The Great Gatsby

Set in the Jazz Age, the novel’s backdrop is one in which flappers, music, booze, riches, and alcohol-fueled festivities serve as some of the main points of interest.  Fitzgerald often focuses out the squalid nature of the proceedings and the more-often-than-not infantile manner in which affairs are carried out.  When Gatsby makes his entrance to the tune of The Jazz History of the World—a fictitious musical number invented by Fitzgerald to underscore the ridiculous faddishness of the proceedings—Nick can’t help but remark at the way the titular character sets himself apart from the others:  the source of the orgiastic festivities, Gatsby in person is rather remarkably staid and sober.  If you wanted to discuss the Jazz Age in relation to the novel, you could easily examine some of the more glaring contradictions of the times and how these relate to Gatsby himself.

Booze was outlawed throughout the 1920s—but in the novel, among the nouveau riche, the spirits are flowing.  Gatsby in fact is recognized as a bootlegger by Tom.  How does the lawlessness of the times underscore the main conflict of the novel?  Is Gatsby’s grip on reality so tenuous that he throws party after party in hopes of attracting a long-lost love that by all standards should now be recognized by him as prohibited since she is married to another?  What does prohibition truly mean in terms of the novel’s conflict?

What does the novel say of friendship?  Of all Gatsby’s admirers and hangers-on, few assemble for his wake.  Nick alone is left to oversee it.  Should Nick be considered a true friend of Gatsby?  If so, why?  Is it perhaps that he alone better than anyone else is capable of sympathizing and empathizing with the man?  Why should this be?

In The Great Gatsby, wealth is seen through the lens of the nouveau riche—that demographic of American society that prospered as a result of Prohibition in the 1920s.  Specifically, the novel is set in the world of Jay Gatsby, who became a millionaire thanks to bootlegging operations.  The novel’s narrator, Nick, while not nearly as wealthy as Gatsby, comes from a family of standing back in the Midwest.  The contrast between the two is the focus of many of Nick’s introspections.  What is real wealth in a decadent age?

A lot is happening on the surface of things—but underneath Nick sees little but greed, lust and vanity.  Part of what attracts him to Gatsby is the fact that the latter seemingly has it all yet still has a hole in his heart that he wants to fill with love.  The problem is that Gatsby’s conception of love may be just as superficial and unreal as his sense of what to do with all his wealth.

Everyone struggles with his or her sense of identity in the novel.  Nick struggles to fit in with elite on the East Coast, pointing out in the very beginning that he is from the Midwest and not born and bred among the elite set.  The nouveau riche try to fit in with the old money crowd but are viewed as sub-par.  Gatsby struggles to establish himself by hosting opulent parties in hopes of catching the attention of Daisy.  Daisy struggles to define herself—as a married woman or as the love interest of a millionaire.  Jordan struggles to establish herself in a sport dominated by men, and her reputation as a liar doesn’t help.  In short, everyone is trying to establish an identity in the novel—but do any of them succeed?

Nick never seems comfortable with the materialistic pursuits of those around him.  Whether it’s Tom, who keeps Myrtle on the side; Jordan, who seems intent on doing exactly as she pleases with whomever she pleases; Gatsby with his ill-gotten gains; the party-goers, who seek only to soak up the orgiastic splendor; or Meyer Wolfsheim, who represents the corrupt criminal elite:  materialism is rampant throughout the novel and holds a sinister spell over all the characters.

With this novel, Fitzgerald sought to reflect the American experience during the 1920s.  This era included changes in society, the way people behaved, the way they recreated and how their worldviews were developed.  Partly as a result of the end of the Great War, Americans were filled with enthusiasm and a lust for excitement.  There was also a flood of easy credit that allowed people to spend.  The mood at home was high and excited.  Fitzgerald encountered this in his days on the East Coast—but he also sensed the sordid underbelly of it all and the moral decay at the heart of the American experience.

The American Dream—the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness—has been upheld as the loftiest of goals throughout the world.  Yet, in Fitzgerald’s novel, the Dream is depicted as a nightmare that ends with a cold, dreary, sober return to reality.  What does Fitzgerald suggest about the American Dream and its relationship to American reality?

Does Gatsby love Daisy?  Does Tom love Myrtle?  Does Myrtle love Tom?  Does Nick love Jordan?  Does Jordan love Nick?  Does anyone truly love anyone in the novel?  The Great Gatsby is a novel about the failure of romance.  Gatsby is the ultimate romantic at heart—pining for a girl he once romanced briefly in his youth.  He thinks that he can win her heart back with his riches and parties—but duty, commitment, class, the past, the future, and the meaning of marriage are just a few of the variables that act as a hitch in Gatsby’s plans.

The new money clique and the old money clique are depicted in West and East Egg, respectively.  Those who are of neither set, like Nick, have a different position altogether.  Class distinctions matter in the novel, and as Nick suggests class is in large part formed by consciousness.  Class is a construct that could be explored deeply in the novel by highlighting the various aspects, qualities, strengths and character flaws of the individuals of the various classes.

The women that populate the novel are diverse.  There is Nick’s girlfriend, Jordan Baker, a female professional golfer in a world of male golfers:  she has a bad reputation among the elite of East Egg and is thought to be dishonest both in sport and in relationships.  Then there is Daisy—the representative flapper—a socialite from Louisville.  She is torn between her husband, Tom, and her lover, Jay.  Myrtle represents the woman who feels trapped by marriage, seeks escape through an affair with Tom, but is ultimately (and accidentally) killed by the haphazardly driving Daisy, which just helps to tie up loose ends in a somewhat contrived way.  An exploration of women, gender roles, and gender expectations could be a great topic to cover.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is today recognized as one of the great works of American literature.  For students looking to write an essay on The Great Gatsby, there are many different approaches one could take.  In this article, we’ll look at some of the topics you could explore in connection with the novel.  We’ll also summarize the plot, provide an analysis of the overall work, discuss the characters, point out some of the better quotes, and examine the main themes, too.  Let’s get started!

Nick Carraway, the narrator of the novel, rents a small home on Long Island next door to Gatsby’s mansion.  Nick’s cousin Daisy lives nearby across the bay.  She is married to Tom, who is of old money and has an apartment in NYC, where he routinely sleeps with other women.  Tom is also in a relationship with Myrtle, who is married to George.  Tom and Daisy introduce Nick to Jordan, who is a female professional golfer and also very cynical.  Jordan reflects the worldview of the young, amoral set of the Roaring Twenties.  Nick goes along with the waywardness of it all, accepting it without judgment initially.  When Nick gets an invitation to Gatsby’s, he attends and meets Gatsby himself.

Gatsby is young like Nick and recognizes Nick from his division in the Great War (WWI).  Nick and Gatsby become friends.  Nick learns that Gatsby hosts his opulent parties because he is in love with Daisy, whom he met over a series of chance encounters years before:  he has been hoping that Daisy would come to one of his parties, since she lives just across the bay—but so far she has not come.  Gatsby asks Nick to arrange a tea date with Daisy so that Gatsby can crash it and become re-acquainted with Daisy.  Nick does as asked, and Gatsby and Daisy renew their acquaintance, though it is very awkward at first.  A love affair ensues.  Tom becomes aware of the affair and confronts Gatsby, accuses him of being a bootlegger and demands that Daisy choose.  Daisy chooses her husband over Gatsby.  Tom then sends Daisy home with Gatsby as though to show that he is superior to the latter.  While driving home, Daisy runs into Myrtle, Tom’s main mistress, and kills her.  Myrtle’s husband George is told by Tom that Gatsby killed his wife:  George shoots Gatsby before killing himself.  Nick returns home to the Midwest:  he has had enough of the East Coast lifestyle and wants something more moral, stable, and sane.

The novel is a condemnation of the pursuit of pleasure and self-interest at all costs.  Every character is depicted as somewhat false and self-centered:  Tom lies about his affairs; Daisy begins an adulterous relationship with Gatsby; Gatsby’s millions were made illegitimately; Jordan embraces the hypocrisy because it suits her tastes.  No one seems interested in telling the truth or abiding by a higher standard of living.  Nick alone leaves the madness behind at the end of the novel.  His contention that he does not judge is not supported by the facts.  All throughout the novel, he is formulating his judgment and that final judgment is delivered in the last pages, when he describes the manner of the inhabitants of East and West Egg, their routine debauchery, and their celebration of the excesses of the Lawless Decade.

Nick essentially yearns for a more lawful era, one in which people are not ever-pursuing the “green light” of desire, as Gatsby does, but are instead restrained by prudence, rationality, morality, and virtue.  Tom embodies the utter depravity at the heart of the Lawless Decade:  ruthless, barbaric, lustful, and deceitful, he is ruled by his passions and demonstrates no restraint or recognition of the Good.  Jordan is like the female version of Tom:  she rejoices in her own cynicism.  Nick is not a cynic but rather an individual who has become disillusioned with the ways of the world—and for that reason he returns home.

A Midwesterner by birth but educated in the East at Yale, Nick enjoys a circle of friends and acquaintances that intersects with the world of Gatsby.  Nick narrates the novel and is both drawn to and repelled by the actions of those around him.  He is intrigued by the worlds of East and West Egg and the excesses he encounters.  Nonetheless, he yearns for simpler times while simultaneously demonstrating true sympathy for Gatsby.

The mysterious millionaire whose drama serves as the focal point of the novel, Gatsby is in love with Daisy—a girl he met in his youth.  Through Nick, he makes her acquaintance once more and begins an affair with her.  However, the romance is short-lived.  She is married to Tom and Tom will not stand to be cuckolded.  Gatsby dies by gunfire when George Wilson is told that Gatsby is responsible for the death of his wife.

Nick’s cousin, Daisy, is the object of Gatsby’s affection.  She is the reason he hosts his orgiastic parties:  he hopes that she will one day come and that he can present himself to her.  He believes his wealth will impress her.  While she engages in a brief affair with Gatsby upon becoming re-acquainted with him, she does not ultimately choose to stay with him.  She is somewhat superficial and a socialite.

Daisy’s husband, he too attended Yale with Nick.  He is macho and full of himself.  He is a millionaire like Gatsby but of old money, whereas Gatsby is new money.  This is a source of resentment and facilitates Tom’s arrogance towards Gatsby.

A mechanic and husband of Myrtle, who is Tom’s mistress, he is the hapless murderer of Gatsby at the end of the novel.  Tom despises George and views him as sub-human.

George’s wife and Tom’s mistress, Myrtle will do anything to get out of her marriage.  She will even sustain a beating from Tom after she provokes him by repeating the name of his wife, Daisy, to him repeatedly at a party in NYC.  She is accidentally struck and killed by Daisy in Gatsby’s car at the end of the novel.

Nick’s girlfriend throughout the novel, she is a friend of Daisy and a professional golfer.  Her determination to have her way regardless of what others think is accompanied by a cynical attitude and nonchalant demeanor.  She is believed to be somewhat amoral at heart.

A Jewish mentor of Gatsby’s, Meyer represents the link between Gatsby and the criminal world.  He refuses to put in an appearance at Gatsby’s funeral, which indicates that even among his associates in the “business” world, no one truly respected Gatsby.

“When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart.  Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn.”—Nick, looking back on his time on the East Coast with great antipathy while simultaneously admitting that he holds a special regard for that man who, ironically, embodied excess more than any other.

“I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited.  People were not invited—they went there.”—Nick on the nature of Gatsby’s relations with his guests.

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us.  It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther….And one fine morning—.“—Nick on the idea inherent in Gatsby, the belief that the dream can be attained.