The Great Gatsby

1
The Great Gatsby

• So we beat on, boats against the current, borne
  back ceaselessly into the past (180)

2
Map of West Egg East Egg
3
Color Symbolism

• Green
• Hope, limitless promise of the dream, the dream
  itself
• White
• Purity, innocence, honesty, the perfection of the
  dream, ultimate bliss, vision of dream
• Yellow/Gold
• Corruption, death, old wealth, real , the
  materialism/values that destroys dream
• Blue
• Ideal happiness, perfection, promise of the
  dream, realizing dream, or fantasy of dream
• Grey
• Hopelessness, no money, wanting a better life,
  moral decay
• Red
• Ugliness of reality, gaudiness of dream, violent
  nature of people/dream

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Chapter 1

• East Egg Established wealth
• A cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial
  mansion. (6)
• West Egg New Rich, Imitation, Flashy
• it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de
  Ville in Normandy (5)
• Nick is from the Midwest
• Modest, Humble, Morally sound, Stability. Nick
  rents a bungalow
• The main conflict theme in the story is between
  Gatsbys dream and the disgusting reality
• West Egg vs. East Egg
• Fitzgerald focuses on the American Dreamits
  hopes, illusions, corruption, self-discovery,
  possessiveness, and paradox

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Chapter 1

• Nick narrator
• Says he reserves judgment but will judge each
  character throughout.
• Only Character that undergoes any sort of change
  because of his established rootsothers are
  aimlessly drifting to find social and
  materialistic wealth.
• Daisy Tom
• Represent shallowness and arrogance of wealthy
• They have but do not have a purpose in life
• Hopelessness the best thing a girl can be in
  this world, a beautiful little fool. (17)
• Glamour, Appearances, Money cover up inner
  emptiness

6
Chapter 2

• This introduces the foul dust that destroys
  Gatsbys dream
• Ashes are all over the entire chapter
• Dust on Wilsons wrecked Ford, and his hair and
  clothes
• Catherine's powdered face
• Ashes are symbolic of the moral decay and
  spiritual desolation
• The apartment scene is a great example of how
  has destroyed people
• Valley of Ashes between West Egg East Egg
• the gray land and spasms of bleak dust which
  drift endlessly over it. (23)
• Represents the foul, material driven world the
  characters live in
• Implies that under the glamour of the rich is
  nothingness
• Home to the only poor people in book
• The Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg
• Advertising materialism gone mad
• God looking out over the decay of people in the
  1920s
• Faded eyes might suggest the fading emphasis on
  religion
• Blue eyes represent idealism or perfection
• Gold glasses represent the corruption

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Chapter 2

• New York Apartment Party
• Toms hypocrisy, selfishness, and brutality are
  highlighted
• Tom views Myrtle as his possession rather than a
  person
• Nick is disgusted by the party, but is also
  fascinated
• Myrtles transformation in New York
• Brown dress into a Cream Chiffon (represents
  change in values)
• With the influence of the dress her personality
  had also undergone a change. (30)
• She wants to escape her social class
  (compromising morals for )
• Obsessed with appearancesshe hates husband for
  marrying on looks but did the same thing with Tom
  on the train.
• The list of things she wants shows her shallow
  character dog collar, trick ashtray, and a
  wreath for her mothers grave all of equal
  value??
• Perfect for Tom she is the same money
  stained-dream girl like Daisy

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Chapter 3

• Nick describes Gatsbys parties
• Fitzgerald sets the partys beauty against harsh
  reality car accident
• Accident is and example of the guests careless
  actions and morals
• Gatsby
• Nick notes Gatsbys speech manner dont fit his
  world he created
• He stays distant from his guests as part of his
  plan to achieve dream
• A means to an end he does not want to be part of
  this corruptive group of people in order to
  remain faithful to his goal
• Nick and Jordans Relationship
• Nick realizes Jordans selfishness and
  dishonesty, yet still pursues her
• This shows how Nick rejects his Midwestern morals
  for Eastern fun
• Fitzgerald uses this relationship to explain how
  people go away from their morals in order to
  impress the opposite sex or fit in with society

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Chapter 4

• Gatsby reveals more of his story
• This adds to the admiration of Gatsby
• He has gone to great lengths to create an ideal
• Green light is on Daisys dock
• Feels he can win Daisy back with his wealth
• Daisys Story
• Was in love with Gatsby in Louisville before he
  went to war
• Daisy wanted to go to see him off but was denied
• Drunken wedding day characteristic of her
  indecisiveness
• Daisy marries Tom for the security of wealth but
  not happy

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Chapter 4

• Main conflict w/ Gatsbys character revealed
• His friendship w/ Wolfsheim implies Gatsbys
  wealth may not be coming from legal sources
• Bootlegging or organized crime (Wolfsheim fixed
  world series)
• Jordans story of Gatsby Daisy reveals his
  romantic dream to win the girl of his dreams
  back.
• Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be
  just across the bay. (83)
• Green light Gatsby reaches for in Ch. 1 is at
  Daisys dock in East Egg
• Green Light is symbol of Gatsbys Dream
  American Dream
• Gatsby has obtained wealth (illegally?) to get
  Daisy back
• We have to recognize the romantic element to
  this, yet question the means with which he has
  gone about it. Is Gatsby good or bad?

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Chapter 5

• Pivotal chap. because Gatsbys dream is realized
• Everything after the meeting is meaningless
• Possibly it had occurred to him that the
  colossal significance of that light had now
  vanished forever. (98)
• Daisy cannot live up to his expectations
  unrealistic dream
• Daisy tumbled short of his dreams-not through
  her own fault but because of the colossal
  vitality of his illusion. (101)
• Gatsby doesnt realize dream cannot be realized
• Daisy cannot be bought is not worthy of his
  goal
• Nothing but Daisy matters, no material object
  holds any meaning
• Even if he has Daisy nothing will live up to the
  spirituality of his idea
• Gatsby is greater than the society he portrays
  wealth was for Daisy
• American Dreams enchanting promise cannot be
  matched by materialism

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Chapter 6

• Embarrassed of his social standing Jay Gatz
  creates The Great Gatsby
• Dan Cody is everything Gatz wants to be
• Through his character Gatsby he can create the
  life he wants
• Gatsby fails to see how wealth leads to
  self-destruction w/ Codys death
• Gatsby is faithful to a fault in his quest for
  happiness
• The Party is the beginning of the disintegration
  of Gatsbys dream
• Daisy does not like nor understand the guests
  Old Money vs. New Money
• Tom is critical of Gatsby, the guests, and Daisy
• Even though Gatsby is rich, he will never be a
  part of Tom Daisys world
• Gatsby is Hopelessly Devoted to his dream
• Cant repeat the past? he cried incredulously.
  Why of course you can! (116)
• Nick respects the romantic, honorable passion
  Gatsby has for his dream
• But since the dream is now reality it takes on
  limitations and dissolves

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Chapter 78 Levels of Questions

• Literal Answers to literal level questions have
  answers found right in the book.
• Example Why does George shoot Gatsby?
• The answer to this question can be found in a
  single quote from the novel.
• Interpretive In order to answer interpretive
  questions, readers must look up multiple parts of
  a text.
• Example How does Gatsbys dream lead to his
  death?
• Events from multiple parts of the text, related
  to Gatsbys hopeless devotion to his dream, must
  be understood and analyzed to answer this
  question.
• Experienced Based An answer to this question can
  be formulated by analyzing multiple texts or
  analyzing real-world situations. Likewise, this
  question can be applied to multiple texts and
  multiple real-world situations.
• Example How do dreams drive a person to be the
  best person he/she can be or the worst?
• This question can be answered by analyzing Old
  Man the Sea, A Raisin in the Sun, and The Great
  Gatsby. Likewise, this question can be applied
  to all of these texts. Also, this question can be
  answered by looking at real life situations.

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Chapter 7

• This focuses on the end of Gatsbys dream
• No more parties
• Daisy thinks of her and Gatsbys affair as a game
  
• Buchanans are careless empty
• Pammy throws Gatsby off destroys hope of
  returning to past
• At the hotel suite is where Daisy betrays
  Gatsbys dream
• Daisy cannot say she never loved Tom
• She wants to maintain the status quo but
  entertain with Gatsby
• Turning to Tom represents her devotion to him
  end of Gatsby
• Tom realizes his victory so he sends Daisy home
  w/ Gatsby
• Myrtles death forces Nick to judgment
• Nick abandons Buchanans, Jordan, the East
• Gatsby watches over Daisys empty room
  Emptiness of Dream

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Chapter 8

• Gatsby remains loyal to the end to his dream
  Daisy
• Excuses her actions from day before
• he found that had committed himself to the
  following of a grail (149)
• Upholds the nobility of dream and is why Nick and
  the reader like him
• Cannot be realized due to pursuit of material
  wealth by Gatsby Daisy
• What was the use of doing great things if I
  could have a better time telling her what I was
  going to do? (150)
• Daisy is portrayed as weak and unwilling to wait
• She wanted her life shaped now, immediately
  (151)
• Nick no longer reserves judgment, he says Gatsby
  is worth the whole damn bunch put together.

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Chapter 8

• Wilsons lack of spiritual value leads him to
  mistaking Dr. T.J. Eckleburgs eyes as the eyes
  of God.
• Searching for meaning he misinterprets thinks
  revenge is justified
• Gatsby dies with his faith intact-waiting for the
  call from Daisy
• This affirms that there is more to life than
  money, wealth, etc.
• He must of looked up at an unfamiliar sky
  through frightening leaves and shivered as he
  found what a grotesque thing a rose is (161)
• Just because something appears beautiful or
  someone says it is doesnt mean that it is or
  right for you.
• We create meaning with different objects but once
  they lose their meaningwe cannot re-create it
  (like we cannot re-create the past).