Illusions and Reality in a Complete Summary of The Great Gatsby

A quintessential American tale, Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby novel has captivated readers for nearly a century. Our in-depth analysis immerses readers into the opulent world of the Jazz Age. It examines the characters, plot, and underlying themes that have cemented the novel's literary acclaim.

From the enigmatic Jay Gatsby to the corrupt society of the Roaring Twenties, The Great Gatsby summary below offers a multifaceted perspective on one of literature’s most beloved works.

Overview of The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a fictional novel written by Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. The American writer was inspired by the Jazz Age, which defined life on Long Island, near New York City. Written in the first person, the narrator, Nick Carraway, tells of his encounters with Jay Gatsby, a cryptic millionaire obsessed with reuniting with Daisy Buchanan, a former lover.

The novel reflects Scott's youthful love life with Ginevra King, a socialite at the time. Dissipated parties were the order of the day, and the writer found himself in several of them in North Shore, Long Island, in 1922. After moving to the French Riviera later, he completed the novel’s first draft in 1924.

Maxwell Perkins, an editor, persuaded the outgoing writer to revise the book during the following winter. After revising, Scott Fitzgerald was content with the work but needed to decide on the right title. As he considered the alternatives, a dust jacket art by Francis Cugat, a Spanish painter called Celestial Eyes, inspired him. As a result, he used it on the book's cover.

Charles Scribner's Sons published the book in 1925, and some of the reviews later favored the book. Critics believed that the book's effort differed from what he had written. Earlier novels, such as This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned, seemed to be much better, making The Great Gatsby a commercial disappointment.

By October, after the release, he had sold less than 20,000 copies. The author died of a heart attack in 1940, believing he had failed and nobody remembers his work. During World War II, the book was popular after the Council on Books in Wartime distributed copies (among others) to US soldiers outside the country's borders.

After a scholarly examination, it became part of high school literature studies, and later, numerous adaptations followed. It's a novel that continues to attract attention due to the addressed themes, which are still relevant almost 100 years after its publishing.

In The Great Gatsby summary below, we will explore those themes after shedding light on the summary, plot, setting, and characters. Today, it is a novel that has significantly contributed to American literature, influencing numerous stage and film adaptations. Critics now say that the masterpiece is one of the greatest novels and has the right to be called 'The Great American Novel'.

Fact Tip

Scott Fitzgerald was part of the Lost Generation community in Paris. This group of young writers from the US moved to France to escape the expensive life that US citizens had acquired during the Roaring Twenties.

He was among renowned writers such as Gertrude Stein, Thomas Wolfe, Ezra Pound, and Ernest Hemingway. We have reviewed one of Hemingway's famous short stories, Soldier’s Home. After the general novel summary below, we have shared the summary’s link (and others).

The Great Gatsby Book Summary

The narrator, Nick Carraway, is from the Midwest but relocates to the East Coast, Manhattan, New York, to work as a bond salesman. On Long Island, he resides in West Egg, an area known for the nouveau riche.

The next town is the East Egg, where those with the old money live. Nick's cousin, Daisy Buchanan, lives in the East Egg with her husband, Tom Buchanan. Nick reconnects with them, where he meets their friend Jordan Baker.

Later, Tom and Nick meet Myrtle Wilson in Queens, who happens to be Tom's mistress. Myrtle is George Wilson's wife, a man running a gas station in the Valley of Ashes. Nick, Myrtle, and Tom go to Manhattan to party, where Tom punches Myrtle in the face, breaking her nose.

After the party, Nick meets Jay Gatsby, his neighbor. He is a self-made millionaire who is very mysterious since no one knows much about him. He also hosts extravagant parties in his vast mansion every weekend.

Nick and Gatsby meet after the mysterious millionaire invites Nick to one of his parties. After the party at Gatsby's house, Gatsby takes Carraway to lunch and introduces his business partner, Meyer Wolfsheim. Meyer is a gangster believed to have fixed the 1919 World Series.

Nick and Jordan engage in a relationship. That's when Nick, through her, learns about Gatsby and Daisy dating five years ago. Gatsby wants to rekindle their love affair, so Nick arranges for Daisy to visit his house so that Gatsby can drop by 'accidentally'.

When Daisy and Gatsby meet at Nick's house, they start having an affair.

Tom and Daisy attend one of Gatsby's parties, and Daisy is unhappy about the over-display of wealth. She is disgusted by the pretentious, uncouth display of wealth in the mansion. Tom discovers that Gatsby's wealth is most likely a result of criminal activities.

Gatsby's history does not reflect the man he is. He is from a poor farming family, and his name is James Gatz. His ambition push creates the Jay Gatsby personality, a self-made man representing the ideal American dream.

Tom and Daisy host Nick, Jordan, and Gatsby as lunch guests. While having lunch, Gatsby and Daisy plan to tell Tom she is quitting their relationship. Gatsby is, however, uncomfortable telling Tom such news in his house, so Daisy suggests that they all go to Manhattan.

In Manhattan, at the Plaza Hotel, they all get into a suite, and that's when the skeletons come out of the closet. Gatsby reveals that he and Daisy are in love. Tom, on the other hand, reveals Gatsby's dirty secrets. He says that Gatsby has been bootlegging and likely other illicit enterprises.

That is when Gatsby dares Daisy to renounce Tom, saying she never loved him. Daisy can't say so, though, because that is not true. Gatsby realizes his dream of being with Daisy is gone, and she has chosen to be with Tom.

In the evening, on the same day, Gatsby and Daisy go home in Gatsby's car, where Daisy demands to drive. They reach Wilson's gas station, and Myrtle runs out, thinking it's Tom passing by. Daisy hits her and drives off. A few miles behind Daisy and Gatsby, Nick, Tom, and Jordan investigate how the accident happened. Tom tells George that the car that hit Myrtle is Gatsby's. That makes George think that Gatsby is Myrtle's lover.

At night, Gatsby hides outside Tom's house and meets Nick. He takes the blame for the accident and waits outside the home for Daisy to change her mind. She and Tom, however, have plans to get out of town, and they do so the next day. Nick breaks up with Jordan since Myrtle's death does not bother her.

Gatsby narrates more about his past to Nick. He tells him that he met Daisy when he was an army officer. After a month, Gatsby had to go and fight in World War I. Two years before he returned home, Daisy got married to Tom. He is obsessed with getting her back after the war consumed five years of his time.

The next day, George Wilson kills Gatsby and then shoots himself. The police investigated the issue and omitted Myrtle's affair and the Buchanans in the report. Nick organizes Gatsby's funeral, but people, including Wolfsheim, refuse to attend.

Gatsby's father arrives in New York from Minnesota for his son's burial. He shows Nick Gatsby's self-improvement plan, which he wrote as a boy. Nick, disenchanted with life and time spent on the East Coast, resolves to return to the Midwest.

Before returning to the Midwest, Nick encounters Tom and refuses to shake his hand. Tom admits that he told George that the car that hit Myrtle was Gatsby's. However, Nick does not tell Tom that Daisy is driving it.

Before returning home, Nick goes to Gatsby's mansion and stares across the bay to see the green light marking the end of Daisy's dock.

Book Summaries Similar to The Great Gatsby Summary

The Great Gatsby’s interesting genre involves tragedy, modernism, realism, and social satire. It’s a story that borrows from true-life events but is fictional.

So, in our book summaries categorization, we place them under the fictional books category. In helping students learn how to write a summary of a book, we have worked on more than 20 detailed book summaries.

Under the fiction books category, we have worked on the following in addition to The Great Gatsby summary:

• Soldiers Home Summary
• 1984 Book Summary
• A Clockwork Orange Summary
• A Rose for Emily Summary
• Fahrenheit 451 Summary
• Holes Book Summary
• Lord of the Flies Summary
• Pride and Prejudice Summary
• The Catcher in the Rye Summary
• The Wind in the Willows Summary
• Things Fall Apart Summary
• To Kill a Mockingbird Summary Essay

Review them to see what our essay writers have compiled in each summary. If you need help writing any of them (or any other), contact our summary writing services anytime.

The Great Gatsby Plot Summary

The Great Gatsby Chapter 1 Summary

The Great Gatsby starts with Nick Carraway, the narrator, explaining that he is nonjudgemental. He begins by quoting his father, who once told him to remember that not all people have had the same opportunities as him before he judges anyone. He has just arrived in the Midwest, where he is from, after being disappointed by life on the East Coast.

The letdown is all in the story he is about to tell. After earning a degree from Yale and participating in World War I, Nick opts to go to New York to become a bond salesman.

He rents a bungalow in West Egg, a suburb in Long Island where people with 'new money' reside. West Egg is also less fashionable than East Egg, which is on the other side of Long Island Sound. The tiny bungalow is near Gatsby's house, a gigantic mansion on a 40-acre plot.

The narrator visits his cousin, Daisy, who is married to Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man he knows vaguely from Yale. He enters their house, deluged with decorations, and meets Tom, Daisy, and Jordan Baker, a long-time friend of Daisy. Tom is a husky fellow who is also aggressive and physically intimidating.

Daisy and Jordan, both in white dresses, are chatting. Daisy laughs a lot but speaks in a low, likable tone. Their conversation is shallow as they talk over each other. As they are having dinner, Tom exposes his racist character. It's being influenced by 'Colored Empires,' a book he is reading that talks about the 'white supremacists' being in danger of being overtaken by minorities.

A ringing phone interrupts their dinner conversation, and Tom leaves the table to answer it. Daisy is upset by the call and leaves the dining room, following Tom. Once she is in the next room with Tom, Jordan tells Nick that the person on the other end of the phone is Tom's mistress. She lives in New York City. That makes the rest of the dinner awkward, and Nick thinks of calling the police.

After dinner, Daisy and Nick go aside, and she tells him that she has a cynical attitude. Nick asks her about her two-year-old daughter, but Daisy's maternal feelings are absent. Upon discovering she had a daughter, she cried as her first reaction. She hoped her daughter would grow into a 'little beautiful fool'.

Daisy reveals her inner feelings to Nick, who thinks she is acting up. When Daisy and Nick join Jordan and Tom, Nick realizes that Jordan is a professional golfer he has seen in magazines. He is also aware of her unpleasant story.

When the golfer goes to bed, Daisy tells Nick he should consider starting a relationship with Jordan. Later, Tom tells Nick not to believe anything that Daisy told him. Later, Daisy and Tom question Nick about his engagement rumor. Nick denies it since that rumor is one of the reasons why he moved to the East Coast.

Nick leaves his cousin and her husband, wondering why Daisy doesn't think of taking her daughter and leaving Tom. After returning to his place, Nick sees his neighbor, Gatsby, outside his mansion. As he thinks of introducing himself, he sees Gatsby stretching his arms toward a green light on the opposite side of the bay.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 2 Summary

Nick vividly describes the 'Valley of Ashes' between the West Egg-rich suburbs and Manhattan. The dirty Queens borough is a gray part you drive through while heading to New York City.

There is a billboard above the dim and smoky landscape with a Dr. T. J. Eckleburg eye doctor advertisement. It has giant eyes with spectacles that 'watch' everything happening on the ground. George Wilson and Myrtle Wilson (Tom's mistress) live in these ashes.

Nick and Tom had arranged to visit Manhattan together. So, they board a train, and Tom suddenly stops to meet Myrtle. They go to Wilson's garage, where Tom and George discuss a car purchase deal. Myrtle descends from the stairs. She is not the most beautiful, but her plumpness and liveliness make her attractive.

Myrtle instructs George to get chairs. While he goes to get them, Tom whispers in Myrtle's ear about a plan to meet him in the city. He then leaves with Nick and explains that George has no idea about Myrtle's affair with him.

While they board the same train to Manhattan, Myrtle sits in a different car to keep it discreet. They then meet at the station. Myrtle says she wants a puppy, and Tom buys one from a patronizing salesperson who happens to be passing by.

Nick wants to leave, but Tom and Myrtle insist that he join them at their far-end uptown apartment. It's a small, overly decorated house that is quite uncomfortable. Tom offers whiskey, and Nick gets drunk for the second time in his life. The subsequent events are somewhat hazy.

Soon, Catherine, Myrtle's sister, comes over. She is accompanied by McKee, a photographer, and his horrifying wife. Myrtle domineers over the guests, and the McKees fawn in response. They complement her dress and start forging how to photograph her artistically. Tom pours alcohol for the guests.

Catherine tells Nick about the parties at Gatsby's house during this time. She tells him that Gatsby is rich because Kaiser Wilheim is his cousin.

Catherine goes on to tell Nick that Myrtle and Tom hate their current marriage partners. She even wonders why they don't divorce their partners and marry each other. Myrtle overhears the conversation and makes an obscene utterance about her husband. According to Catherine, the divorce cannot happen because Daisy is Catholic. Nick is shocked by the lies Tom has been telling since Daisy is not a Catholic.

Nick then remembers an anti-Semitic slur that Mrs. McKee used when talking about a failed suitor. Myrtle responds that she made a mistake by settling with the suitor she should have ignored.

During this time, Nick is still trying to leave the party. Myrtle tells him about her first time meeting Tom on the train. As the night proceeds, Tom and Myrtle argue, and she teases him about Daisy. Tom strikes Myrtle and breaks her nose in retaliation.

Nick leaves and goes home accompanied by McKee, the photographer. Later, Nick's insobriety catches up with him, and he somehow finds himself waiting for the train at the station at 4 a.m. to return to West Egg.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 3 Summary

The plot summary in this chapter starts with Nick narrating how he watches Gatsby's parties at his place every weekend. The celebrations go day and night, and then servants clean up on Mondays.

Everything at Gatsby's is either in abundance or overly done. Here is a list of what happens at Gatsby's house every weekend:

• Guests arrive and depart in Rolls-Royce taxis
• Lemon and orange crates arrive to be juiced
• An army of caterers is available to set the lighting and tents and to serve the guests
• Food is always in plenty, and the bar is overly stocked with liquor
• A huge orchestra band playing the music

What makes all of the above a big deal is that it’s happening during the prohibition era, during the Jazz Age. The first time Nick goes to Gatsby's place is through an invitation. He is one of the few guests who are actually invited. According to the narrator, people are not invited; they go there.

While at the party, Nick grows uneasy because he doesn't know anybody, and the English folks present seem desperate to 'touch' the American money. No one knows Gatsby's whereabouts. At the bar, Nick sees Jordan, and they decide to mingle with the rest of the partygoers.

A young woman joins them and tells how she got an expensive dress from Gatsby after she ripped hers at one of Gatsby's previous parties. They continue gossiping about the odd behavior and what it could mean. Some rumors circulating in their chat are that Gatsby is a killer and a German spy.

Jordan and Nick eat the food served to them, along with other East Egg dwellers present at the party. They all give the insane party a disdainful look.

They decide to look for Gatsby since Nick has never met his neighbor. They find themselves in a library with highly decorated bookshelves full of books. A drunk man with owl-eyed spectacles emphasizes how real the books are and how Gatsby has maintained them. Gatsby has never read those books.

In the garden, guests dance as the opera singers entertain them. Some of the attendants also do some spicy acts. Nick and Jordan sit at a table where a man recognizes Nick from the army. After talking about their stations in France during the war, the man tells them that he is Gatsby.

After Gatsby reveals himself, he flashes a highly appealing smile and goes to take a phone call from Chicago. Nick is intrigued by Gatsby and desires to know more about him. Jordan tells him that Gatsby says he is an Oxford man, but she does not believe that. Nick adds to the rumor with the other stories he has heard about the man (he has killed a man before, he is Kaiser Wilhelm's nephew, and he was a German spy, among others).

The orchestra performs the latest number-one hit, and Nick notices Gatsby's approval and looks at the guests. However, the host is not drinking, dancing, or flirting with anyone.

Suddenly, Gatsby summons Jordan for a private conversation. While she is away, Nick watches a drunkard weeping before passing out. He also witnesses a couple fighting. Even those from East Egg are on their worst behavior. When the party ends, people are still reluctant to leave.

Jordan returns to Nick and tells him that Gatsby has told her something amazing, but she cannot reveal it. She gives him her number and leaves the occasion. Nick later finds Gatsby and apologizes for not seeing him earlier. Gatsby invites him for a hydroplane ride the next day. Nick leaves when Gatsby goes to pick up another call from Philadelphia.

As Nick leaves his compound, the party host waves in solitary from his mansion's steps. On his way home, Nick witnesses a car accident on the road. The car in the ditch belongs to the man with owl-eyed spectacles. The driver also gets out of the vehicle and is drunkenly horrified and confused about what happened.

At this point, there is a twist in the plot. The present Nick thinks that what he has already written will give readers the wrong idea of who he is. His life during that summer did not revolve around Gatsby only. That only happened after he attended the first Gatsby party. During that summer, he was busy working as a bond salesman at Probity Trust (a bond trading company), where he had a relationship with one of his co-workers.

He also likens the crowd but anonymous feeling while in Manhattan, but loneliness does not leave him. In mid-summer, Nick and Jordan meet again, and they start dating. He almost falls in love with her and then discovers the uncontrollable liar she is behind her boredom. She, however, gets away with it since, in the upper-class code of conduct, it's wrong to accuse a woman of lying.

That is when Nick remembers the story he read about Jordan cheating in golf by moving her ball. The witnesses later retracted the accusation, which was never proven. Nick also complains that Baker is a terrible driver. She responds that she relies on other people's careful driving instead of hers.

Nick wants to take the relationship further, but his previous engagement at home holds him back. This is the same engagement that Tom and Daisy asked him about. In this chapter, he also claims he is among the few honest folks he has ever met.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 4 Summary

On a Sunday morning, the partygoers return to Gatsby's house, and rumors about this mysterious millionaire circulate. It's said that he is the nephew of Paul von Hindenburg.

Nick compiles a roster of guests who frequented Gatsby's parties that summer. There is a combination of East Egg and West Egg members. The former has some Waspy-sounding names, while the latter contains ethnic sounds from German, Jewish, and Irish communities. There are also several names from the theater.

One late July morning, Gatsby picks Nick from his place in his gorgeous yellow car and takes him to lunch in Manhattan. They seem not to talk much, but suddenly, Gatsby tells Nick to shun the rumors he has heard about him. He also tells the narrator that he will confess the real deal.

From Gatsby's mouth, he claims that he was born wealthy and from a Midwestern family, and his parents are no longer among the living. He was educated at Oxford since that was the family tradition. At this point, Nick thinks that he is lying.

Gatsby continues by telling how he wandered in Europe doing nothing and was depressed until the war came. He fought and won medals from the allied governments. He also shows Nick one of the medals and a photograph while in Oxford. Nick is now convinced that the enticing story is true. Gatsby concludes by telling Nick the tale is some payment for a favor he needs later.

To Nick's shock, Jordan will reveal that favor to him later. While driving to Manhattan, Nick spots George Wilson at his gas station. Gatsby is moving fast, and a policeman tries to stop them. Gatsby doesn't pull over and instead shows the officer a white card. The cop lets him go as he waves at him apologetically. He then explains to Nick that the cop owes him a favor.

Nick is delighted by a scene in Manhattan that portrays how 'anything goes' in this part of New York. It's a funeral procession with a car carrying white and black passengers.

While having lunch, Gatsby introduces Nick to Meyer Wolfsheim. Nick describes him in anti-Semitic phrases. He mocks how he talks, his looks, and his conduct, which make him resemble more of a Jewish man than a gangster.

Wolfshiem reflects on how he witnessed a gang execution in another restaurant. Nick also remembers the incident and how the shooters’ arrests happened before being sentenced to die in the electric chair. Wolfshiem thinks Nick is another business partner, but Gatsby clarifies that he is just a friend.

Gatsby apologizes for not disclosing the favor to Nick and then makes a phone call, leaving Wolfsheim and Nick at the table. Mr. Meyer confirms that Gatsby was a student at Oxford alumnus. He then tells Nick that his cufflinks are made of human molars and, out of the blue, suggests that Gatsby would never touch a friend's wife.

Gatsby returns, and Wolfsheim leaves them. Nick, wondering what the man does for a living, gets a shocking revelation from Gatsby. He tells Nick that Wolfsheim is a gambler implicated in the 1919 World Series. Nick is overwhelmed when he starts thinking how one man could pull such an outrage.

Tom arrives at the restaurant. Nick and Gatsby go to greet him, making Gatsby uncomfortable to the point of disappearing without a word. Later that day, Nick meets Jordan at the Plaza Hotel, and she shares the following:

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It was 1917 when Jordan Baker and Daisy Fay (her name before marriage) became best friends. She was 16, while Daisy was 18. Daisy was the popular girl in Louisville, always spotted in white clothes, a white car, and numerous boys asking her out. Daisy enjoys the afternoon with Jay Gatsby when she decides to befriend Jordan. A few years later, Jordan overheard about Daisy trying to run away to bid farewell to a soldier heading to war.

A year after the war ended, Tom Buchanan married Daisy in a lavish ceremony. As a wedding present, he gave Daisy a pearl necklace worth $350,000 (equivalent to five million dollars today). Jordan was part of the bridal party as a bridesmaid.

Jordan found Daisy wasted the night before the wedding, holding a letter. She was bitterly crying while drunk, begging Jordan to call off the wedding. She then creased the letter in the bathtub. The following day was the big day. Nothing was mentioned, and the wedding went on as planned.

After the honeymoon, Daisy is deeply in love with Tom, who is already cheating. At the time, Daisy never had any known secret affairs. Jordan finishes the story by saying Daisy had never heard the name Gatsby in years until Nick went to their house. She realized it was the same Gatsby she knew while in Louisville.

Nick is astonished by the coincidence. Jordan tells him that it's not. Gatsby deliberately bought the house so that he could be across Daisy's place. She also tells Nick about Gatsby's request. He should invite Daisy to his place so that Gatsby can stop by 'accidentally' and meet Daisy there. Nick thinks that the plan is entirely outrageous.

She thinks that Gatsby expected Daisy to attend one of his parties. Since that didn't happen, it was time to execute the new plan. Nick and Jordan then spend time together, making out.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 5 Summary

When Nick gets home, he realizes that all the lights are on in Gatsby's house. He wants to hang out with Nick, but it's clear that he wants to know if his neighbor will execute his request. Nick agrees, and they plan for a day after Gatsby organizes to cut Nick's lawn.

Gatsby then proposes to do some bond business with Nick. The proposal makes Nick uncomfortable since he feels that Gatsby wants to buy him out for the favor. So, he declines the offer. The next day, Nick arranges for Gatsby and Daisy to meet by inviting her cousin for tea at his place. He also warns her not to let Tom accompany her.

Gatsby sends a lawn attendant to work on Nick's lawn and orders a massive banquet of flowers. He is unhappy about Nick's selection of tea and cakes and worries that Daisy may not come because it's raining. After freaking out due to Daisy's non-arrival, she pulls up at Nick's place just in time.

Gatsby disappears and then knocks on Nick's door after Daisy has settled. Gatsby meets Daisy in Nick's living room, and the initial reaction becomes awkward and intense. They cannot even utter a word.

Nick tries to leave them for their 'alone time,' but Gatsby also tries to leave out of panic. Nick convinces him to stay and then goes outside for an hour to give them privacy. When he gets back, they are no longer embarrassed. The air is now calm, and Gatsby looks happier.

Gatsby starts to brag about how it took him three years to get enough money to buy the mansion. Nick responds by reminding him that he said he got his wealth from inheritance. Gatsby quickly counters that by saying that he lost the wealth in 1914 when the financial panic happened. He has been in business since then.

Daisy tells Gatsby how she loves his big mansion while looking outside Nick's window. They all go to Gatsby's house, and he shows it to Daisy. He looks at her and notices her reaction. He cannot control his feelings now that the love of his life is around. He cannot even explain the feeling in words.

Gatsby then opens his cabinet and takes out the shirts, throwing them on a table. Daisy sees all the colors and patterns on the shirts, and her tears burst as she admires their beauty. Soon, it starts to rain, and Gatsby shows Daisy her house's view across the bay from his place.

He also tells Daisy about the green light he stares at on her dock. In the meantime, Nick wonders how Daisy can fulfill Gatsby's dream of how he envisions her. He also reflects on how Gatsby remained faithful to her over the years, but Daisy chose someone else because money and security were her priorities.

Nick then sees Dan Cody's photo; Gatsby claims he was his best friend, who is now dead. Gatsby then shows Daisy newspaper clippings he collected about her. He then gets a phone call from someone talking about Detroit, and he picks up, talks, and then hangs up without excusing himself.

At this point, Nick is trying to leave but ends up staying. They go outside on the lawn, and Gatsby notes that mist is blocking the green light from Daisy's dock. They then get Ewing Klipspringer, a man who happens to stay in the house, to play piano for them. Nick leaves after the man plays a comical love song, leaving the two lovebirds dancing.

As he moves out, he sees Daisy whispering into Gatsby's ears, which stirs up his emotions.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 6 Summary

Gatsby's success makes him a target. A reporter shows up at his place for an interview, and the rumors about him grow wilder. Some say he is involved in Canada's liquor pipeline, and others say his mansion is a boat.

Here, the narrative shifts to learning a few background details about Gatsby. His real name is James Gatz, and he comes from a poor farming family. He is a self-made millionaire, and he is so ambitious about his success that he changed his name to Jay Gatsby. Before his social and financial success, he spent most of his time fantasizing about the future.

As James Gatz, he met Dan Cody on his yacht on Lake Superior. Cody was a copper and silver mining millionaire who appeared to be glamorous. Gatz’s appealed to him was enough to hire him as a jack-of-all-trades for five years. They sailed and indulged in Cody's alcoholism as Gatz transformed himself into Jay Gatsby. Before his death, Cody left Gatsby $25,000 in his will, but the estranged wife took it all.

According to Nick, Gatsby tells him the above much later, but he only wants to squash the rumors. The narration then moves to summertime in 1922. Nick spends time with Jordan's aunt and tries to be friendly to the woman who likes to control her money and manage her life. After that, he returns to Gatsby's mansion.

An East Egg couple who happen to know Gatsby accompany Tom, and they stop by while on a horse ride. It's unclear why they stopped; Tom has yet to learn who Gatsby is. Gatsby reminds him of their previous encounter at a restaurant and informs him that he knows Daisy. He also invites the guests for supper.

Artfully, the couple invites Gatsby for dinner instead, and he agrees. When the guests move out, Nick follows them and overhears Tom complaining that Gatsby doesn't know how to read the situation in the room. The woman did not mean it when she invited him for supper. Furthermore, he doesn't own a horse he can ride.

Tom is also disturbed by the thought of how Daisy met Gatsby. The guests leave without the host despite the latter agreeing to a supper invitation.

The following Saturday, Daisy and Tom attend the Gastby's party. Nick notes that with their presence, the party does not suit the mood. Gatsby takes them around, introducing the celebrities and actors in the house. Tom and Daisy are somehow astonished, and it becomes clear to them that the party is too much, and they are looking at a circus. They also realize that they are in an upper class compared to what they are witnessing.

Gatsby takes Daisy for a dance while Tom makes his excuses to see other women. At this point, Daisy becomes miserable. As Gatsby goes to get a phone call, Nick and Daisy join drunk people seated around a table, slurring about how intoxicated they are. Daisy is disgusted by the people around and the party altogether.

As they leave, Tom suggests that Gatsby's wealth may come from bootlegging alcohol. Daisy tries to intervene by saying that the people at the party are attending without invitation, and he cannot turn them away. Nick extends further by saying Gatsby's money is from a chain of drug stores he has built. Daisy wants to stay longer since she worries about another guest taking Gatsby's attention while she is not around.

Later, Gatsby worries that the party didn't make Daisy happy, and he relays that to Nick. He also worries about reliving his and Daisy's past before he went to war. As Gatsby hopes to rekindle their romance with Daisy, he becomes absolute. He wants her to say she has never loved Tom and leave him.

Nick, on the other hand, doesn't believe it's possible. Gatsby tells Nick about the past that he wants to bring back. It all revolves around their first kiss. After kissing Daisy, Gatsby's dreams about himself and the future revolve around her.

When Nick hears his story, he tries to remember a familiar phrase or song but can't jog his memory enough.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 7 Summary

NB: This is the longest chapter in The Great Gatsby novel. It also hosts the story's climax.

One Saturday, suddenly, Nick notices that Gatsby is not hosting a party that weekend. He goes to his house to see why. A new butler, however, rudely sends him away. Gatsby had replaced all his servants with men sent by Wolfshiem. He says that Daisy is visiting him every afternoon, and he wants the affair to be discreet.

There is a lunch invite from the Buchanans. Gatsby asks Nick to accompany him there. The plan here is to let Tom know that Daisy never loved him and for Daisy to leave him. The lunch is supposed to happen the next day.

On the lunch day date, the summer sun was blazing hot. Gatsby and Nick have lunch with Tom, Daisy, and Jordan. Tom is on the phone arguing about a car. Daisy assumes he is just pretending and is talking to Myrtle. While Tom is in another room, Daisy kisses Gatsby.

A nurse brings Pammy, Daisy's daughter, to her mom and the friends in the room. Gatsby is shocked to see her and realizes the child is accurate, and she exists. Tom takes Gatsby outside for a tour around the house, where Gatsby points out that his home is directly across the Long Island Sound bay. That makes everyone fretful.

Daisy looks at Gatsby in a way that makes Tom suspicious of their affair. She even compliments him for his looks, making Tom realize something sinister is happening. Daisy then asks what they will do for the rest of their lives. She suggests that they should all go to Manhattan.

Tom agrees and insists on going immediately. He takes a bottle of whiskey to accompany them. Gatsby and Tom engage in a small argument about which car they should take. Tom drives Gatsby's car with less gas, taking Jordan and Nick with him, while Gatsby and Daisy take Tom's car. That makes Tom's suspicions about Daisy having an affair with Gatsby grow.

As they drive to Manhattan, Tom tells Jordan and Nick he has been doing a background check on Gatsby. Jordan laughs it off, and then they stop at Wilson's garage for a gas refill. Tom shows off Gatsby's car, pretending to be his. Wilson complains that he is sick and needs Tom's car to raise the money he needs fast.

He also tells Tom that Myrtle is cheating, so he is taking her away to the West. Tom is glad that Wilson knows about Myrtle's affair but doesn't know who the other culprit is. He tells George that he will sell him the car as agreed and then drives off. As they head out of the gas station, Myrtle stares at them from a window upstairs. She thinks Tom has a new car and that the woman in the backseat is Daisy.

When they got to Manhattan, the summer heat was too much. Jordan suggested they go to the movies, but they all ended up in one of the suites at the Plaza Hotel. The room was sulfurous, and a wedding noise came from downstairs.

A tense conversation begins in the room. Tom starts asking Gatsby questions, and Daisy defends him. Tom says that Gatsby is not an Oxford man as he claims, and Gatsby counters that by saying he went to Oxford for a few months to attend a special program for the officers after World War I. The credible argument Gatsby uses to explain fills Nick with confidence about him.

Gatsby then unleashes the truth by saying Daisy never loved Tom. She has always loved Gatsby. Tom refutes the claims by calling Gatsby crazy and says Daisy loves him and loves her, too, even though he cheats on her. Daisy confirms that Gatsby's claim is true.

Gatsby demands that Daisy should disavow her love for Tom, but she can never do it since her emotions are now overwhelming. Instead, she says she loves them both, crushing Gatsby's dream. At this juncture, things become uncontrollable as the worms get out of the can.

Tom reveals that he knows Gatsby's shady deals and businesses. Just like he had predicted, Gatsby has been bootlegging alcohol in drugstores. Tom has a friend who tried to do business with Wolfsheim and Gatsby. It's through him that Tom knows bootlegging is just part of their numerous criminal activities.

The revelation shocks Daisy, and her disappointment shows no matter how much Gatsby tries to defend himself. She tells Tom to take her home, but the husband throws his final blow, knowing their marriage is now intact. He tells Gatsby to take her home instead. Tom, Jordan, and Nick go home in Tom's car while Gatsby and Daisy use Gatsby's car.

Nick's narration at this point takes a turn to explain the evidence Michaelis has. He is the coffee shop owner adjacent to Wilson's garage.

In the evening (the same day), George Wilson told Michaelis that he had locked up Myrtle so that he could watch over her ahead of their move to the West in the next couple of days. That balled over Michaelis, who knows Wilson as a humble man. After he left, he overheard Myrtle and Wilson fighting. Myrtle ran outside towards a car heading to Long Island from New York City. The car hit her, and the driver didn't stop.

The narration of the same story now takes Nick's point of view as they are heading to Long Island Sound. Tom pulls up at the accident scene and jokes that Wilson is finally getting some business. When he later sees the dire situation, he runs toward Myrtle's body.

Tom consults with the police about what happened. He then realizes that the yellow car that hit Myrtle is identifiable. So, Tom runs to Wilson, grabs him, and confirms that the vehicle is not his. He only drove it that afternoon before giving it back to the owner. Tom sobs in the car as he, Nick, and Jordan leave the scene.

When they get to Tom's place, he invites Nick and Jordan, but Nick refuses since he feels terrible about the accident. Jordan insists they should go in, but Nick still refuses, and she goes inside the house alone. Nick sees Gatsby hiding in the bushes as he waits for a taxi that Tom promised to call.

As they discuss what he is doing there and what happened, Gatsby reveals that Daisy was driving. He tried to reach for the wheel to sway the car from hitting another one. As they were evading, Daisy hit Myrtle, who came out of nowhere.

Gatsby seems unmoved by Myrtle's death, and all he worries about is whether Daisy is okay and safe. So, he lurks in the bushes to see if Tom will mistreat Daisy when he knows what happened. Nick goes to the house to read the situation and sees Tom and Daisy having a quiet conversation in the kitchen.

Nick realizes that Gatsby has misunderstood Daisy and Tom's relationship. So, he leaves Gatsby alone when his taxi arrives.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 8 Summary

Nick has trouble sleeping at night because he wants to warn Gatsby about something. When the two neighbors meet in the morning, Gatsby says nothing happened at Tom's place all night. His house now looks emptier, overly enormous, poorly kept, and darker than usual.

Nick tells Gatsby he should consider lying low so that no one finds his car. However, Daisy's thoughts occupy Gatsby, making him unwilling to leave. So, he opts to tell Nick about his background—the same information narrated in chapter 6.

The narration begins with Gatsby saying that Daisy was the first wealthy, upper-class girl he ever met. He loved their enormous house and how other men adored and had loved her before. Such things revolved around her, making her his prize. Winning her was unnecessary since he was still a poor champ, but he slept with her instead. Why? He had to pretend that they were of the same social class.

He later realized he loved Daisy and was shocked that she loved him back. They dated for a month before Gatsby went to war in Europe. He became successful in the army and was promoted to major. After World War I ended, he went to Oxford and could not return to Daisy.

Daisy was into her usual routine of lavish living, sobbing, going out, and partying all night. Gatsby could tell from her letters that she was tired of waiting for him and wanted to finish up how she wanted her life to be. The one man who helped her finalize this part of life is Tom.

Gatsby then interrupts by saying there is no way Daisy ever loved Tom. Maybe a little after the wedding, then that's it.

He then continues to narrate that when he returned from Oxford, Tom and Daisy had wedded and were still on their honeymoon. For Gatsby, he felt like the best prize in life had faded away. After they finish eating breakfast, the gardener suggests that they should drain the pool. Gatsby instructs that it should stay that way since he has not swam in it all summer.

Even after what happened the previous night, Gatsby hopes that Daisy will call him. Nick thanked him for the breakfast and told him he was better than the 'rotten crowd,' which refers to the upper class attending his parties. Nick then leaves for work.

While at work, Nick falls asleep and is woken by a phone call from Jordan. She is upset with Nick because he did not give her the attention she expected the previous night. Nick cannot put up with her selfishness since she does not consider that someone just died last night. They break up by hanging up.

Nick tries to contact Gatsby, but the operator tells him the line is being kept free for an important call from Detroit. While returning to Long Island, Nick sits on the side where he will not see Wilson's garage. He then narrates what happens at the garage after he, Tom, and Jordan leave.

They found Catherine, Myrtle's sister, too drunk to understand what had happened. She later fainted and had to be taken away. Michaelis stayed with Wilson until dawn; Wilson kept talking about the yellow car that hit Myrtle and how he would find it. Michaelis advises him to see a priest, but Wilson shows him a pricey dog leash he found. So, according to him, there was solid proof that his wife had an affair and that the yellow car that hit her belonged to Myrtle's lover.

Wilson believes she was running out to talk to the man in the car. Michaelis, on the other hand, believes that she was fleeing because Wilson locked her up. While they were fighting, Wilson told Myrtle that God could see everything she was doing as he looked at the giant billboard with Dr. T.J. Eckleburg's eyes.

Michaelis looks at Wilson and notices he is calm, so he leaves his house and goes to rest. When he comes back to the garage, Wilson is not there. He had already gone to West Egg on foot, asking about the yellow car.

In the afternoon, Gatsby swims in his pool for the first time. He is still hoping to get a call from Daisy. Nick tries to imagine how Gatsby lives and what it's like for him to realize that your dream is gone. As Nick arrives at Gatsby's house, the chauffeur hears gunshots. They see Gatsby's body in the pool and another lying on the grass.

Wilson shot Gatsby and then himself.

The Great Gatsby Chapter 9 Summary

The police investigate Gatsby's death and draw everything on a simplified conclusion: Wilson kills Gatsby because grief overcame him. Catherine does not tell the police about Myrtle's affair. Rumors swirl around Gatsby and Myrtle being the mistress. Uninvited people, just like in his extravagant parties, flock into his mansion to get a glimpse of where and how the murder-suicide happened.

Nick is the only person who seems to have Gatsby's interests at heart during this time. He attends to the rumors and his funeral arrangements, among other necessities. Daisy and Tom left without leaving a word or a forwarding address. Nick tries to reach them in vain to inform them about Gatsby's death.

He also tries to get Wolfshiem, but he is also unreachable. He sends a formally-sounding letter but agrees to attend his business partner's funeral.

Nick answers the phone at Gatsby's place, thinking it's Daisy. However, it was another gang member associated with Gatsby's criminal activities. Upon hearing about Gatsby’s death from Nick, he hangs up.

After three days, Nick receives a telegram from Gatsby's father, Henry C. Gatz. He received the news about his son's death from a Chicago newspaper, and he is coming from Minnesota for burial. When he shows up in cheap clothing and looks old, it's clear that he is a poor man.

Mr. Gatz is in awe of his son's accomplishments. He believes in the American dream ideology and compares Gatsby to a famous railroad tycoon who went from rags to riches. He also asks Nick to tell his association with Gatsby, and Nick replies he is a close friend of Gatsby.

At night, Ewing Klipspringer calls. This guy spent most of his summer at Gatsby's house. Nick thinks he is calling to enquire about the funeral, but instead, he is calling to get a pair of shoes he left in the mansion. He also says he will not attend the funeral since he is going for a picnic in Greenwich, Connecticut.

On the day of the funeral, Nick visits Meyer Wolfsheim. At first, his secretary lies about Mr. Meyer being in Chicago. However, when Nick mentions Gatsby's name, he is taken to his office. Wolfsheim tells Nick more about Gatsby's past. After the war ended, Gatsby met Wolfsheim and asked for a job. Wolfsheim saw the man's potential and aspirations, so he hired him. The qualities that made Gatsby thrive also allowed him to knock on doors that Wolfsheim couldn't.

Mr. Meyer then tells Nick that he cannot attend the funeral since he has a policy of not being near a crime scene.

Nick later returns to Mr. Gatsby's mansion, and Gatsby's father shows him a picture of the mansion Gatsby sent and a western he loved to read. The back page has Gatsby's schedule and a list of self-improvement activities.

Since no one is coming to the funeral (apart from the disturbing reporters), Nick, Mr. Gatz, and the priest proceed to the cemetery amid the provoking rain. The man Nick and Jordan met at the library (the one with the owl-eyed glasses) suddenly shows up at the graveyard and mourns Gatsby. He pities Gatsby by calling him 'a poor son of a bitch'. The funny part is that Nick never learned his name or occupation.

The move to the East Coast from the Midwest reminds Nick of coming home from a boarding school when he was young. He compares the two regions: the Midwest (where he, Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy came from) and the East, where many faults happened. He decides that his place is in the Midwest and needs to return there.

Nick then visits Jordan to straighten things up. Jordan, however, tells him she is engaged, making Nick want to patch things up and continue with the relationship. She also accuses Nick of being dishonest.

After several months pass, Tom and Nick meet in Manhattan, and Nick refuses to greet Tom. Nick then asks Tom what he told Wilson at the garage after Myrtle died. Tom owns up to what he said to Wilson - whose car hit Myrtle. He then insists that telling Wilson the truth would have put him in danger since Wilson was armed.

Nick is appalled because he knows that Daisy was driving the car, not Gatsby. He, however, decides to let it go since Tom is spoilt. He even describes Tom and Daisy as careless because they destroy things and return to their money.

Nick leaves Gatsby's mansion in a deteriorating state. Before leaving New York, he writes a detestable word off the stairs. He then walks on the dock to think about the green light Gatsby looked at at the end of Daisy's dock.

While on the dock, he imagines what Long Island looked like when the colonizers first arrived. He also imagines the ceaseless hope for a brighter future that people live with as they disregard the past.

The Great Gatsby Setting

The Great Gatsby is set on Long Island in the 1920s. Reading it gives you a glimpse of social history during the prohibition era in America. This was also the Jazz Age, and the Jazz influence on the whites took its toll, which was part of Black American culture.

It's also the period known for economic prosperity (especially the stock market) and the rise of flappers and libertines. The youth was more rebellious, and speakeasies were everywhere. Documentaries such as The Making of the Mob can explain more about this era, especially regarding violence, drinking, and sex escapades.

Scott Fitzgerald used the societal developments of this era, especially between 1922 and 1924, to build the fictional characters and their behavior in The Great Gatsby. Activities such as automobile petting and bootlegging alcohol were common during that era.

This fictional novel exposes how hedonism ruled the Jazz Age by using a plotline we can relate to and place within the historical context of America in the 1920s. It was an era filled with rowdy and flashy people, presenting a morally lenient culture. Fitzgerald did not know how to approach the Jazz Age. Consequently, the themes of those times are also reflected in his own life.

Jay Gatsby is a fictional character in the book whose inspiration comes from Fitzgerald's encounters. Scott Fitzgerald is a Midwesterner who met and fell in love with Ginevra King, a 16-year-old socialite at the time. He was 18 years old at the time, studying at Princeton University. While they were both very close to each other, Ginevra's upper-class status crushed their hopes for courting and marrying afterward.

Her father told Fitzgerald that poor boys should never think of marrying rich girls (That's harsh, right?)

After being rejected by Ginevra's family, the suicidal writer enlisted in the army during World War I with the hopes of dying on the battlefield. He waited for his orders to join the Western Front at a camp in Montgomery, Alabama. It's here that he met his wife, Zelda Sayre, who was a 17-year-old southern belle.

When he heard that Ginevra married a wealthy businessman from Chicago, he proposed to Zelda. The Southern girl agreed but postponed the marriage until Fitzgerald became financially stable. Now, you can relate how the Gatsby character came to be.

After the war, he became a successful short story writer. He married Zelda in New York City and later relocated to Long Island. While he enjoyed brushing shoulders with the wealthy, he was also disappointed in their behavior. His encounters with the rich and how he perceived them also influenced the plot and themes in The Great Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby Characters

Some pronounced characters in The Great Gatsby are:

• Jay Gatsby
• Nick Carraway
• Daisy Buchanan
• Jordan Baker
• Tom Buchanan
• Myrtle Wilson
• George Wilson
• Catherine
• Michaelis
• Meyer Wolfsheim
• Henry Gatz
• Pammy
• Owl-eyed glasses man
• Ewing Klipspringer
• Dan Cody

Major Characters

• Jay Gatsby: The central character in The Great Gatsby is Jay Gatsby. He is a wealthy and mysterious man. He frequently holds lavish parties at his monstrous abode in West Egg to reclaim Daisy’s love. His fall and death show the American dream's corruption during the Roaring Twenties in America.
• Nick Carraway: Nick Carraway is the narrator of this book. He moves from the Midwest to West Egg, New York, for his bond business. Nick is Daisy's cousin and Gatsby's only friend. He is the only one who sees Gatsby past his wealth and considers himself one of the few honest people he has met.
• Daisy Buchanan: Daisy is one of the most beautiful and charming women in The Great Gatsby. She is Tom's wife, Nick's cousin, and Gatsby's lover, whom he once dated before meeting Tom after the First World War. She is a sophisticated flapper who knowingly settles for security and material wealth from Tom rather than the love that Gatsby offers her.
• Jordan Baker: Jordan Baker plays a huge role in The Great Gatsby by developing a romantic relationship with Nick. She is also Daisy's close friend. On top of being a confident and professional golfer, Jordan is also dishonest, known for cheating in golf, and lacks empathy for others. That is what makes Nick doubt if she genuinely loves him or not.
• Tom Buchanan: Tom Buchanan is Daisy's husband and Myrtle's lover. He is tall and muscular, a trait that contributes to his success in playing polo. Tom comes from a wealthy family representing America's 'old money' folks. While he appears to be a gentleman, he is full of racism and white supremacist ideologies.

Minor Characters

• Myrtle Wilson: She is George Wilson's wife and Tom Buchanan's mistress. Myrtle detests her life at the Valley of Ashes and her misfortunate husband. So, she uses Tom to achieve a successful end, but Tom is just using her.
• George Wilson: George Wilson is Myrtle's husband and a garage owner in the Valley of Ashes, which also has a gas-filling station. He is a worn-down man whom Tom describes as 'he doesn't know if he is alive.' He still loves his wife. Myrtle's affair drives him up the wall, while her death makes him do the worst.
• Catherine: She is Myrtle's sister and first appears in Tom's little apartment in uptown New York City. There is nothing much about her, but we know she loves indulging in fun and alcohol-related activities. When her sister died in a road accident, she was too drunk to capture the details.
• Michaelis: He is a businessman who owns a coffee shop near Wilson's garage. He tries to comfort George after Myrtle's death.
• Meyer Wolfsheim: Meyer Wolfsheim is an influential and mysterious Jewish man heavily connected with Gatsby. His cufflinks, made from human molars, give him a gothic appearance. He is linked to illegal activities, such as fixing the 1919 World Series. Arnold Rothstein, believed to have fixed the 1919 World Series (The Chicago Black Sox Scandal), inspired the making of this fictional character.
• Henry Gatz: Gatz is the father of Jay Gatsby. He first appears at the end of the book for Gatsby's funeral. Mr. Henry is an upright but poor man who loves his son deeply. He also believes in the American dream and that his son was meant for extraordinary achievements.
• Pammy: She is Tom and Daisy's young daughter. Daisy hopes that she will grow up to be a beautiful little fool.
• Owl-eyed glasses man: He is the unnamed man in the novel that Nick and Jordan meet at Gatsby's library. He is among the handful of people who attended Gatsby's funeral.
• Ewing Klipspringer: He frequents Gatsby's parties, and others thought he lived there. Later, he becomes a parasite whose only concern after Gatsby's death is the shoes he left in the house.
• Dan Cody: He is Jay Gatsby's mentor. He was a sailor who spent five years mentoring him to become versatile. Although he bequeathed Gatsby $25,000 in his will, Gatsby never got it since the estranged wife took it all.

The Great Gatsby Themes

The dominant themes in The Great Gatsby are:

The American Dream

The phrase 'the American dream' is known to most people, even those outside the US borders. Signified by the Statue of Liberty, it states that one can move from rags to riches through hard work, determination, and integrity. It became a popular term when Europeans settled in America (from Columbus to the rest), searching for wealth and a chance to redeem themselves.

While this term is also associated with moving to the West, the characters in The Great Gatsby move to the East Coast - the opposite. It was during a time when immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe flocked to America, and the stock market was booming in New York.

Scott Fitzgerald reveals another view of the American dream: getting rich by any means possible. Gatsby represents the corrupted version of this dream since love and desire are what drives him. Gaining wealth means solving his problems, and that is why he is bootlegging alcohol and engaging in shady business with Wolfsheim.

You may view Gatsby's failure as the consequence of the lunacy of the American dream. On the other hand, his failure shows that biased ways of achieving the dream are a shortcut to pain and regrets. That is why his love goal leads him to acquire wealth via criminal activities before he dooms almost everyone.

The green light at the end of Daisy's dock symbolizes the gone love life that Gatsby is trying to chase and the unattainable American dream. More corruption in this dream is also linked to the uncontrollable adultery portrayed in the novel. It’s fueled by the rise of Jazz, flappers, and speakeasies during the Roaring Twenties.

Class (Old Money vs. New Money)

In Fitzgerald's novel, we see three social classes. People like Tom and Daisy represent the old money class. Then, there is the new money, where Gatsby lies, and people like the actors and directors who frequent his parties. The third one is the middle class, which also comprises people experiencing poverty. That is where we place people like Nick, George, and Myrtle.

Those in the old money category acquired their wealth primarily through inheritance from parents and relatives who had fortunes dating from on or before the 19th century. Those who got their money in the Roaring Twenties (the Jazz Age era) formed the new money class.

The distinction here is that old money is made of wealthy people who have the money, connections, and social class and consider themselves civilized despite their arrogance. On the other hand, new money is the rich, who only have their money. There are no connections here, so the only thing to do is lavishly display their wealth. This distinction is clear between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan.

The people who are overlooked here are those in the middle class. As old and new money fight, they become forgotten and insignificant.

The class theme in the book brings out the threat that new money poses to old money. Gatsby acquired his wealth recently, and despite having more money than Tom, Tom does not accept him as an equal. Their situation intensifies after Tom discovers how Gatsby got his wealth. There are good reasons for the confrontation, but old money folks don't like the lavish display of wealth that new money rivals possess.

That is why when they are arguing, Tom refers to Gatsby as 'Mr. Nobody from Nowhere'.

It threatens those with money from the past because they cannot understand why those with recently acquired wealth are simply showing off. They don't know that that is the only thing the newly rich can do since they lack social connections, among other upper-class vitalities.

To those in the old money category, class exceeds wealth. So, even as poor Americans become rich, those who acquired wealth before will never accept them. That leaves the newly rich trapped in a class system that is never flexible, somewhat defined by the old money folks who will never accept them.

Societal Expectations

While the Roaring Twenties were full of hedonism, men and women were expected to fulfill specific duties. Daisy and Jordan represent an emerging flapper culture in the novel. These young women had discovered freedom, wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, drank alcohol, and attended parties.

Gatsby's extravagant parties were full of such women. However, women were expected to fulfill specific roles despite this newfound freedom. Scott Fitzgerald uses this novel to expose some of the limitations that these women experience.

Those who consider themselves to have upright morals will say that Daisy, for example, was a pro at bitchery. If you, however, look closely, you will see her as a victim of the marginalization that women are subjected to by society, especially those in the elite levels.

Because of her social status, Tom manipulates her to soothe his ego and domination. After that, she suffers from Gatsby's degrading adoration. Despite the affluence in her upbringing, she has no room to make decisions independently. That is why her actions are governed by bodily wants, material wealth, and people's expectations.

As Tom and Gatsby argue about whom Daisy loves, she becomes the trophy wife whose only existence is to add up or increase her suitors' financial and social success. As an upper-class woman, the societal expectations include being a dutiful wife, a loving mother, and a glamorous socialite.

Looking at her decision-making pattern in the novel, you can tell she is the ' beautiful little fool' she wishes her daughter Pammy to be when she grows up. She relies heavily on her husband to finance her flapper lifestyle and provide societal security. That is why, in the end, she ends up with Tom despite having strong feelings for Gatsby.

The Battle Between the Past and Future

Nick is troubled by the future, while Gatsby clings to the past.

Jay Gatsby constantly checks on the green light at the end of Daisy's dock and even stretches his arms as if trying to reach it. He notices the green light fading when they are with Daisy and informs her. At this point, Nick Carraway says that perhaps Gatsby had realized that the colossal significance of that light had vanished from him forever.

Maybe it's because he is holding Daisy at the time, or the light has ceased to mean anything to him.

Even after arguing with Tom on a hot afternoon and Daisy realizing he is a criminal, he still pursues the love of his life. After the party that Tom and Daisy attended, Nick tries to convince Gatsby to move toward the future. He tells him he cannot repeat the past, but Gatsby refutes that and says you can.

His future is dedicated to a past he cannot retrieve, and he believes his new money will help him achieve it. What Gatsby forgets towards the end is that a single month of love before the war couldn't match the years that Daisy and Tom had already shared.

Nick fears the future, one of the reasons he chooses to return to the Midwest. That fear brings us to the economic fall after 1929 that left all people in the US (old and new money) deprived and depressed. After Tom and Gatsby argue at the Plaza Hotel, Nick remembers that it's his birthday, and he is turning 30.

He sees his road ahead as ominous and scary. This also reveals to him the battle between old and new money, ushering in the end of an era as both sides of the wealth divide are destroyed.

Technology at the Environment’s Cost

Fitzgerald indirectly exposes how technological advancement in the Roaring Twenties flourished at the expense of the environment. The novel shows tension between a bygone American era (pastoralism) and the transformation that industries and machines bring.

The Valley of Ashes, in the novel, is a region between East Egg and West Egg. It was also the place with the road connecting Long Island to New York. This place was the dumpsite, which portrays the effects of man's advancement in technology.

Gatsby's bootlegging activities and acquisition of automobiles, for example, show what industrialization can do. On the other hand, through Nick, Scott Fitzgerald shows a longing for the pastoral life. This characteristic is also seen in William Faulkner's writings, such as A Rose for Emily.

You can read the summary of A Rose for Emily to see this pastoral longing in play through similar summary links we provided before the plot summary.

As much as such writers seem to cling to the past, they accept that technological advancements have stripped away the pastoral meaning. Nick's desire to return to the Midwest shows a sleeveless attempt to stay in nature's bracket.

On the other hand, the boundary between the developed East and the developing West in the US vanishes during this time. That is why George wants to go west with Myrtle before her death. That means, as Nick Carraway tries to show, there is no way one could escape into the pastoral past.

Symbols in The Great Gatsby

A few notable symbols represent the themes in The Great Gatsby. Here are the symbols that shape the themes reflected in the novel.

1. The Green Light

The green light Nick notices Gatsby watching before getting to know him is the first symbol in the book that we cannot ignore. It's mentioned three times in the book, although other instances of green are mentioned or referred to.

The green light at the end of Daisy's dock represents what Gatsby hopes for in his 'bright future'. He badly wants to reunite with Daisy, so he buys a house across from theirs on the West Egg side of Long Island Sound. He wants to reignite the love experience he had for one month with her before going to war.

He does not even consider that he left Daisy alone for five years while he was away during the war and after. His actions initially seem positive, hence its association with the green color. In today's world, green means to go (traffic lights were invented between 1910 and 1920). However, during those days, it meant a fresh start or rebirth. That green light also represents Daisy as a beacon attracting Gatsby to escape his dark world.

As the story proceeds, Gatsby mentions the mist obscuring the green light to Daisy. This is where we see how delusional Gatsby is trying to snatch Daisy from a life she has been involved in for five years. When Nick says that Gatsby may have realized the colossal significance of the green light has vanished, he could be referring to the delusion blinding Gatsby.

On the other hand, Daisy is not the charming beauty we see at the novel's beginning. She is also corrupted in her behavior. So, the secret affair between the two seems questionable, making the green light lose significance.

Ultimately, the green light starts to represent something universal in us all. As for Nick, it's the struggle between the past errors, what he has gone through, and the reality that weighs us down. The green light, therefore, represents the unrealistic hope that makes us think we can do better the next day or in the future.

In other words, as Nick puts it, the green light is the orgastic future that keeps moving further, fading away. The only thing we keep doing is stretching our arms and running faster, trying to reach it.

Other instances where green appears include what runs Gatsby's world (the green dollar) and Gatsby's lawn being green. Michaelis also describes Gatsby's car as 'light green' although it is bright yellow. Nick also imagines how the Dutch saw the Long Island Sound as they first landed in America—a fresh and green beast.

2. The Valley of Ashes

In Fitzgerald's novel, the Valley of Ashes is located in Queens, New York, between West Egg, where the nouveau riche lived, and Manhattan. The valley shows a clear difference between the rich and the poor, who ensure that the wealthy maintain their lifestyle.

Those working and living here are factory workers producing what drives the construction boom. They also provide wealth to the newly rich in West Egg and pave the way for upcoming criminals to create fake bonds and sell them. The counterfeit bonds part is also what Gatsby uses to try to buy Nick after sending Jordan to inform him about the Daisy invite favor.

This region is full of smoke, dust, and too much ash from the factories. This combination of dirt is too much such that it 'buries everything around'. The burying here could mean that those who cannot scheme their way to the top life are left there to laze. It's a place full of loss, unhappiness, and the urge to give up rather than strive.

Myrtle Wilson is the only person who doesn't seem affected by the dirt. She doesn't appear gray like her husband, George, and others in the area. So, she stands out as an ambitious woman ready to escape the ash life. She hopes and sees Tom as her ticket out of that life, hence her clinging to him.

Wilson is also trying to head west and escape the Valley of Ashes. However, he is too weak and appears defeated to fight out of the area, which is doomed to failure. No wonder Tom says that George doesn't even know if he is alive when Nick asks about his discovery of Myrtle's affair with him.

The Valley of Ashes can remind us of the phrase 'the valley of the shadow of death' in the Bible (Psalms 23). It's a place that only God makes it safe. While this place has no divine significance in the novel, it portrays how and where the residents march toward chaos and death. It reminds of 'ashes to ashes and dust to dust,' as the famous burial phrase goes.

The funny thing about this place is the billboard with the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg (our next symbol) that George refers to as the 'eyes of God' when arguing with Myrtle. He is the only one seeking divine presence from a breathless billboard, meaning he is doomed.

3. The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg

The Great Gatsby shows how moral decay spreads everywhere and in everyone. Every character is somewhat self-centered, has a psychotic belief, or turns out to be violent. This effect also affects Nick Carraway, who is supposed to watch and tell us everything. He turns out to be a misogynist who wants to stick to his own opinions.

None of the characters in the book shows any faith. Tom is the only person who is almost led by an external force when he buys the racist arguments in the book Colored Empires. That is why it should not be surprising to see Nick staring at something else that seems to be watching: the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg.

The billboard belongs to an optometrist (or oculist during those days) who seems not to be available or not to care about his big advertisement. The eyes, with retinas one yard high, seem to be omnipresent observers. That means they 'know' what happens to the doomed who cannot escape the dirt and have a fruitful life.

It's also a life influenced by the Roaring Twenties, which Fitzgerald despises.

The irony is that this is just an ad on a billboard that does not influence how people should behave morally. However, everyone who sees it fawns under its gaze. That is why Tom frowns; he feels like he is being watched. That does not, however, deter him from going to see Myrtle.

When Myrtle and George are fighting, Myrtle is not shaken by the idea of God watching her actions since George tells her that as he looks at the billboard. When he looks at it while conversing with Michaelis, he realizes it's just an ad, as his friend clarifies. So, in the end, it does not deter him from taking a gun and searching for Gatsby's residence.

Like Gatsby, whom Daisy compares to an advertisement, the billboard is a false symbol of a more profound concept - people would like to see and read God. However, they are simply objectifying their anxiety to a moral vacuum at their world's core.

4. The East and West

Most of the major characters in The Great Gatsby hail from the West. Tom, Daisy, Nick, and Jordan are from the Midwest. Gatsby once claimed to hail from the same region, but we know he doesn't come from the East.

Before the 1920s, people in the US used to go west to seek fortunes. Now that the East has the stocks booming, those with fortunes from the West are returning to the East to cash in. As Gatsby once suggested, the problem is that people don't believe in hard work. So, the stock boom gives everyone a hollow excuse to get the money.

Like the Long Island Sound has East Egg and West Egg, the US is divided into those two. The East represents the old money, while those heading west return with new money. Both sides are corrupt in their ways regardless of how they want to justify themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the short summary of The Great Gatsby?

The Great Gatsby chronicles the life of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious self-made millionaire. He unsuccessfully pursues Daisy Buchanan, a married flapper from a wealthy family with whom they were in love in their youth.

2. What is the main moral of The Great Gatsby?

The main moral of The Great Gatsby is that pursuing the American dream without hard work, honesty, and integrity is an illusion. Gatsby tries to get Daisy, but even after acquiring wealth that suits her status, he never gets her.

3. Who dies in The Great Gatsby?

The three characters who die in The Great Gatsby are:

• Jay Gatsby
• George Wilson
• Myrtle Wilson

4. What is the genre of The Great Gatsby?

The genre of The Great Gatsby is a combination of tragedy, realism, modernism, and social satire. There is death, a mention of realistic places, and characters' experiences in an industrializing society. Social satire comes in when Fitzgerald uses exaggeration, irony, and ridicule to mock the various social types.

5. Can I get an expert to write a summary of The Great Gatsby?

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Conclusion

Love, loss, and the elusive American Dream are intricately woven into The Great Gatsby's timeless exploration of the Jazz Age's disillusionment. Through its complex characters, intricate plot, and powerful symbolism, Fitzgerald paints a vivid portrait of a society obsessed with wealth and status.

The Great Gatsby summary above has endeavored to illuminate the novel's intricacies, inviting readers to delve deeper into Gatsby's world and his tragic pursuit of the American ideal.

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