INTRODUCTION TO THE CHARACTERS IN THE GREAT GATSBY

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INTRODUCTION TO THE CHARACTERS IN THE GREAT
GATSBY

• Prepared by
• Pamela J. Fuller
• Capital High School
• 16 June 1999

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F. Scott Fitzgerald
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The Great Gatsby

• Characters

Nick Carraway Tom Buchanan Daisy Fay
Buchanan Meyer Wolfsheim Jordan Baker Jay
Gatsby George Wilson Myrtle Wilson
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Theyre all desperadoes, these kids, all of
themwith any life in their veins the girls as
well as the boys maybe more than the boys.

• -- from Flaming Youth
• by Warner Fabian

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Nick Carraway

• Narrator
• Daisys cousin
• Gatsbys next door neighbor
• Bonds salesman
• Judge of morals in the novel

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The Flapperby Dorothy Parker

• Is something else again
• All spotlights focus on her pranks.
• All tongues her prowess herald
• For which she well may render thanks
• To God and Scott Fitzgerald.
• Her golden rule is plain enough--
• Just get them young and treat them rough

• The playful flapper here we see,
• The fairest of the fair.
• Shes not what Grandma used to be,--
• You might say, au contraire.
• Her girlish ways may make a stir,
• Her manners cause a scene
• But there is no more harm in her
• Than in a submarine.
• She nightly knocks for many a goal
• The usual dancing men.
• Her speed is great, but her control

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Daisy Fay Buchanan

• Toms wife
• The ultimate Golden Girl
• Gatsbys ideal love
• Disillusioned

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Jordan Baker

• Daisys longtime friend
• Nicks sometime girlfriend
• Golfer
• Compulsive liar

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Tom Buchanan

• Daisys husband Myrtles lover
• Represents the inherited, established rich
• A sportsman, especially polo
• Brutal and morally careless

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Jay Gatsby

• Racketeer and bootlegger
• Idealist
• New Wealth
• Lover of Daisy

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George Wilson

• Owner of garage in Valley of Ashes
• Myrtles husband
• Naïve, meek
• Colorless

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Myrtle Wilson

• George Wilsons wife
• Toms mistress
• Coarse, earthy
• Obsessed with appearances and wealth

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Meyer Wolfsheim

• Gatsbys business associate
• Jewish racketeer and gambler
• Fixes World Series

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WV State
IGOs Used English 11.28 Interpret character
traits based on the context of the entire
story 11.29 Make generalizations from implicit
ideas 11.92 Use appropriate software to practice
and master English language arts
instructional objectives
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Bibliography
Fabian, Warren. Flaming Youth. Flapper
Culture and Style Louise Brooks and the Jazz
Age. The Louise Brooks Society. 15
June1999 lthttp//www.pandorasbox.com/flapper.html
gt. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New
York Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995. Kulberg,
Robert. Gatsbys Beginners Guide. 16 June 1999
lthttp//www.msu.ed/kulbergr/gatsbyguide
.htmgt. Parker, Dorothy. The Flapper. Flapper
Culture and Style Louise Brooks and the Jazz
Age. The Louise Brooks Society. 15 June
1999 lthttp//www.pandorasbox.com/flapper.htmlgt. .