The+Great+Gatsby



By F. Scott Fitzgerald **
 * //The Great Gatsby//

** Author **



F. Scott Fitzgerald's full name is Francis Scott Fitzgerald, named after the author of the National Anthem, his second cousin three times removed. He went by Scott for most of his life though. Born September 26, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Edward and Mary (Mollie) Fitzgerald. He attended St. Paul Academy then furthered his studies at Princeton University. He dropped out his senior year to join the army. While commissioned at a camp near Montgomery, Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, whom he instantly fell in love with. At this time Fitzgerald was madly trying to publish a book. After having it rejected by the publisher twice, Zelda moved on because she was not willing to live off the small salary he was making. Finally in 1924 he published // This Side of Paradise //, which made him, now 24, famous. So famous in fact, Zelda came back into his life. A week after the publication they got married. They moved to New York where he worked on his second novel, // The Beautiful and the Damned. // For the birth of their only child, Frances Scott (Scottie), they moved back to Minnesota. In 1922 he tried being a playwright, however this career lead him to debt which he wrote short stories to get out of. The following years of his life were a roller coaster. Moving to France to escape his past, ended up with complications with his marriage. Then the Fitzgerald moved back to the United States where he tried to screen write. After failing, the flew to France for a second time. There Scott received a lot of money for his work, but spent more then he earned and the soon the moved back to Alabama. In 1932 Zelda became a patient at Johns Hopkins Hospital for sanitariums. Their daughter Scottie was sent to boarding school because Scott was unable to provide a home for her due to his drinking habits. Then leaving Zelda in the hospital he moved to Hollywood to try and make some money. There he fell in love with Shelia Graham, and died of a heart attack there on December 21, 1940. Zelda later died in a fire at Highland hospital 8 years later ( [|Bruccoli] ) . F. Scott Fitzgerald lived a rough life with many ups and downs, but is still considered an incredible author. If you would like more information [|click here].


 * Plot Synopsis **

Nick Carraway, a man originally from Minnesota, settles in West Egg, a part of Long Island. His cozy home is next to a mansion that hosts extravagant parties on weekends. Nick does not fit in with the West Egg crowd. Graduating from Yale, he is better known on the East Egg. One evening Nick's cousin Daisy, married to Tom Buchanan, invites him over for dinner. At dinner Daisy introduces Nick to Jordan Baker, a friend of her's. Nick and Jordan quickly become more then friends. One day at lunch Jordan informs Nick of Tom's secret lover, Myrtle Wilson. She and her husband live in the valley of ashes. At the same time, Tom has been getting closer to Nick and invites him out to lunch in New York. However, Tom fails to mention his mistress would be accompanying them. He also does not mention that they will be dining in the apartment in he has for Myrtle and him. Daisy knows nothing of Myrtle or the apartment and Nick does not have the hear to tell her.

After weeks of watching the parties next door, Nick receives an invitation to the next gathering. Fortunately, Jordan Baker is at the party. The spend the evening together, floating from group to group. However Jordan is soon called in by a servant to speak with Gatsby alone. It is not until later that Nick finds out what the conversation between the two was.

Jordan reveals what she and Gatsby conversed about at the party over lunch to Nick. Nick is shocked to discover Gatsby is in love with his cousin Daisy, and had been for some time. Gatsby had fallen in love with Daisy in Louisville in 1917. Since then he has been madly trying to impress her, hence the parties and the mansion. Gatsby asks Nick to invite Daisy for tea, so he can see her. Nick agrees but is unaware how awkward the situation was going to be. However, as time went on the love between the warmed. Before the day was over they were back in 1917.

Gatsby, wanting to impress Daisy, invites her and Tom to his next party. Tom enjoys himself immensely, while Daisy is somewhat gloomy after she realizes Gatsby will not be by her side the whole night. After a few more meetings, Tom starts to piece together the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby. At a luncheon, Tom and Gatsby get in a dispute. To ease the tension Nick, Tom, Daisy, Jordan and Gatsby drive into town. After a short stay they head back, Daisy and Gatsby leading in one car and the other three following. On the way back to the Buchanan's, a terrible death arises. If you want to find out who died, or who the murder was, read The Great Gatsby. 

**Literary Terms **

Nick Carraway narrates throughout the book switching from 3rd person point of view to 1st person point of view. He describes an event in 3rd person, giving the full story objectively, but then reflects and shares his interpretation. Through his narration, the reader is unsure of the tone in the story. It often seems that Nick is disgusted by the way Jay Gatsby acts. He feels that Gatsby has come by his wealth in unjust ways and that spending it frivolously is foolish, portraying a tone of accusatory. But then a few moments later, Nick will disagree with party goers who say Gatsby killed a man. Defending Gatsby hints at a reverent tone. The conflict of Nick's feelings and thoughts toward Gatsby keeps the reader guessing at the tone. However if one thing is concrete, it is that Nick narrates using neutral diction. He recalls the events in ordinary language without the use of elegant words, making this book very enjoyable.

** Literary Analysis **

Weather emphasizes the events occurring in // The Great Gatsby. // The correlation between the weather and events calls attention to the development of evens in addition to the imagery already in play. When a scene of a movie has a dark, gloomy sky the event happening is sad, or tragic. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses this background knowledge to his advantage. Instead of proclaiming something is sad or tragic, he simply states the weather conditions and the reader infers that is tragic "The rain poured down his thick glasses, and he took them off and wiped them to see the.....grave." (176). He also uses the weather to foreshadow occurrences. Daisy invites Gatsby to her house for a luncheon and the weather was " ...broiling, almost the last, and certainly the warmest, of the summer." (114). The intense heat is brought up numerous times before the luncheon. Fitzgerald uses this as a foreshadow. Often heat and conflict are associated together, so when I was informed of the extreme heat various times, I started to infer that a major conflict or the climax was to occur, and it did. If I told you what it was I would ruin the story. So to find out read //The Great Gatsby.// The correlation with the weather also impacts the imagery that is already being used to enhance the readers understanding of the story. It is described in such minuet detail that it is impossible not be become a part of the scene. It is one thing to describe the heat through the use of words such as "hot" or "warm", but Fitzgerald describes it indirectly.The indirect description of the weather adds to the imagery he uses to describe setting and characters. "...the woman next to me perspired delicately for awhile into her white shirtwaist, and..." (114). The reader is aware of the intense heat because the detail in the description. //The Great Gatsby's// correlation between the weather and events enhances the importance of events in addition to bringing the imagery to a whole new level.

** Criticism **

You should never judge a book by it's cover, or by it's length. Although only 182 pages long, // The Great Gatsby // is no easy read. Events in the story overlap, making it hard to follow at times. At the beginning of the story there is just one idea to follow, Nick lives next to a mansion that holds parties. However, as the story progresses the difficult of keeping everything organized does too. Since Nick is the narrator, we see the events as how the pertain to him. It is often unclear the order of events which creates confusion. Frequently I would find myself rereading a passage because the first time through I would be so engrossed in figuring out what was happening to whom, that I would forget to look for the importance in it. The one thing I would change about this book is the overlap in events. If that was cleared up the book would be more enjoyable because it would take less time to understand, leaving more room for interpretation.

On the other hand, this novel is wonderfully written. The sentence structure keeps the reader engaged, as does the detail. Fitzgerald uses complex sentence structure which engages the reader right from the beginning. "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father game me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since." (1) is the opening sentence in the book. Sentences that follow are just as interesting as the ones prior making the book fly by. In addition to the complex sentence structure, the descriptions are captivating. I know exactly what Fitzgerald saw in the characters when I read // The Great Gatsby // "Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and game him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward." (7) is the description we are given of Tom. Fascinating descriptions written complex sentences make // The Great Gatsby // a wonderful book. Overall, The Great Gatsby is a cleverly written, interesting novel. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the worst, I would rate it an 8. Although hard to understand, the detail make it a book everyone should read and I highly recommend it.

** Additional Information **

If you would enjoy more information I recommend these Wikis: //The Great Gatsby// was made into a movie in 1974, and revised in 2000. For more information on the 1974 version [|click here.] For more information on the 2000 version [|click here.]  Below is the trailer for the 2000 version of the movie media type="youtube" key="H0OPH1Ki9Uk" height="385" width="480"
 * Jessie's Wiki
 * Kirsten's Wiki

 Other people who enjoyed //The Great Gatsby// also liked: // The Grapes of Wrath // (Click here for more information .) // The Sun also Rises // ([|Click here for more information] .) // The Catcher and the Rye // ([|Click here for more information] .)