow him to the train.
● Tom takes Nick and Myrtle to New York City, to an apartment he keeps
specially for his affair. Here they have an impromptu party with Myrtle’s
sister, Catherine, and a couple named McKee. Catherine tells Nick that she has
heard that Jay Gatsby is the nephew or cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm, the ruler of
Germany during World War I. The group proceeds to get drunk and Nick
claims that this is only the second time he has been drunk in his life.
● The pretentious behaviour and conversation of the others at the
party repulse Nick and he tries to leave. At the same time, he finds
himself fascinated by the group.
● Myrtle grows louder and more obnoxious the more she drinks and
shortly after Tom gives her a new puppy as a gift, she begins to talk
about Daisy. Tom sternly warns her never to mention his wife’s name.
Myrtle reacts defiantly and begins to chant Daisy’s name repeatedly.
Tom responds by breaking her nose, bringing the party to an abrupt
halt.
● Nick leaves, drunkenly, with Mr. McKee, and ends up taking the 4
a.m. train back to Long Island.
Chapter Two: Analysis
Unlike the other settings in the book, the valley of ashes is a picture of absolute
desolation and poverty. It lacks a glamorous surface and lies halfway between West
Egg and New York. The valley of ashes symbolises the moral decay hidden by the
beautiful facades of the Eggs and suggests that beneath their surface lies the same
ugliness as in the valley. The valley is created by industrial dumping and is therefore
a by-product of capitalism. It is home to the only poor characters in the novel,
George and Myrtle Wilson.
Wilson, in stark contrast to Tom, is a morally upright man who lacks money and
privilege. He lives at his place of work with his wife, Myrtle, indicating their lower
social standing. Tom’s demeaning behaviour towards George leaves the reader
feeling cold. Myrtle’s infidelity and lack of respect for her husband leaves an equally
bad taste in the mouth.
Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s monstrous, bespectacled eyes “brood on over the solemn
dumping ground.” The advert is a representation of the growth of consumerism in
the 1920s. Later in the novel, George Wilson mistakes the eyes for the eyes of God.
There is a suggestion from Fitzgerald that materialism and consumerism have taken
the place of spiritual values in modern America.
The fourth and final setting of the novel, New York City, is in every
way the opposite of the valley of ashes. It is loud, garish, rich, and
glittering. To Nick, New York is both fascinating and repulsive,
thrillingly fast-paced and dazzling to look at but lacking a moral heart.
While Tom is forced to keep his affair with Myrtle relatively discreet in
the valley of the ashes, in New York he can appear with her in public,
even among his acquaintances, without causing a scandal. Even Nick,
despite being Daisy’s cousin, seems not to mind that Tom parades his
infidelity in public.
The sequence of events leading up to and occurring at the party define
and contrast the various characters in The Great Gatsby. Nick’s reserved
nature and indecisiveness show in the fact that though he feels morally
repelled by the vulgarity and tastelessness of the party, he is too
fascinated by it to leave. This contradiction suggests the ambivalence
that he feels toward the Buchanans, Gatsby and the East Coast in
general.
The party also reveals Tom’s hypocrisy and lack of restraint. He feels
no guilt for betraying Daisy with Myrtle, but he feels compelled to keep
Myrtle in her place. Tom emerges in this section as a bully who uses his
social status and physical strength to dominate those around him. He
subtly taunts Wilson at the garage while having an affair with his wife,
expresses no guilt for his immoral behaviour and does not hesitate to
lash out violently in order to preserve his authority over Myrtle.
Fitzgerald also uses the party scene to continue
building an aura of mystery and excitement around
Gatsby, who has yet to make a full appearance in the
novel. Here, Gatsby emerges as a mysterious subject
of gossip. He is extremely well known, but no one
seems to have any concrete information about him.
Catherine’s gossiping shows the extent of the public’s
curiosity about him, rendering him more intriguing
to both the other characters in the novel and the
reader.
Chapter Two: Close Reading
1. Look at the first paragraph of chapter two. How does Fitzgerald’s
language convey the poverty of the valley of ashes?
2. What does the Valley of Ashes symbolise?
3. What evidence is there of Tom subtly demeaning George?
4. What are your first impressions of Mrs Wilson?
5. What do you think the dog buying incident represents?
6. a. How does Mrs Wilson’s behaviour change as the party progresses?
b. What is Nick’s opinion of this?
7. How does Catherine add to the mystery surrounding Gatsby?
8. Fitzgerald cleverly conveys the growing drunkenness of the party
throughout the chapter. What does Nick do that shows this subtle
breakdown of inhibitions?
9. What is revealed about Tom’s character when he breaks Myrtle’s
nose?
10. How do you feel towards Myrtle?
11. How is class structure represented in this chapter?
Chapter Three: Summary
There is a large party at Gatsby’s mansion where Nick meets Jordan. There is widespread
speculation about Gatsby’s past before we meet the man for the first time.
- One of the reasons that Gatsby has become so famous around New York is that he throws
elaborate parties every weekend at his mansion which people long to be invited to. One day,
Gatsby’s chauffeur brings Nick an invitation to one of these parties. At the appointed time, Nick
makes the short walk to Gatsby’s house and joins the festivities, feeling somewhat out of place.
Guests mill around exchanging rumours about their host. No one seems to know the truth
about Gatsby’s wealth or personal history.
- Nick meets Jordan Baker, whose friend speculates that Gatsby was a German spy during the
war. Nick also hears that Gatsby is a graduate of Oxford and that he once killed a man in cold
blood.
- Gatsby’s party is almost unbelievably luxurious: guests marvel over his Rolls-Royce, his
swimming pool, his beach, crates of fresh oranges and lemons, buffet tents in the gardens
overflowing with a feast, and a live orchestra playing under the stars. Liquor flows freely and
the crowd grows rowdier and louder as more and more guests get drunk. In this atmosphere of
opulence and revelry, Nick and Jordan, curious about their host, set out to find Gatsby. Instead,
they run into a middle-aged man with huge, owl-eyed spectacles who sits poring over the
unread books in Gatsby’s library.
- At midnight, Nick and Jordan go outside to watch the entertainment. They
sit at a table with a handsome young man who says that Nick looks familiar to
him; they realise that they served in the same division during the war. The
man introduces himself as none other than Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s speech is
elaborate and formal, and he has a habit of calling everyone “old sport.” As the
party progresses, Nick becomes increasingly fascinated with Gatsby. He
notices that Gatsby does not drink and that he keeps himself separate from
the party, standing alone on the marble steps, watching his guests in silence.
- At two o’clock in the morning, as husbands and wives argue over whether to
leave, a butler tells Jordan that Gatsby would like to see her. Jordan emerges
from her meeting with Gatsby saying that she has just heard something
extraordinary. Nick says goodbye to Gatsby, who goes inside to take a phone
call from Philadelphia. Nick starts to walk home. On his way, he sees Owl
Eyes from the library struggling to get his car out of a ditch. Owl Eyes and
another man climb out of the wrecked automobile, and Owl Eyes drunkenly
declares that he washes his hands of the whole business.
- Nick then proceeds to describe his everyday life, to prove
that he does more with his time than simply attend parties.
He works in New York City, through which he also takes long
walks and he meets women. After a brief relationship with a
girl from Jersey City, Nick follows the advice of Daisy and
Tom and begins seeing Jordan Baker. Nick says that Jordan is
fundamentally a dishonest person; he even knows that she
cheated in her first golf tournament. Nick feels attracted to
her despite her dishonesty, even though he himself claims to
be one of the few honest people he has ever known.
Chapter Three: Analysis
At the beginning of this chapter, Gatsby’s party brings 1920s wealth and glamour
into full focus, showing the upper class at its most lavish. The rich socialites from East
Egg and West Egg behave without restraint. Fitzgerald is fascinated with the social
hierarchy and mood of America in the 1920s, when a large group of industrialists,
speculators, and businessmen with brand-new fortunes joined the old, aristocratic
families at the top of the economic ladder. The “new rich” lack the refinement,
manners, and taste of the “old rich” but long to break into the society of the East
Eggers.
With this in mind, Gatsby is again an enigma. Though he lives in a garish,
ostentatious West Egg mansion, East Eggers freely attend his parties. Despite the
tensions between the two groups, the blend of East and West Egg creates a distinctly
American mood. While the Americans at the party possess a rough vitality, the
Englishmen there are set off dramatically, seeming desperate and predatory, hoping to
make connections that will make them rich.
Fitzgerald has delayed the introduction of the novel’s most important
figure—Gatsby himself—until the beginning of Chapter 3. The reader has
seen Gatsby from a distance, heard other characters talk about him and
listened to Nick’s thoughts about him, but has not actually met him (nor
has Nick). Chapter 3 is devoted to the introduction of Gatsby and the
lavish, showy world he inhabits. Fitzgerald gives Gatsby a suitably grand
entrance as the aloof host of a spectacularly decadent party. Despite this
introduction, the chapter continues to heighten the sense of mystery and
enigma that surrounds Gatsby, as the low profile he maintains seems
curiously out of place with his lavish surroundings. Just as he stood alone
on his lawn in Chapter 1, he now stands on the outskirts of his own party.
In his first direct contact with Gatsby, Nick notices his extraordinary
smile, “one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it.”
Nick’s impression of Gatsby emphasises his optimism and vitality.
Something about him seems remarkably hopeful, and this belief in the
brilliance of the future impresses Nick, even before he knows what future
Gatsby envisions.
Many aspects of Gatsby’s world are intriguing because they are slightly
amiss. For instance, he seems to throw parties at which he knows none of
his guests. His accent seems affected and his habit of calling people “old
sport” is hard to place. One of his guests, Owl Eyes, is surprised to find
that his books are real and not just empty covers designed to create the
appearance of a great library.
The tone of Nick’s narration suggests that many of the inhabitants of
East Egg and West Egg use an outward show of opulence to cover up
their inner corruption and moral decay, but Gatsby seems to use his
opulence to mask something entirely different and perhaps more profound.
From this chapter forward, the mystery of Jay Gatsby becomes the main
question of the book. One early clue to Gatsby’s character in this chapter
is his mysterious conversation with Jordan Baker. Though Nick does not
know what Gatsby says to her, the fact that Jordan now knows something
“remarkable” about Gatsby means that a part of the solution to the enigma
of Gatsby is now close at hand.
Chapter 3 also focuses on the gap between perception and reality. At the party,
as he looks through Gatsby’s books, Owl Eyes states that Gatsby has captured
the effect of theatre, a mixture of honesty and dishonesty that characterises
Gatsby’s approach to life. The party itself is an elaborate theatrical
presentation and Owl Eyes suggests that Gatsby’s whole life is merely a show,
believing that even his books might not be real. The novel’s title itself, The
Great Gatsby, sounds like the introduction of a performer or magician like
“The Great Houdini,” subtly emphasising the illusion of Gatsby’s life.
Nick’s description of his life in New York likewise calls attention to the
difference between substance and appearance, as it emphasises both the
attraction of the city and its danger: he says that the city has an “adventurous
feel,” but he also calls it “racy,” a word with negative moral connotations. Nick
feels similarly conflicted about Jordan. He realises that she is dishonest, selfish,
and cynical, but he is attracted to her vitality nevertheless. Their budding
relationship emphasises the extent to which Nick becomes acclimatised to life
in the East, abandoning his Midwestern values and concerns in order to take
advantage of the excitement of his new surroundings.
In the final section of chapter three Nick steps back to examine his
telling of the story so far. This reminds us that he is a writer as well as
a narrator and that events which seem so immediate when we read them
are actually being filtered through his recollection and re-enactment of
them.
He acknowledges that some events, which were trivial and insignificant
at the time, have come to seem more important with hindsight.
Nick presents himself as an honest, cool individual who lacks the
emotion and passion of Gatsby. He claims to hate both the superficial
lives of those around him and the immorality of New York, yet he is
utterly captivated and fascinated by them. Perhaps a burning passion
and desire, something he dare not fully acknowledge, lies deep within
Nick.
Chapter Three: Close Reading
1. In the opening four paragraphs of chapter three, how does the writer’s use of language
convey a sense of grandeur at Gatsby’s house? Pick out at least two examples.
2. Describe the nature of the interactions between guests at Gatsby’s party in paragraphs
five and six.
3. How does Nick feel when he arrives at the party? Why do you think he feels this way?
4. Why does Fitzgerald describe the young Englishmen as ‘looking a little hungry’?
5. When Nick meets Jordan she responds ‘absently’ and holds his hand ‘impersonally.’
What does this suggest about her manner towards him?
6. What are Lucille’s reasons for coming to Gatsby’s parties?
7. How does the sense of mystery around Gatsby build amongst the guests?
8. What is symbolic about ‘Owl Eyes’ amazement that the books on Gatsby’s shelves are in
fact real?
9. What is Nick’s impression of Gatsby once he realises that it is in fact Gatsby with whom
he is speaking? Quote to support.
10. How does the intrigue surrounding Gatsby build further towards the end of the
chapter?
11. How does the end of the party contrast with the beginning?
12. How has our perception of Nick changed by the end of the chapter? Focus particularly
on his relationship with Jordan.
Chapter Four: Summary
- Nick lists all of the people who attended Gatsby’s parties that summer,
a list of the nation’s most wealthy and powerful people. He then
describes a trip that he took to New York with Gatsby to eat lunch. As
they drive to the city, Gatsby tells Nick about his past, but his story
seems highly improbable. He claims, for instance, to be the son of
wealthy, deceased parents from the Midwest. When Nick asks which
Midwestern city he is from, Gatsby replies, “San Francisco.”
- Gatsby then lists a long and preposterously detailed set of
accomplishments: he claims to have been educated at Oxford, to have
collected jewels in the capitals of Europe, to have hunted big game and
to have been awarded medals in World War I by multiple European
countries. Seeing Nick’s scepticism, Gatsby produces a medal from
Montenegro and a picture of himself playing cricket at Oxford.
- Gatsby’s car speeds through the valley of ashes and enters
the city. When a policeman pulls Gatsby over for speeding,
Gatsby shows him a white card and the policeman apologises
for bothering him. In the city, Gatsby takes Nick to lunch and
introduces him to Meyer Wolfshiem, who, he claims, was
responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series. Wolfshiem is a
shady character with underground business connections. He
gives Nick the impression that the source of Gatsby’s wealth
might be corrupt and that Gatsby may even have ties to the
sort of organised crime with which Wolfshiem is associated.
-After the lunch in New York, Nick sees Jordan Baker, who finally tells him
the details of her mysterious conversation with Gatsby at the party. She says
that Gatsby told her that he is in love with Daisy Buchanan. According to
Jordan, during the war, before Daisy married Tom, she was a beautiful young
girl in Louisville, Kentucky, and all the military officers in town were in love
with her. Daisy fell in love with Lieutenant Jay Gatsby, who was stationed at
the base near her home. Though she chose to marry Tom after Gatsby left for
the war, Daisy drank herself into numbness the night before her wedding
after she received a letter from Gatsby. Daisy has apparently remained faithful
to her husband throughout their marriage, but Tom has not.
- Jordan adds that Gatsby bought his mansion in West Egg solely to be near
Daisy. Nick remembers the night he saw Gatsby stretching his arms out to the
water and realises that the green light he saw was the light at the end of
Daisy’s dock. According to Jordan, Gatsby has asked her to convince Nick to
arrange a reunion between Gatsby and Daisy. Because he is terrified that
Daisy will refuse to see him, Gatsby wants Nick to invite Daisy to tea.
Without Daisy’s knowledge, Gatsby intends to come to the tea at Nick’s house
as well, surprising her and forcing her to see him.
Chapter Four: Analysis
Though Nick’s first impression of Gatsby is of his admirable hope for
the future, Chapter 4 concerns itself largely with the mysterious
question of Gatsby’s past. Gatsby’s description of his background to
Nick doesn’t add up; though he rattles off a far-fetched account of his
grand upbringing and heroic exploits, he produces what appears to be
proof of his story. Nick finds Gatsby’s story “threadbare” at first, but
he eventually accepts at least part of it when he sees the photograph
and the medal. He realises Gatsby’s peculiarity, however. In calling him
a “character,” he highlights Gatsby’s strange role as an actor.
The lunch with Wolfshiem gives Nick his first unpleasant impression that
Gatsby’s fortune may not have been obtained honestly. Nick perceives that if
Gatsby has connections with such shady characters as Wolfshiem, he might be
involved in organised crime or bootlegging. The widespread influence of
bootlegging and organised crime, combined with a thriving stock market and
a vast increase in the wealth of the general public during this era, contributed
to the excessive pleasure-seeking and sense of recklessness that is displayed in
The Great Gatsby. For Gatsby, who throws the most elaborate parties of all and
who seems richer than anyone else, to have ties to the world of bootleg
alcohol makes him a perfect symbol of the strange combination of moral
decadence and vibrant optimism that Fitzgerald portrays as the spirit of
1920s America.
On the other hand, Jordan’s story paints Gatsby as a lovesick,
innocent young soldier, desperately trying to win the woman
of his dreams. Now that Gatsby is a fully-fledged character in
the novel, the inner conflict that enables Nick to feel such
contradictory admiration and repulsion for him becomes
more apparent - whereas Gatsby the lovesick soldier is an
attractive figure, representative of hope, Gatsby the crooked
businessman, representative of greed and moral corruption,
is not.
As well as shedding light on Gatsby’s past, Chapter 4 highlights a
matter of great personal significance for Gatsby: the object of his
hope, the green light toward which he reaches. Gatsby’s love for
Daisy is the source of his romantic hopefulness and the meaning
of his yearning for the green light in Chapter 1. That light, so
mysterious in the first chapter, becomes the symbol of Gatsby’s
dream, his love for Daisy, and his attempt to make that love real.
The green light is one of the most important symbols in The
Great Gatsby. Many critics have suggested that, in addition to
representing Gatsby’s love for Daisy, the green light represents
the American dream itself. Gatsby’s longing to achieve his dream,
the connection of his dream to the pursuit of money and material
success, the optimism with which he goes about achieving his
dream, and the ability to create a new identity in a new place all
reflect the combination of pioneering individualism and
uninhibited materialism that Fitzgerald perceived as dominating
1920s American life.
Chapter Four: Close Reading
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Why does Fitzgerald list so many names at the start of the chapter?
How has Nick’s impression of Gatsby started to change? Quote to support.
What do you ‘learn’ about Gatsby in this chapter?
What opinion do you have of Gatsby at this point?
Why might Nick have compared learning about Gatsby’s past to ‘skimming
hastily through a dozen magazines.’?
What impression do you have of Meyer Wolfshiem?
How does Gatsby react when he meets Tom Buchanan?
How does the tone change when Jordan takes up the narration?
What do we learn from Jordan about Gatsby and Daisy’s past?
Daisy’s maiden name, Fay, is an Old English word for fairy. Why might this be
appropriate to her character and how Gatsby perceives her?
When Nick finds out about Gatsby’s past, he says ‘he came alive to me, delivered
suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendour.’ What do you think he
means by this?
By the end of the chapter, how do you feel about Gatsby?
Chapter Five: Summary
- That night, Nick comes home from the city after a date with Jordan.
He is surprised to see Gatsby’s mansion lit up brightly, but it seems to
be unoccupied, as the house is totally silent. As Nick walks home,
Gatsby startles him by approaching him from across the lawn. Gatsby
seems agitated and almost desperate to make Nick happy. He invites him
to Coney Island, then for a swim in his pool. Nick realises that Gatsby is
nervous because he wants Nick to agree to his plan of inviting Daisy
over for tea. Nick tells Gatsby that he will help him with the plan.
- Overjoyed, Gatsby immediately offers to have someone cut Nick’s
grass. He also offers him the chance to make some money by joining
him in some business he does on the side - business that does not
involve Meyer Wolfshiem. Nick is slightly offended that Gatsby wants
to pay him for arranging the meeting with Daisy and refuses Gatsby’s
offers,
but he still agrees to call Daisy and invite her to his house
It rains on the day of the meeting and Gatsby becomes
terribly nervous. Despite the rain, Gatsby sends a gardener
over to cut Nick’s grass and sends another man over with
flowers. Gatsby worries that even if Daisy accepts his
advances things between them will not be the same as they
were in Louisville.
Daisy arrives, but when Nick brings her into the house, he
finds that Gatsby has suddenly disappeared. There is a knock
at the door. Gatsby enters, having returned from a walk
around the house in the rain.
At first, Gatsby’s reunion with Daisy is terribly awkward.
Gatsby knocks Nick’s clock over and tells Nick sorrowfully
that the meeting was a mistake. After he leaves the two alone
for half an hour, however, Nick returns to find them radiantly
happy - Daisy shedding tears of joy and Gatsby glowing.
Outside, the rain has stopped and Gatsby invites Nick and
Daisy over to his house where he shows them his possessions.
Daisy is overwhelmed by his luxurious lifestyle and when he
shows her his extensive collection of English shirts, she
begins to cry. Gatsby tells Daisy about his long nights spent
outside, staring at the green light at the end of her dock,
dreaming about their future happiness.
Nick wonders whether Daisy can possibly live up to Gatsby’s
vision of her. Gatsby seems to have idealised Daisy in his
mind to the extent that the real Daisy, charming as she is,
will almost certainly fail to live up to his expectations. For
the moment, however, their romance seems fully rekindled.
Gatsby calls in Klipspringer, a strange character who seems
to live at Gatsby’s mansion, and has him play the piano.
Klipspringer plays a popular song called “Ain’t We Got Fun?”
Nick quickly realises that Gatsby and Daisy have forgotten
that he is there. Quietly, Nick gets up and leaves Gatsby and
Daisy alone together.
Chapter Five: Analysis
Chapter 5 is the pivotal chapter of The Great Gatsby, as Gatsby’s
reunion with Daisy is the hinge on which the novel swings. Before this
event, the story of their relationship exists only in prospect, as Gatsby
moves toward a dream that no one else can discern. Afterward, the plot
shifts its focus to the romance between Gatsby and Daisy and the
tensions in their relationship become apparent. After Gatsby’s history
with Daisy is revealed, a meeting between the two becomes inevitable
and it is highly appropriate that the theme of the past’s significance to
the future is evoked in this chapter. As the novel explores ideas of love,
excess, and the American dream, it becomes clearer and clearer to the
reader that Gatsby’s emotional frame is out of sync with the passage of
time. His nervousness about the present and about how Daisy’s attitude
toward him may have changed causes him to knock over Nick’s clock,
symbolising the clumsiness of his attempt to stop time and retrieve the
past.
Gatsby’s character throughout his meeting with Daisy is at
its purest and most revealing. The theatrical quality that he
often projects falls away and for once all of his responses
seem genuine. He forgets to play the role of the Oxfordeducated socialite and shows himself to be a love-struck,
awkward young man. Daisy, too, is moved to sincerity when
her emotions get the better of her. Before the meeting, Daisy
displays her usual scornful humour; when Nick invites her to
tea and asks her not to bring Tom, she responds, “Who is
‘Tom’?” Yet, seeing Gatsby strips her of her smooth pretence.
When she goes to Gatsby’s house, she is overwhelmed by
honest tears of joy at his success and sobs upon seeing his
piles of expensive English shirts.
One of the main qualities that Nick claims to possess, along
with honesty, is tolerance. On one level, his arrangement of
the meeting brings his practice of tolerance almost to the
level of complicity - just as he tolerantly observes Tom’s
adultery with Myrtle, so he facilitates the commencement of
an extramarital affair for Daisy, potentially helping to wreck
her marriage. Ironically, all the while, Nick is disgusted by
the moral decay that he witnesses among the rich in New
York. However, Nick’s actions may be at least partially
justified by the intense and sincere love that Gatsby and
Daisy clearly feel for each other, a love that Nick perceives to
be absent from Daisy’s relationship with Tom.
In this chapter, Gatsby’s house is compared several times to that of a
feudal lord, and his imported clothes, antiques, and luxuries all display a
nostalgia for the lifestyle of a British aristocrat. Though Nick and
Daisy are amazed and dazzled by Gatsby’s splendid possessions, a
number of things in Nick’s narrative suggest that something is not
right about this transplantation of an aristocrat’s lifestyle into
democratic America. For example, Nick notes that the brewer who built
the house in which Gatsby now lives tried to pay the neighbouring
villagers to have their roofs thatched, to complement the style of the
mansion. They refused, Nick says, because Americans are stubbornly
unwilling to play the role of peasants. Thomas Jefferson and the other
founding fathers envisioned America as a place that would be free of the
injustices of class, a place where people from humble backgrounds
would be free to try to improve themselves economically and socially.
Chapter 5 suggests that the reality of this dream is a superficial
imitation of the old European social system that America left behind.
Chapter Five: Close Reading
1. a) Why do you think Gatsby offers Nick work?
b) Why does Nick think the ‘conversation might have been one of the crises of my life’?
2. In what ways does Gatsby attempt to impress Daisy in this chapter?
3. What is the significance of Gatsby toppling the clock from the mantelpiece?
4. Look at Fitzgerald’s description of Gatsby after Nick leaves him and Daisy alone in
the house. Pick out three words or phrases which convey this and explain their
connotations.
5. What three states of emotion does Gatsby go through in the chapter?
6. Why does Gatsby throw piles of his beautiful shirts at Daisy? What does he hope to
achieve?
7. Why does Daisy begin to sob?
8. What does it reveal to us when Daisy says of Gatsby: ‘I’d like to just get one of
those pink clouds and put you in it and push you around’.
9. What is the significance of the song lyrics at the end of the chapter?
10. Study the last three paragraphs in the chapter carefully. Summarise the main points,
with particular focus on the first of the three paragraphs.