gatsby

• F.Scott Fitzgerald


  • Enlisted in World War One
  • Was a young man in the 20's
  • Fell in love with Zelda who only married him once he made more money
  • Fell into a reckless lifestyle when he became more well known
• Jay Gatsby


  • Wealthy and glamorous, but also mysterious
  • Known for the parties he throws
  • Started as Jay Gatz, from a humble family
  • Reinvented himself to win Daisy
  • Connected to criminal activity insinuated throughout the novel
  • To almost everyone he is a mystery, is this part of his appeal?
  • Chapter 7, confirmed he is a bootlegger
  • Dan Cody allowed Gatsby to reinvent himself
  • Wears expensive clothing and drives a rolls Royce, he is rich and he wants people to know it
  • Frequent use of 'old sport' trying to sound archaic and echo upper class mannerisms
  • Owl eyes calls Gatsby 'a regular Belasco'
  • Referring to a renounced theatre set designer = Gatsby has painstakingly created a theatre set of a house to present something he is not
  • Gatsby's ideology is both what makes him who he has become and also what contributes to his downfall
• Tom Buchanan


  • Husband of daisy, having an affair with Myrtle
  • Fitzgerald mainly presents Tom as an aggressive man, who used to be a profession football player
  • Body is referred to as 'cruel' and has 'arrogant eyes' = his physical attributes reflect his inner qualities
  • Physical expression of dominance in everything Tom does
  • Gatsby seems small in comparison which highlights difference between old and new money
  • Racism: Tom praises a highly racist book and encourages people to read it, shows he believes he is better than everyone else and his need for superiority
  • When he finds out about daisys affair he is angry even though he himself is having one
  • Tom represents old money in the sense that he cannot change mindset or views,steadfast in his mentality
• Daisy Buchanan


  • Epitome of old money
  • Victim of a restrictive society - recognises this
  • 'I hope she'll be a beautiful little fool'
  • Her voice is constantly compared to money
  • Maiden name was 'Fae' meaning 'fairy'= appropriate as she seems to have a magical hold on people but also a mythical invention of Gatsby's mind
  • Made a practical decision to marry Tom in order to provide security and safety for herself and her family
  • Even though she loved Gatsby arguably more than Tom, when she finds out about his criminal activity, she retreats back to the security Tom provides as a rich powerful old money man
  • Throughout the novel she becomes more realistic and less romantic in her perception of life
  • Easy to criticise Daisy, but she didn't have many other choices as a woman in the 1920's
• Nick Caraway


  • Places himself in the old money part of society
  • Despite his privileged upbringing, he fought in World War One meaning he will have seen the cruelties of mankind from a young age
  • This may have saved him from becoming so entitled and out of touch of reality as other upper class people e.g. Daisy
  • Nick does however have some refined opinions e.g. at the end of the book he confessed that he disapproves of the new money world
  • Although Nick narrates the book, he is not removed from the story as he is a key character
  • This makes him an unreliable narrator
  • Nick seems to feel isolated from everyone
  • He acknowledges the loneliness he sees in himself and others
• Social classes


  • Valley of ashes - Myrtle and george
  • East egg: old money - daisy and Tom
  • West egg: new money - gatsby
• Gatsby trying to be accepted by old money class

  He is unsuccessful
• 'Old sport'


  Archaic way of speaking, Gatsby trying to make himself look better, but Nick is quick to point out that 'his elaborate formality of speech just lacks absurd'
• Gatsby adds ivy to his house, trying to make it look older, even though it's 'spanking new'
• Valley of ashes


  • George and Myrtle both have dreams to leave. Both fail to achieve the dreams and are instead used and abused by the rich
  • Ash= representative of the weakness of their social power, they have no agency, ash is the remains, no strength
• Gatsby's idealism


  • Gatsby has an idealised view of himself, he is convinced he should be something or that he will become something perfect
  • Library is representative of this= uncut pages of books, not read any (reflects materialism too)
  • Parties are also representative= filling his house with people makes him seem like he is the centre of attention
  • Gatsby said to have a 'platonic conception of himself' (Plato idea) - Gatsby conceived himself, he's creating himself in his mind as a better person that he is (can't accept reality?)
• Flawed notions of idealism

  • Gatsby
  • Myrtle
  • Tom
  • Daisy
  • Nick
• Gatsby's love


  • Closer to obsession, feelings are unhealthy
  • Idea of winning Daisy back has consumed his life
  • Is he more obsessed with what she represents for him than Daisy herself (old money 'her voice is money')
  • If he got with Daisy he would become the old money established man he's wanted to be
  • Been apart 5 years = had time to reinvent Daisy in his head
  • Daisy's realistic mentality contrasts with Gatsby
  • Daisy chooses stability when marrying Tom
  • Gatsby and daisy's love = love for the idea of each other rather than each other
• Other futile loves in the novel

  • George truly loves Myrtle but she doesn't love him back, he isn't enough for her
  • Nick isn't able to commit to Jordan
  • Tom doesn't treat Myrtle with respect as you would with someone you truly care for
• Genuine love and care

  • Difficult to find within the novel, is this because truth is difficult to find
  • Only example of love is the love nick has for Gatsby's idealism
  • He believes in the optimism Gatsby displays
• Language choices and form

  • Begins with an epigram (epigrams often offer insight into the plot/action of the novel) written by Thomas Park D'evillers
  • 'Gold hat' refers to Gatsby's riches, attempts to seduce daisy with materialism
  • Fitzgerald's writing style is often coined as 'adumbrated' (outline, no detail). Characters backgrounds are very vague, discrete use of language to create undertones of crime, characters discuss the crimes in clever secretive ways
  • A lot of the language in the novel focuses on the garish world the characters operate, celebrating the rise of consumerist
  • Fitzgerald's language oscillates between the very vague and the very detailed, e.g. descriptions of places in detail but vague in description of backgrounds etc. - makes us wonder what we really understand to be true which

  1. Can mirror nick's unreliability as a narrator

  2. Mirrors epigram, idea of creating yourself into something, gatsby trying to construct something