The cover of the Scribner Paperback Fiction Edition, 1995.

The Great Gatsby, by the American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, was first published in 1925. The story takes place in New York City and Long Island in the 1920s. It has often been described as the epitome of the "Jazz Age" in American literature. Cover of The Great Gatsby, scanned by me. ... Cover of The Great Gatsby, scanned by me. ... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... F.Scott Fitzgerald, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an Irish-American Jazz Age novelist and short story writer. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The city is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture, and is one of the worlds major global cities (along with London, Tokyo and Paris) with a virtually unrivaled collection of museums, galleries, performance venues, media outlets, international corporations, and stock exchanges. ... The four counties of Long Island. ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ... The Jazz Age describes the period of the 1920s and 1930s, the years between World War I and World War II, particularly in North America, largely coinciding with the Roaring Twenties; with the rise of the Great Depression, the values of this age saw much decline. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Fitzgerald's novel was not popular when it was first published, selling fewer than 24,000 copies during his lifetime. Largely forgotten during the Great Depression and World War II, it was republished in the 1950s and quickly found a wide readership. Over the following decades it emerged as a standard text in secondary school and university courses on literature in countries around the world. It is often cited as one of the greatest English-language novels of the 20th century, as well as one of the greatest American literature pieces ever written. The Great Depression was a massive global economic recession (or depression) that ran from 1929 to approximately 1939. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the globe and is accepted as the largest and deadliest... // Events and trends This map shows two essential global spheres during the Cold War in 1959. ... Secondary school may refer to Secondary school in the United Kingdom, is the general term for the schools for children between the ages of eleven and eighteen in most areas (a few areas have schools for 13-18 year olds instead, and these are called upper schools). ... // History Because of the above definition, the oldest universities in the world were all European, as the awarding of academic degrees was not a custom of older institutions of learning in Asia and Africa. ... The word course has several meanings: course is the direction of travel in navigation in sailing, a course is the principal sail on a mast course is a regime of study in education in restaurant language, a course is a single dish in a row of subsequently served dishes, constituting... ... English is a West Germanic language that is spoken in Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, the United States, and many other countries. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

Summary

The novel is set on Long Island, in the fictional West Egg and East Egg Villages, based on, respectively, Great Neck, New York (where Fitzgerald lived while writing the novel) and Port Washington, New York. The four counties of Long Island. ... Great Neck is a village located in Nassau County, New York in the USA. As of the United States 2000 Census, the village had a total population of 9,538. ... Port Washington is a town located in Nassau County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 15,215. ...

Jay Gatsby, the title character, is a young millionaire living in West Egg with a mysterious and somewhat notorious past. No one quite knows how he made his fortune; some believe he is a bootlegger. Rumors circulate of him "killing a man", or being a German spy during the Great War and the possibility of him being a cousin of contemporaneous German ruler Kaiser Wilhelm. He is famous for throwing glamorous parties attended by high society, with their countless gatecrashers whom he generously tolerates. However, Gatsby has no ties to the society of the rich in which he circulates, and is a lonely man. All he really wants is to "repeat the past" – to be reunited with the love of his life and golden girl, Daisy. It is revealed that Daisy is the primary reason he pursued a life of money, the other being that he wanted to escape from the life of his father, a farmer. But Daisy is now Daisy Buchanan, married to the staid, relatively respectable millionaire Tom Buchanan, and the couple now has a young child. For Gatsby, though, Daisy's new status as mother and wife hardly constitutes an obstacle in regaining her love; and Daisy, feeling trapped and bored in her marriage with the unfaithful Tom, is flattered by the return of Gatsby's attention. The title role is the role (or position) of the character after whom a literary work (e. ... A millionaire is a person who has a net worth or wealth of more than one million United States dollars, euros, UK pounds or units of a comparably valued currency. ... Bootlegging is a slang term to describe smuggling. ... Clockwise from top: Trenches in frontline, a British Mark I Tank crossing a trench, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the battle of the Dardanelles, a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks and a Sopwith Camel biplane. ... A cousin chart identifies the correct name for the relationship between two people with a common ancestor. ... A ruler is an instrument used in geometry and technical drawing to measure short distances and/or to rule straight lines. ... Wilhelm II of Prussia and Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert von Hohenzollern (January 27, 1859 - June 4, 1941) was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia from 1888 - 1918. ... Marriage is a relationship between individuals which has formed the foundation of the family for most societies. ... Man and woman undergoing public exposure for adultery in Japan, around 1860 Adultery is generally defined as consensual sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their lawful spouse. ...

The narrator of the novel is 29-year-old Nick Carraway, an apprentice Wall Street trader in the rising financial markets of the early 1920s, who is also Daisy's cousin. Carraway has moved into a small bungalow next to the enormous mansion (a "factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy") of millionaire Gatsby. Eventually, Carraway cynically realizes that the rich, as respectable as they may seem superficially, are indeed "careless people," and Tom and Daisy are no exception. Tom has a mistress, Myrtle Wilson, the wife of the gas station owner in the wasteland of ashes around present day Flushing, Queens, New York, between the fabulous mansions on Long Island and New York City. Nick meets and quickly befriends Gatsby though, and becomes his liaison with Daisy. One afternoon, after a confrontation between Tom and Gatsby over Daisy, Daisy runs over Myrtle while driving back from the city. Tom misleads Myrtle's heartbroken husband George, implying that the accident was Gatsby's fault, though it is not clear if it was intentional. In a fit of blinding vengeance, Gatsby is consequently shot by George Wilson; Wilson commits suicide immediately afterward. Hardly anyone, not even Daisy, goes to Gatsby's funeral, and Nick, Gatsby's sole remaining friend, attends it with Gatsby's father, a poor farmer. Only one guest shows up, one of Gatsby's previous party-goers who was amazed with Gatsby's incredible library. Gatsby is buried with the same mystery in which he suddenly appeared. The Narrator is the entity within a story that tells the story to the reader. ... For other uses, see Wall Street (disambiguation). ... The term Trader can refer to: In economics, a merchant, a retail business or one who attempts to generally buy wholesale and sell later at a profit In finance, someone who buys and sells financial instruments such as stocks, bonds and derivatives - see stock trader In marketing, Trader Classified Media... In finance, financial markets facilitate: The raising of capital (in the capital markets); The transfer of risk (in the derivatives markets); and International trade (in the currency markets). ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America and in Australia as the Roaring Twenties . In Europe it is sometimes refered to as the Golden Twenties. ... Flushing is a section of the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... The four counties of Long Island. ... Manhattan Borough,highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life; it is sometimes a noun for one who has committed or attempted the act. ... Underwater funeral in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea A funeral is a ceremony marking a persons death. ...

Literary elements

Structure

• Nonlinear representation of time
• 1st person limited point of view

A watch Attempting to understand Time has long been a prime occupation for philosophers, scientists and artists. ...

Themes

The main theme of the novel is:

• The rise and fall of the American Dream. It is debatable whether Buchanan represents the American Dream, by which people obtain their wealth openly and legally, whatever their status in society, in contrast to Gatsby, for whom the acquisition of wealth has its origins in the underworld. Tom Buchanan is unfaithful; Daisy Buchanan is artificial; Gatsby himself is an enigmatic and shadowy figure. This is highlighted by the passage regarding the Dutch settlers near the end of the book. Just as the settlers envisioned a limitless world of possibility as they caught a glimpse so did Gatsby also catch a glimpse of an entirely new world of the aristocracy. The fall of the dream is the reality that results from the initial world of limitless possibility.

Minor themes: The American Dream is the idea (often associated with the Protestant work ethic) held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity. ...

• The novel discusses questions of racism through the character of Tom Buchanan who, on top of his loose morals, is also a white supremacist. This theme, however minor in its focus, adds to the Buchanans' corruption in contrast to Gatsby.

• The contrast between East and West. Fitzgerald contrasts the Eastern and Western portions of the United States in many of his works (Diamond as Big as the Ritz is a prime example) but in Gatsby, the West Egg (where Nick lives) is visually the more garish of the two and of a distinctly lower class, while the East Egg is where the "old money" lives, and of a higher class. In addition, Tom and Daisy move to East Egg from the midwestern suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. Lake Forest at the time (though this depiction is still fairly accurate) mirrored the social structure of West and East Egg, with much of the "new money" concentrated in the west side of Lake Forest, while most of the "old money" lives on or near Lake Michigan, on the east side of Lake Forest. This even more obvious contrast gives the reader a clear idea of the author's opinion on social classes in America during his time.

An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water fountain at a racially segregated streetcar terminal in the United States in 1939. ... White supremacy is a racist ideology which holds that the white race is superior to other races. ... Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois. ... Sunset on Lake Michigan A different sunset on the lake. ...

Symbols

• The green light on the end of Daisy's dock is introduced at the end of Chapter 1, when Gatsby reaches, "trembling", out toward it across the Sound. It clearly represents Gatsby's dreams and hopes, but has other, more subtle, associations such as money and the go-go attitude depicted of the 20s. The light also seems to symbolize the impossibility of Gatsby winning back Daisy, being far away in the distance and out of reach. It can also be interpreted as a veil that hides the true Daisy from Gatsby's eyes. Green is also the colour of jealousy, and - while Gatsby himself does not outwardly display any such kind - there is a possibility that he is jealous of Daisy's marriage with Tom Buchanan.

• Fitzgerald was among the American expatriates who lived in Paris in the 1920s. The name Gatsby is a close homophone of the word gaspille from the verb gaspiller ("to waste"). It also is a pun on "gat," the slang term for pistol.

• There are many images of thin moons, faded moonlight, stars and single body parts. These all imply the fragmented world in which they live and that attempts to grasp for a moment are futile as what exists is temporal and elusive.

• The colors white and yellow have special significance in the novel. White is a symbol of purity and goodness, while yellow is the color of corruption and greed. Gatsby's world, East Egg and West Egg, is one that superficially appears pure, but is less savory at its core. Similarly Daisy projects an image of innocence, but that is later revealed to be merely a facade. She is unconcerned about the consequences of her choices, and acts solely on the basis of what she wants at that moment in time. Fitzgerald changes the color of the car used by Gatsby. At first, Gatsby's car is a cream color, but its color changes to yellow after Daisy and Gatsby strike and kill Myrtle and then leave the scene of the accident.
• Water imagery abounds in the novel including the houses and women floating on the sea, the "foul dust floating in the wake" of Gatsby's dreams and the "beat on, boats against the current" image with which the books ends. This suggets the uncertainty of life for the characters and the lack of a solid base on which to base their lives. Within modernist art water imagery was common as the characters are always unsure where fate will carry them.

• It is notable that many of the female characters have names of flowers (e.g. Myrtle, Daisy). They are all seen primarily as sources of empowerment and meaning for the men in the novel.

• Fitzgerald, along with Ernest Hemingway and other expatriates, constantly ressurrected the theme of a "waste land" established by T.S. Eliot in his poem of the same name. In the poem, Eliot speaks constantly of loneliness and despair while conjuring dark and depressing imagery such as bones and ruined cities in order to reflect his theme. It is no coincidence that in "The Great Gatsby" the road from West Egg to New York City contains a veritable waste land known as the "valley of ashes". In one interpretation, the ash heap, which George Wilson lives in, symbolizes the constant plight of the poor while they endure the constant oppression of the wealthy and the seemingly toxic output of the capitalist system of which they are the victims. The eyes of T.J. Eckleberg which overlook the ash heap serve as a reminder that even though the wealthy may live well on earth and the poor, as George Wilson, have to bear a waste land, it shall not be so in the afterlife.

• The consumption of alcohol is also very significant. The 1920s society is constructed as a hedonistic, materialistic culture which has become obsessed with money, pleasure and the importance of appearance. Alcohol, it seems, adds to the attraction, ignorance and acceptance of such a world. Nick's perception of the parties changes rapidly as he consumes alcohol, changing them from gaudy and unpleasant to something "elemental and profound". We also sense his acclimatisation to life in New York as he tells us the party in Tom's apartment is only the second time in his life he has gotten drunk. It should also be noted that the story takes place during the era of Prohibition in America, when the manufacture, sale and transport of alcohol were illegal.

An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is someone temporarily or permanently in a country and culture other than that of their upbringing and/or legal residence. ... Homonyms (in Greek homoios = identical and onoma = name) are words which have the same form (orthographic/phonetic) but unrelated meaning. ... Species Myrtus communis L. Myrtus nivellei Batt. ... See also Daisy, Arkansas, United States and Daisy, Georgia, United States. ... Ernest Hemingway, 1950 Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist and short story writer whose works, drawn from his wide range of experiences in World War I, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II, are characterized by terse minimalism, understatement and primer style... An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is someone temporarily or permanently in a country and culture other than that of their upbringing and/or legal residence. ... Thomas Stearns Eliot (September 26, 1888 - January 4, 1965), was a major Modernist Anglo-American poet, dramatist, and literary critic. ... T. S. Eliot (by E. O. Hoppe, 1919) The Waste Land is a highly influential 433-line poem by T. S. Eliot. ... The city is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture, and is one of the worlds major global cities (along with London, Tokyo and Paris) with a virtually unrivaled collection of museums, galleries, performance venues, media outlets, international corporations, and stock exchanges. ... In general usage, alcohol (from Arabic al-kukhul الكحول, al meaning the and kukhul meaning spirit, the chemical) refers almost always to ethanol, also known as grain alcohol, and often to any beverage that contains ethanol (see alcoholic beverage). ... ... Materialism is the philosophical view that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. ... The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ...

Trivia

• The introduction features a poem attributed to Thomas Parke D'Invilliers, who is actually a character from Fitzgerald's first novel This Side Of Paradise.

• The situation of the Great Gatsby, a wealthy man of mystery haunting the society of his lost love, may owe something to Alexandre Dumas, père's Count of Monte Cristo.

Thomas Parke DInvilliers is both a pen name of F. Scott Fitzgerald and a character in his autobiographical first novel, This Side Of Paradise. ... This Side of Paradise was F. Scott Fitzgeralds first novel, published in 1920. ... Alexandre Dumas, père, born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (July 24, 1802 – December 5, 1870), is best known for his numerous historical novels of high adventure which have made him the most widely read French author in the world. ... The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. ...

Publications

The Great Gatsby

• Scribner; Reprint edition (June 1, 1995) ISBN 0684801523

Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (Cliffs Notes)

• Cliffs Notes; (June 5, 2000) ISBN 0764586017

The Great Gatsby – Penguin Critical Studies Guide

• Penguin Uk; Study Guide edition (November 2003) ISBN 0140771972

The Great Gatsby (Audio Editions CD)

• The Audio Partners; Unabridged edition (April 2002) ISBN 1572702567

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby: A Literary Reference

• Carroll & Graf; (March 10, 2002) ISBN 0786709960

Film

The Great Gatsby has been filmed four times:

1974 movie version

1. In 1926 by Herbert Brenon – A silent movie of which, according to the IMDb, no copies have survived (only a trailer with a few minutes of footage remains);
2. In 1949 by Elliott Nugent – Starring Alan Ladd;
3. In 1974 by Jack Clayton – Often considered the definitive screen version, starring Robert Redford in the title role and Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan, with a script by Francis Ford Coppola;
4. In 2001 by Robert Markowitz – A made-for-TV movie starring Toby Stephens and Mira Sorvino.

The 2002 film G (only released in 2005) by Christopher Scott Cherot claims inspiration from The Great Gatsby. This is a DVD cover. ... This is a DVD cover. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Herbert Brenon (January 13, 1880 - June 21, 1958) was a film director during the era of silent movies through the early 1940s. ... Silent Movie is a 1976 comedy film directed by and starring Mel Brooks. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), owned by Amazon. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Alan Walbridge Ladd, Jr. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... Jack Clayton (March 1, 1921–February 26, 1995) was a British film director who specialised in bringing literary works to the screen. ... Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. ... Farrow on the cover of Glamour, 1968 Mia Farrow (born on February 9, 1945 in Los Angeles, California) is an Irish-American actress. ... A screenplay or script is a blueprint for producing a motion picture. ... Francis Ford Coppola at Cannes 2001 Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American film director, screenwriter, vintner, magazine publisher, and hotelier, most renowned for directing the highly regarded Godfather trilogy. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. ... Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born on April 21, 1969 in Middlesex hospital, London) is a British actor best known for his role as Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002). ... Mira Sorvino at Cannes, 2000 Mira Sorvino (born September 28, 1967) is an Oscar-winning American actress, who has appeared in Romy and Micheles High School Reunion, At First Sight, Blue in the Face, Summer of Sam and Mighty Aphrodite. ... 2002 (MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Christopher Scott Cherot, born November, 1967 is a film director known for Hav Plenty,(which he wrote, edited, acted in, as well as directed) released in 1997. ...

See also

• Hamptons

The Hamptons, shown highlighted The Hamptons refers to a number of places near the East End of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. ...

External links

• Free MonkeyNotes Study Guide at PinkMonkey.com
• Free Barron's Booknotes at PinkMonkey.com
• Extensive notes on plot, characters, theme etc.
• The Great Gatsby at Homework Online
• The Great Gatsby RSS Version of the Text
• Online text of The Great Gatsby
• Another online text of The Great Gatsby
• An Index to The Great Gatsby
• The Great Gatsby (1926) on the Internet Movie Database
• The Great Gatsby (1949) on the Internet Movie Database
• The Great Gatsby (1974) on the Internet Movie Database
• G (2002) on the Internet Movie Database