Novel Study - The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells a story about Nick Carraway and his experiences with the wealthy, mysterious man Jay Gatsby. The story unfolds during the Roaring Twenties, giving an insight to readers about the characters social and personal lives during this time. Fitzgerald is able to perfectly capture and express the busy city of New York in the book and highlight the characters wealthy, luxurious life style. 

The major purpose in The Great Gatsby is most likely Fitzgerald's critique of the classical American Dream. Fitzgerald deconstructs the idea that happiness can be achieved by simply working as hard as possible, by showing that Gatsby has worked hard his whole life and acquired a vast store of riches, but never achieves true happiness or fulfillment. For Gatsby, true happiness involves the lasting love of Daisy, Nick Carraway's cousin, but in the end she eventually abandons Gatsby, and he ultimately dies alone

CHARACTERS

The role of women in the 1920s was drastically changing. Women, like Daisy's character can be seen as a product of her time; that women would get married and have children and that was all. Unlike other female characters in the story like Jordan and Myrtle who are pushing the boundaries during that time. 

Daisy Buchanan is the object of Jay Gatsby's singular obsession, which means in many ways she is the center of the novel.  Gatsby and Daisy first met 5 years before the events in the novel are taking place. Gatsby then was poor, but charming and they fell in love. However, Gatsby had to go to war and Daisy instead chose a young, wealthy man to marry; Tom Buchanan. In the novel she is beautiful, loving and bubbly. 

But we see later that she is unfulfilled and shallow, in "what'll we do with ourselves this afternoon, and the day after that, and the next 30 years?" Shes also described by Gatsby to have "a voice filled with money' which ties his love for Daisy to his pursuit of wealth and status. It also allows Daisy herself to become a stand-in for the idea of the American Dream

Jay Gatsby,  is an incredibly wealthy, mysterious man who throws lavish parties every Saturday night, but we eventually learn his background and how he is desperate to win back the love of Daisy.  As the mystery around Gatsby unfolds we that he was born into a poor family, but he always felt like he was meant for something greater. He meets daisy during the war, eventually separating but sending letters to each other. Five years later we find out he has purchased a giant palace across the bay from Daisy's, and that the extravagant parties he throws are an attempt that maybe one day Daisy would come to one and see him. Further along in the story we find that Gatsby has acquired his great wealth from organized crime. Daisy is split between Gatsby and Tom, ultimately deciding to be with Tom and abandoning Gatsby at the end of the novel. 

Setting

New York, Long Island (West/East Egg) - 1922, shortly after the war. 'The Jazz Age'

POV

The story is narrated from Nick Carraway 1 year after the events take place, speaking in both 1st and 3rd person

Representations + Ideas in the Text

The idea of the American Dream is persistent throughout the novel, Gatsby being an emblem of the American Dream during the 1920s, a time of prosperity and material excess. In his quest to become so wealthy, Gatsby resort to criminal dealings, however he is constructed in the novel to be a favourable character because he's 'the war hero', 'the Oxford chap' and 'the wealthy gentleman. With all that Gatsby has achieved, he should be happy, but we see that wealth cannot in fact buy happiness.

Women are also represented certain ways in the novel, as mentioned earlier. Daisy is the stereotypical, stay-at-home woman that looks after the children and lives in her husbands wealth. On the other hand, women like Myrtle (Tom's mistress) is represented as the rule breaking 'slapper', who breaks the laws of marriage, smokes and drinks. 

Language features - Chapter two excerpt 

Simile: "I gathered later that he was a photographer and had made the dim enlargement of Mrs. Wilson's mother hovered like an ectoplasm on the wall"

Metaphor: Valley of ashes is said to be a 'farm', a 'garden' and a 'dumping ground'

Personification: "his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless day, under sun and rain brood on over the solemn dumping ground" and "a line of grey cars crawl along an invisible track"

Imagery/Symbolism: Valley of Ashes, The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, West Egg

Why I would Recommend

The Great Gatsby gives us a taste of life during this glamorous and extravagant time period. Although a short book, it has to be read many times to fully see many of the messages and understand the quotes scattered throughout the novel. The book contains romance, conflict, jealousy and mystery. The novel is just as relevant now as it was a century ago.