Essay about Great Gatsby

Submitted By foxgatsby
Words: 1572
Pages: 7

The Great Gatsby is a novel by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story takes place in 1922, during the Roaring Twenties, a time of prosperity in the United States after World War I. The book received critical acclaim and is generally considered Fitzgerald's best work. It is also widely regarded as a "Great American Novel" and a literary classic, capturing the essence of an era. The Modern Library named it the second best English language novel of the 20th century.[1] 1-The main events of the novel take place in the summer of 1922, narrated by Nicholas "Nick" Carraway, a Yale graduate and World War I veteran from the Midwest who takes a job in New York City as a bond salesman. He rents a small house on Long Island, in the (fictional) village of West Egg, next door to the lavish mansion of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who holds extravagant parties.
Across the bay, Nick's second cousin Daisy lives with Tom Buchanan, her old-money husband who attended Yale at the same time as Nick. The Buchanans ask Nick to dinner at their home, where they introduce him to Jordan Baker, a well-known but emotionally evasive golfer whom Nick finds attractive, despite her unscrupulous sporting record. The atmosphere of the dinner is spoiled when Tom answers a telephone call that Jordan suggests is from his mistress, Myrtle Wilson.
Myrtle is the discontented wife of George Wilson, who owns an unsuccessful garage in the "Valley of Ashes" on the outskirts of New York City. One day, Tom takes Nick privately to a flat in Manhattan where they rendezvous with Myrtle and have a small party, but Tom again ruins the occasion, this time by breaking Myrtle's nose following an argument regarding whether Myrtle should be allowed to speak Daisy's name.
Nick eventually gets an invitation to one of Gatsby's huge parties next door, where he soon spots Jordan. Most guests seem to be uninvited and do not know their host, who keeps himself aloof; however, Nick is coincidentally recognized by Gatsby from their division in the war and the two instantly become friends. For the remainder of the novel, Nick revels in the enigma of Gatsby's larger-than-life persona, accentuated by a lunch in Manhattan shared between Gatsby, Nick and Gatsby's business associate, a notorious Jewish gangster called Meyer Wolfsheim.
Later, Jordan reveals that in 1917, Gatsby, originating from a penniless Midwestern family, had courted Daisy and hoped to marry her, but was sent to Europe to fight during the war, briefly studying at Trinity College, Oxford,[15] during which time Daisy married Tom. Gatsby's goals are now made clear: he has reinvented himself, become rich through self-made efforts, bought a house near Daisy, and thrown his enormous parties in the hope that she would, by chance, find her way there one night. Jordan, whom Nick casually begins dating, now asks Nick on Gatsby's behalf to arrange a reunion between Gatsby and Daisy. Nick agrees to have both Gatsby and Daisy to tea.
Although the reunion is initially awkward, Daisy, who is unhappy with Tom, appears ready to revive her relationship with Gatsby. Daisy and Gatsby soon rekindle their affair, and Daisy ultimately asks Gatsby, Jordan, and Nick to a lunch date at her house, while Tom is present. At the lunch, Daisy suggests that they all go into Manhattan, and Tom, who is clearly suspicious of Gatsby, gets into Gatsby's yellow car with Jordan and Nick, while he encourages Daisy and Gatsby to follow in Tom's own car. At Wilson's garage, Tom stops to fill the car and an unhappy Wilson reveals that he knows Myrtle has a secret lover. Although Wilson does not know who the lover is, he has temporarily locked Myrtle in their home above the garage.

The Plaza Hotel.
Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and Nick continue onward to the Plaza Hotel, where Tom angrily confronts Gatsby about his relationship with Daisy and his alleged criminal activities. Gatsby and Tom argue in front of the whole group, Gatsby telling Daisy