Great Gatsby Review

Submitted By faithkuzma
Words: 9628
Pages: 39

Novel Review

1) Title: The Great Gatsby Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald.
2) Summary:
The Great Gatsby is told from the perspective of a man named Nick. Nick moves to New York to start a new job selling bonds. He moves in next door to a man named Jay Gatsby. Early on in his first summer there Nick goes to dinner at his cousin Daisy and his old friend Tom’s house. He meets Jordan Baker there. Later he attends one of Gatsby’s extravagant parties. He again meets up with Jordan and he also meets Gatsby for the first time. They become friends and Nick goes to several more of his parties. Soon Gatsby asks Nick to do him a favor. He asks him to invite Daisy over for tea and then allow him to come over as well. This is because years before Gatsby had a love affair with Daisy. He hopes to rekindle the spark between them. Nick complies and Daisy and Gatsby are reunited. They have a relationship that they keep secret from Daisy’s husband Tom. However, Gatsby wants to have Daisy to himself. He asks her to tell Tom that she never loved him so that they can start fresh in their relationship. Unfortunately, this task proves to be too difficult for Daisy. Tom gets angry and Daisy becomes upset. Gatsby and Daisy leave New York City before Tom, Nick, and Jordan, and Gatsby allows Daisy to drive so that she can calm down. On the way home she accidentally hits a Mrs. Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle happens to be Tom’s mistress. When Tom arrives at the scene he is devastated and he tells Mr. Wilson that it was Gatsby’s car that hit her. This drives Wilson to take a gun and go in search of Gatsby. He kills both Gatsby and himself towards the end of the novel, all while Daisy makes plans with Tom to go away on a vacation. Only two people apart from Nick attend Gatsby’s funeral, and Nick’s loss of his friend causes him to move back West.

3) Major Conflicts:
- Tom getting angry with Gatsby for having an affair with his wife
- Daisy having to choose between Gatsby and Tom
- Wilson killing Gatsby

4) Major Characters:
Tom: Tom is Daisy’s husband as well as Nick’s old college friend. He often has many mistresses despite the fact that he is married to Daisy. Tom is very jealous when he discovers Daisy’s relationship with Gatsby.
Gatsby: Jay Gatsby is the main character in the story. He grew up a poor boy but he soon built a very successful life for himself out in the East. He fell in love with Daisy five years before this story takes place, but he was forced to go to war. When he returned he did everything possible to get her back. He is also the protagonist of this novel.
Nick: Nick is the narrator of this story as well as Daisy’s cousin, Tom’s old friend, and Gatsby’s new friend. He is the one the essentially sets Gatsby up with Daisy and he also has a relationship with Daisy’s friend Jordan Baker.
Daisy: Daisy is Tom’s husband and Gatsby’s true love. She has a quality about her that drives men crazy when they meet her. She is the main reason for conflict in this story because of the affections both Tom and Gatsby have for her.
Jordan: Jordan Baker is a famous golf player. She is good friends with Daisy and she also has a summer fling with Nick. However Nick describes her as being a liar. At the end of the summer when Nick goes to see Jordan to say goodbye to her she tells him that she is engaged to someone.
Myrtle Wilson: Myrtle Wilson is Tom’s mistress. He rents a flat for them in New York City and buys her whatever she wants. She is under the impression that as soon as Tom can divorce Daisy that they will be together. Unfortunately, Myrtle is killed by Daisy driving Gatsby’s car at the end of the novel.
Mr. Wilson: Mr. Wilson is Myrtle Wilson’s husband. He owns a car garage in the Valley of Ashes. He finds out about his wife’s affair the same night as her death. This drives him to go kill Gatsby and then himself.

5) Themes:
Hope
Love
Trust
Dissatisfaction
Wealth

6) Analysis: A major symbol in the novel is the green light at