book report on the great gatsby

A Summary and Analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

The Great Gatsby is the quintessential Jazz Age novel, capturing a mood and a moment in American history in the 1920s, after the end of the First World War. Rather surprisingly, The Great Gatsby sold no more than 25,000 copies in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s lifetime. It has now sold over 25 million copies.

If Fitzgerald had stuck with one of the numerous working titles he considered for the novel, it might have been published as Trimalchio in West Egg (a nod to a comic novel from ancient Rome about a wealthy man who throws lavish parties), Under the Red, White and Blue , or even The High-Bouncing Lover (yes, really).

How did this novel come to be so widely acclaimed and studied, and what does it all mean? Before we proceed to an analysis of Fitzgerald’s novel, here’s a quick summary of the plot.

The Great Gatsby : plot summary

Nick Carraway, the narrator of the novel, is a young man who has come to New York to work on the stock exchange. He lives on the island of West Egg, where his neighbour is the wealthy Jay Gatsby, who owns a mansion.

One evening, Nick is dining with his neighbours from East Egg, Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Tom is having an affair, and goes to answer the phone at one point; Daisy follows him out of the room, and their fellow guest, a woman named Jordan Baker, explains to Nick about Tom’s mistress.

A short while after this, Nick is with Tom when Tom sets up a meeting with his mistress, Myrtle, the wife of a garage mechanic named Wilson. Nick attends a party with Tom and Myrtle; Tom hits his mistress when she mentions Daisy’s name.

In the summer, Gatsby throws a number of lavish parties at his mansion. He meets Jordan Baker again and the two are drawn to each other. Nobody seems to know the real Gatsby, or to be able to offer much reliable information about his identity. Who is he?

Gatsby befriends Nick and drives him to New York. Gatsby explains that he wants Nick to do him a favour: Jordan Baker tells him that Daisy was Gatsby’s first love and he is still in love with her: it’s the whole reason Gatsby moved to West Egg, so he could be near Daisy, even though she’s married to Tom. Gatsby wants Nick to invite both him and Daisy round for tea.

When they have tea together, Gatsby feels hopeful that he can recover his past life with Daisy before she was married. However, he knows that Daisy is unlikely to leave Tom for him. When she expresses a dislike for his noisy parties, he scales down his serving staff at his house and tones down the partying.

When they are all at lunch together, Tom realises that Daisy still loves Gatsby. Tom goads Gatsby as he realises he’s losing his mistress and, now, his wife. While staying together in a suite at the Plaza Hotel, Daisy tells Tom that she loves both men.

On their way back home, Gatsby’s car accidentally hits and kills Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress, who has rushed out into the road after her husband found out about her affair. Tom finds her body and is distraught. Nick learns that Daisy, not Gatsby, was driving the car when Myrtle was killed.

Gatsby also tells Nick that he had built himself up from nothing: he was a poor man named James Gatz who made himself rich through the help of a corrupt millionaire named Dan Cody.

The next day, Nick finds Gatsby dead in his own swimming pool: Wilson, after his wife was killed by Gatsby’s car, turned up at Gatsby’s mansion to exact his revenge. Wilson’s body is nearby in the grass. The novel ends with Nick winding up Gatsby’s affairs and estate, before learning that Tom told Wilson where he could find Gatsby so he could take revenge.

The Great Gatsby : analysis

The Great Gatsby is the best-known novel of the Jazz Age, that period in American history that had its heyday in the 1920s. Parties, bootleg cocktails (it’s worth remembering that alcohol was illegal in the US at this time, under Prohibition between 1920 and 1933), and jazz music (of course) all characterised a time when Americans were gradually recovering from the First World War and the Spanish flu pandemic (1918-20).

One reason The Great Gatsby continues to invite close analysis is the clever way Fitzgerald casts his novel as neither out-and-out criticism of Jazz Age ‘values’ nor as an unequivocal endorsement of them. Gatsby’s parties may be a mere front, a way of coping with Daisy’s previous rejection of him and of trying to win her back, but Fitzgerald – and his sympathetic narrator, Nick Carraway – do not ridicule Gatsby’s behaviour as wholly shallow or vacuous.

Fitzgerald’s choice to have a first-person narrator, rather than a more detached and impersonal ‘omniscient’ third-person narrator, is also significant. Nick Carraway is closer to Gatsby than an impersonal narrator would be, yet the fact that Nick narrates Gatsby’s story, rather than Gatsby telling his own story, nevertheless provides Nick with some detachment, as well as a degree of innocence and ignorance over Gatsby’s identity and past.

Nick Carraway is both part of Gatsby’s world and yet also, at the same time, an observer from the side-lines, someone who is not rich and extravagant as many in Gatsby’s circle are, yet someone who is ushered into that world by an enthusiastic Jay Gatsby, who sees in Carraway a man in whom he can confide.

Nevertheless, Fitzgerald deftly sets the world of West Egg, with Gatsby’s mock-chateau and swimming pool, against the rather grittier and grimier reality for most Americans at the time. If Gatsby himself symbolises the American dream – he has made himself a success, absurdly wealthy with a huge house and a whole retinue of servants, having started out in poverty – then there are plenty of reminders in The Great Gatsby that ‘the American dream’ remains just that, a dream, for the majority of Americans:

About half way between West Egg and New York the motor-road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. This is a valley of ashes – a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.

This is the grey, bleak, industrial reality for millions of Americans: not for them is the world of parties, quasi-enchanted gardens full of cocktails and exotic foods, hydroplanes, and expensive motorcars.

Yet the two worlds are destined to meet on a personal level: the Valley of Ashes (believed to be modelled on Corona dump in Queens, New York, and inspired by T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land ) is where Wilson’s garage is located. The dual tragedy of Gatsby’s and Wilson’s deaths at the end of the novel symbolises the meeting of these two worlds.

The fact that Gatsby is innocent of the two crimes or sins which motivate Wilson – his wife’s adultery with Tom and Daisy’s killing of Myrtle with Gatsby’s car – hardly matters: it shows the subtle interconnectedness of these people’s lives, despite their socioeconomic differences.

What’s more, as Ian Ousby notes in his Introduction to Fifty American Novels (Reader’s Guides) , there is more than a touch of vulgarity about Gatsby’s lifestyle: his house is a poor imitation of a genuine French chateau, but he is no aristocrat; his car is ‘ridiculous’; and his very nickname, ‘the Great Gatsby’, makes him sound like a circus entertainer (perhaps a magician above all else, which is apt given the magical and enchanted way Carraway describes the atmosphere and detail at Gatsby’s parties).

And ultimately, Gatsby’s lavish lifestyle fails to deliver happiness to him, too: he doesn’t manage to win Daisy back to him, so at the same time Fitzgerald is not holding up Gatsby’s ‘success’ uncritically to us.

Is Gatsby black? Although he is known for having been played in film adaptations by Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio, and the novel does not state that Gatsby is an African American, the scholar Carlyle V. Thompson has suggested that certain clues or codes in the novel strongly hint at Gatsby being a black American who has had to make his own way in the world, rising from a poor socio-economic background, and not fully accepted by other people in his social circle because of racial discrimination.

Whether we accept or reject this theory, it is an intriguing idea that, although Fitzgerald does not support this theory in the novel, that may have been deliberate: to conceal Gatsby’s blackness but, as it were, hide it in plain sight.

In the last analysis, The Great Gatsby sums up the Jazz Age, but through offering a tragedy, Fitzgerald shows that the American dream is founded on ashes – both the industrial dirt and toil of millions of Americans for whom the dream will never materialise, and the ashes of dead love affairs which Gatsby, for all of his quasi-magical properties, will never bring fully back to life.

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10 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby”

I regret the several hours wasted in slogging through this low-prole distraction.

You might want to start with something like Dick and Jane.

One of my favorite novels. I have always loved this book. No matter how may times I read it, more is revealed.

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite novels. Thank you for the detailed analysis! I can also add that Fitzgerald includes lots of symbols in the novel. To my mind, one of the most vivid symbols is a giant billboard with the face of Doctor TJ Eckleburg which is towering over the Valley of Ashes. These eyes are watching the dismal grey scene of poverty and decay. I guess the billboard symbolizes the eyes of God staring at the Americans and judging them. In case seomeone is interested in symbols in The Great Gatsby, there is a nice article about it. Here: https://custom-writing.org/blog/symbols-in-the-great-gatsby

While I could imagine and accept a modern film version of Gatsby as black, I really can’t espouse the notion that Fitzgerald had that in mind. If you know anything about American society in the 1920s, you’d know that you didn’t have to be black or of some other minority to be outside the winner’s circle. US society may still have tons of problems accepting that all people are created equal, but back then, they weren’t even thinking about blacks et al very much. They were quite happy to ostracize Italians, Irish, Catholics, etc, without batting an eye.

This is such a widely misunderstood book, by scholars as well as regulars.

Daisy was the victim of love. She would’ve married Jay while he was in the army. Also, Jay’s so-called symbolic “reaching” is nothing more than him trying to understand self love, to attain it, to unravel the “mystery! ” of it. But he never realizes he’s totally in love with himself, which is his biggest issue other than preying on Daisy’s real love.

And Nick ” Carraway” …. Care-a-way, care-a-way… What self-appointed moral man witnesses nakedly two married plotters sceam against a neighbor they like, or any person in serious need of legal, emotion aid, AND DOES NOTHING. Yeah, care a way, Nick, just not your way! And Come On!! who the hell doesn’t judge others….that’s the ENTIRE POINT OF EVERY BOOK AND LIFE.

WHAT preyed on Gatsby preys upon every person everywhere. Influences of life and choices we make because if them. Gatsby’s such an interesting, centralized , beloved character because he represents everyone’s apparent embracement of the childhood notion, ” we can have it all and make our own consequences, and if not, let’s see if I can manipulate time successfully. Gatsby’s us the full human demonstration of self love at all costs and quite deliberately finding a way disguise and masquerade and mutate and thus deny this very fact while simultaneously trying to make it MAGICAL AND MYSTICAL.

ARTISTS, from geniuses to so-called laypeople, are all simple people with very basic emotions. That’s where ALL starts. They are not Gods, nor do they desire misunderstanding. Frankly, they just wanna see if you have any common sense. Once you get passed that, all literature resembles EVERY aspect of life.

A terrific novel and not bad adaptation as a movie by DiCaprio, I thought! While some of the comments on here are a little excessive, there is much to be said for the symbolism in the book. I rather like the fact that ‘West Egg’ and ‘East Egg’ surely hints at questioning who is the ‘good egg’ and who is ‘the bad egg’. The place names are so unusual that this must be deliberate (‘bad egg’ has been around since at least 1855) and we’re left to wonder just what is good and bad here. No character comes out smelling of roses in this story, which – for me – makes the novel utterly compelling.

Well said, Ken. It’s the subtlety of the characterisation which makes it for me – I know a lot of critics and readers praise the prose style, but I think it’s the way Fitzgerald uses Carraway’s narration to reveal the multifaceted (and complex) nature of Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and even himself that is so masterly. I’ve just finished analysing the opening paragraphs of the novel and will post that up soon!

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The Great Gatsby

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In the summer of 1922, Nick Carraway moves from Minnesota to work as a bond salesman in New York. Nick rents a house in West Egg, a suburb of New York on Long Island full of the "new rich" who have made their fortunes too recently to have built strong social connections. Nick graduated from Yale and has connections in East Egg, a town where the people with social connections and "old" money live. One night Nick drives to East Egg to have dinner with his cousin, Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan , a classmate of Nick's at Yale. There, he meets Jordan Baker , a beautiful and cynical professional golfer. Jordan tells Nick that Tom is having an affair. Upon returning home from dinner, Nick sees his mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby holding out his arms toward the Long Island Sound. Nick looks out across the water, but sees only a green light blinking at the end of a dock on the far shore.

A few days later, Tom invites Nick to a party in New York City. On the way, Tom picks up his mistress, Myrtle Wilson , the wife of George Wilson , the owner of an auto shop an industrial area between West Egg and New York City called the Valley of Ashes . At the party, Myrtle gets drunk and makes fun of Daisy. Tom punches her and breaks her nose.

Nick also attends one of Gatsby's extravagant Saturday night parties. He runs into Jordan there, and meets Gatsby for the first time. Gatsby privately tells Jordan a story she describes as the most "amazing thing." After going to lunch with Gatsby and a shady business partner of Gatsby's named Meyer Wolfsheim , Nick meets with Jordan and learns the "amazing" story: Gatsby met and fell in love with Daisy before World War I, and bought his West Egg mansion just to be near her and impress her. At Gatsby's request, Nick arranges a meeting between Gatsby and Daisy. The two soon rediscover their love.

Daisy invites Nick and Gatsby to lunch with her, Tom, and Jordan. During the lunch, Tom realizes Daisy and Gatsby are having an affair. He insists they all go to New York City. As soon as they gather at the Plaza Hotel, though, Tom and Gatsby get into an argument about Daisy. Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy never loved Tom and has only ever loved him. But Daisy can only admit that she loved them both, and Gatsby is stunned. Tom then reveals that Gatsby made his fortune by bootlegging alcohol and other illegal means. Tom then dismissively tells Daisy to go home with Gatsby, since he knows Gatsby won't "bother" her anymore. They leave in Gatsby's car, while Tom, Nick, and Jordan follow sometime later.

As they drive home, Tom, Nick, and Jordan come upon an accident: Myrtle has been hit and killed by a car. Tom realizes that it must have been Gatsby's car that struck Myrtle, and he curses Gatsby as a coward for driving off. But Nick learns from Gatsby later that night that Daisy was actually behind the wheel.

George Wilson, distraught, is convinced that the driver of the car yellow car that hit Myrtle is also her lover. While at work that day, Nick fights on the phone with Jordan. In the afternoon, Nick has a kind of premonition and finds Gatsby shot to death in his pool. Wilson's dead body is a few yards away. Nick organizes a funeral, but none of the people who were supposedly Gatsby's friends come. Only Gatsby's father and one other man attend.

Nick and Jordan end their relationship. Nick runs into Tom soon after, and learns that Tom told Wilson that Gatsby had run over Myrtle. Nick doesn't tell Tom that Daisy was at the wheel. Disgusted with the corrupt emptiness of life on the East Coast, Nick moves back to Minnesota. But the night before he leaves he walks down to Gatsby's beach and looks out over Long Island Sound. He thinks about Gatsby, and compares him to the first settlers to America. Like Gatsby, Nick says, all people must move forward with their arms outstretched toward the future, like boats traveling upstream against the current of the past.

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Best Summary and Analysis: The Great Gatsby

Book Guides

Maybe you've just finished The Great Gatsby and need some guidance for unpacking its complex themes and symbols. Or maybe it's been awhile since you last read this novel, so you need a refresher on its plot and characters. Or maybe you're in the middle of reading it and want to double check that you're not missing the important stuff. Whatever you need - we've got you covered with this comprehensive summary of one of the great American novels of all time!

Not only does this complete The Great Gatsby summary provide a detailed synopsis of the plot, but it'll also give you: capsule descriptions for the book's major characters, short explanations of most important themes, as well as links to in-depth articles about these and other topics.

(Image: Molasz / Wikimedia Commons)

Quick Note on Our Citations

Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text.

The Great Gatsby Summary: The Full Plot

Our narrator, Nick Carraway, moves to the East Coast to work as a bond trader in Manhattan. He rents a small house in West Egg, a nouveau riche town in Long Island. In East Egg, the next town over, where old money people live, Nick reconnects with his cousin Daisy Buchanan, her husband Tom, and meets their friend Jordan Baker.

Tom takes Nick to meet his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle is married to George Wilson, who runs a gas station in a gross and dirty neighborhood in Queens. Tom, Nick, and Myrtle go to Manhattan, where she hosts a small party that ends with Tom punching her in the face.

Nick meets his next-door neighbor, Jay Gatsby, a very rich man who lives in a giant mansion and throws wildly extravagant parties every weekend, and who is a mysterious person no one knows much about.

Gatsby takes Nick to lunch and introduces him to his business partner - a gangster named Meyer Wolfshiem.

Nick starts a relationship with Jordan. Through her, Nick finds out that Gatsby and Daisy were in love five years ago, and that Gatsby would like to see her again.

Nick arranges for Daisy to come over to his house so that Gatsby can "accidentally" drop by. Daisy and Gatsby start having an affair.

Tom and Daisy come to one of Gatsby's parties. Daisy is disgusted by the ostentatiously vulgar display of wealth, and Tom immediately sees that Gatsby's money most likely comes from crime.

We learn that Gatsby was born into a poor farming family as James Gatz. He has always been extremely ambitious, creating the Jay Gatsby persona as a way of transforming himself into a successful self-made man—the ideal of the American Dream.

Nick, Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Jordan get together for lunch. At this lunch, Daisy and Gatsby are planning to tell Tom that she is leaving him. Gatsby suddenly feels uncomfortable doing this in Tom's house, and Daisy suggests going to Manhattan instead.

In Manhattan, the five of them get a suite at the Plaza Hotel where many secrets come out. Gatsby reveals that Daisy is in love with him. Tom in turn reveals that Gatsby is a bootlegger, and is probably engaged in other criminal activities as well. Gatsby demands that Daisy renounce Tom entirely, and say that she has never loved him. Daisy can't bring herself to say this because it isn't true, crushing Gatsby's dream and obsession. It's clear that their relationship is over and that Daisy has chosen to stay with Tom.

That evening, Daisy and Gatsby drive home in his car, with Daisy behind the wheel. When they drive by the Wilson gas station, Myrtle runs out to the car because she thinks it's Tom driving by. Daisy hits and kills her, driving off without stopping.

Nick, Jordan, and Tom investigate the accident. Tom tells George Wilson that the car that struck Myrtle belongs to Gatsby, and George decides that Gatsby must also be Myrtle's lover.

That night, Gatsby decides to take the blame for the accident. He is still waiting for Daisy to change her mind and come back to him, but she and Tom skip town the next day. Nick breaks up with Jordan because she is completely unconcerned about Myrtle's death.

Gatsby tells Nick some more of his story. As an officer in the army, he met and fell in love with Daisy, but after a month had to ship out to fight in WWI. Two years later, before he could get home, she married Tom. Gatsby has been obsessed with getting Daisy back since he shipped out to fight five years earlier.

The next day, George Wilson shoots and kills Gatsby, and then himself.

The police leave the Buchanans and Myrtle's affair out of the report on the murder-suicide.

Nick tries to find people to come to Gatsby's funeral, but everyone who pretended to be Gatsby's friend and came to his parties now refuses to come. Even Gatsby's partner Wolfshiem doesn't want to go to the funeral. Wolfshiem explains that he first gave Gatsby a job after WWI and that they have been partners in many illegal activities together.

Gatsby's father comes to the funeral from Minnesota. He shows Nick a self-improvement plan that Gatsby had written for himself as a boy.

Disillusioned with his time on the East coast, Nick decides to return to his home in the Midwest.

Other Ways to Study the Plot of The Great Gatsby

See what happens when in actual chronological order and without flashbacks in our Great Gatsby timeline .

Read our individual The Great Gatsby chapter summaries for more in-depth details about plot, important quotes and character beats, and how the novel's major themes get reflected:

Learn the significance behind the novel's title , its beginning , and its ending .

List of the Major Characters in The Great Gatsby

Click on each character's name to read an in-depth article analyzing their place in the novel.

Nick Carraway —our narrator, but not the book's main character. Coming East from the Midwest to learn the bond business, Nick is horrified by the materialism and superficiality he finds in Manhattan and Long Island. He ends up admiring Gatsby as a hopeful dreamer and despising the rest of the people he encounters.

Jay Gatsby —a self-made man who is driven by his love for, and obsession with, Daisy Buchanan. Born a poor farmer, Gatsby becomes materially successful through crime and spends the novel trying to recreate the perfect love he and Daisy had five years before. When she cannot renounce her marriage, Gatsby's dream is crushed.

Daisy Buchanan —a very rich young woman who is trapped in a dysfunctional marriage and oppressed by her meaningless life. Daisy has an affair with Gatsby, but is ultimately unwilling to say that she has been as obsessed with him as he has with her, and goes back to her unsatisfying, but also less demanding, relationship with her husband, Tom.

Tom Buchanan —Daisy's very rich, adulterous, bullying, racist husband. Tom is having a physically abusive affair with Myrtle Wilson. He investigates Gatsby and reveals some measure of his criminal involvement, demonstrating to Daisy that Gatsby isn't someone she should run off with. After Daisy runs over Myrtle Wilson, Tom makes up with Daisy and they skip town together.

Jordan Baker —a professional golfer who has a relationship with Nick. At first, Jordan is attractive because of her jaded, cynical attitude, but then Nick slowly sees that her inveterate lying and her complete lack of concern for other people are deal breakers.

Myrtle Wilson —the somewhat vulgar wife of a car mechanic who is unhappy in her marriage. Myrtle is having an affair with Tom, whom she likes for his rugged and brutal masculinity and for his money. Daisy runs Myrtle over, killing her in a gruesome and shocking way.

George Wilson —Myrtle's browbeaten, weak, and working class husband. George is enraged when he finds out about Myrtle's affair, and then that rage is transformed into unhinged madness when Myrtle is killed. George kills Gatsby and himself in the murder-suicide that seems to erase Gatsby and his lasting impact on the world entirely.

Other Ways to Study Great Gatsby Characters

Need a refresher on all the other people in this book? Check out our overview of the characters or dive deeper with our detailed character analyses .

Get some help for tackling the common assignment of comparing and contrasting the novel's characters .

Start gathering relevant character quotes to beef up your essay assignments with evidence from the text.

List of the Major Themes in The Great Gatsby

Get a broad overview of the novel's themes , or click on each theme to read a detailed individual analysis.

Money and Materialism —the novel is fascinated by how people make their money, what they can and can't buy with it, and how the pursuit of wealth shapes the decisions people make and the paths their lives follow. In the novel, is it possible to be happy without a lot of money? Is it possible to be happy with it?

Society and Class —the novel can also be read as a clash between the old money set and the nouveau riche strivers and wannabes that are trying to either become them or replace them. If the novel ends with the strivers and the poor being killed off and the old money literally getting away with murder, who wins this class battle?

The American Dream —does the novel endorse or mock the dream of the rags-to-riches success story, the ideal of the self-made man? Is Gatsby a successful example of what's possible through hard work and dedication, or a sham whose crime and death demonstrate that the American Dream is a work of fiction?

Love, Desire, and Relationships —most of the major characters are driven by either love or sexual desire, but none of these connections prove lasting or stable. Is the novel saying that these are destructive forces, or is just that these characters use and feel them in the wrong way?

Death and Failure —a tone of sadness and elegy (an elegy is a song of sadness for the dead) suffuses the book, as Nick looks back at a summer that ended with three violent deaths and the defeat of one man's delusional dream. Are ambition and overreach doomed to this level of epic failure, or are they examples of the way we sweep the past under the rug when looking to the future?

Morality and Ethics —despite the fact that most of the characters in this novel cheat on their significant others, one is an accidental killer, one is an actual criminal, and one a murderer, at the end of the novel no one is punished either by the law or by public censure. Is there a way to fix the lawless, amoral, Wild East that this book describes, or does the replacement of God with a figure from a billboard mean that this is a permanent state of affairs?

The Mutability of Identity —the key to answering the title's implied questions (What makes Gatsby great? Is Gatsby great?) is whether it is possible to change oneself for good, or whether past history and experiences leave their marks forever. Gatsby wants to have it both ways: to change himself from James Gatz into a glamorous figure, but also to recapitulate and preserve in amber a moment from his past with Daisy. Does he fail because it's impossible to change? Because it's impossible to repeat the past? Or both?

Other Ways to Study Great Gatsby Themes

Often, themes are represented by the a novel's symbols. Check out our overview of the main symbols in The Great Gatsby , or click on an individual symbol for a deeper exploration of its meaning and relevance:

• The green light at the end of Daisy's dock
• The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg
• The valley of ashes

Themes are also often reinforced by recurring motifs. Delve into a guide to the way motifs color and enrich this work.

The Bottom Line

• Use our analysis, gathered quotations , and description for help with homework assignments, tests, and essays on this novel.

What's Next? More Great Gatsby Analysis and Study Guides!

Understand how the book is put together by looking at its genre, narrator, and setting .

Learn the background of and context for the novel in our explanations of the history of the composition of the book and the biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald .

Get a sense of how the novel has been adapted by reading about its many film versions .

Read an overview of how to write analytical essays about the characters in the Great Gatsby before diving into the nitty-gritty for each main character (including the question of if Jay Gatsby really is great ).

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The Great Gatsby summary

Learn about the story of jay gatsby, a self-made millionaire, and his pursuit of daisy buchanan in jazz age new york.

The Great Gatsby , novel by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald , published in 1925. It tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth. Set in 1920s New York, the book is narrated by Nick Carraway. After moving to the fictional West Egg on Long Island, Nick comes to know Gatsby, who asks for his help in reconnecting with Daisy, now married to Tom Buchanan. Gatsby and Daisy rekindle their relationship. Tom discovers the affair and confronts Gatsby, revealing how Gatsby made his fortune selling illegal alcohol. While driving Gatsby’s car, Daisy hits and kills Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress. Myrtle’s husband later kills Gatsby and then himself. Initially given mixed reviews, The Great Gatsby gained popularity in the 1950s and is now considered a masterpiece of American literature. It has inspired several film adaptations.

Home — Guides — The Great Gatsby — Exploring the Rise and Fall of Jay Gatsby: A Plot Statement

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Plot summary

• Introduction
• All Plot summary
• By chapters
• All Characters
• Nick Carraway
• Daisy Buchanan
• Tom Buchanan
• Jordan Baker
• Myrtle Wilson
• George Wilson
• Klipspringer
• Meyer Wolfsheim
• The American Dream
• Social Class
• Money and Wealth
• All Literary Devices
• Foreshadowing
• By character
• All Infographics
• Character Map
• Old Money vs New Money
• Biography of author

The Great Gatsby: Plot Summary

Table of contents, full book summary, plot summary by chapters.

The Great Gatsby is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald set in the 1920s, a time of economic prosperity and cultural change in America. The story follows Nick Carraway, a young man who moves from the Midwest to New York City to work as a bond salesman.

Nick becomes friends with his wealthy neighbor, Jay Gatsby, who throws extravagant parties every weekend but never attends them. Gatsby is known for his mysterious past and his obsession with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he fell in love with years ago but lost when he went off to fight in World War I. Daisy is now married to Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man who is having an affair with a woman named Myrtle Wilson.

Nick learns that Gatsby and Daisy were once in love, and Gatsby is determined to win her back. Gatsby uses his wealth to impress Daisy, and the two begin an affair. Tom becomes suspicious of Daisy’s behavior and confronts Gatsby, leading to a confrontation between the two men.

As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Gatsby has made his fortune through illegal means, including bootlegging and gambling. He becomes increasingly desperate to win back Daisy, going to great lengths to prove his love for her.

The novel climaxes with a tragic event that results in the deaths of two characters. Gatsby is killed by George Wilson, the husband of Myrtle Wilson, who believes that Gatsby was responsible for his wife’s death. The novel ends with Nick reflecting on the events of the summer and the emptiness of the wealthy lifestyle that Gatsby and his acquaintances pursued.

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 1

The first chapter of The Great Gatsby sets the stage for the rest of the novel. The narrator, Nick Carraway, introduces himself and his new neighbors, including his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her wealthy husband Tom. Nick also mentions Jay Gatsby, a mysterious and wealthy man who lives in a nearby mansion. Nick attends a dinner party at Daisy and Tom’s home, during which he learns that Tom is having an affair. Later that evening, Nick sees Gatsby watching the party from his mansion.

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 2

In Chapter 2, Tom takes Nick to meet his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the Valley of Ashes, a desolate area between New York City and Long Island. Myrtle is married to a working-class man who suspects her of infidelity. During their visit, Tom becomes angry and strikes Myrtle, revealing the violent nature of his relationship with her. The chapter ends with Nick feeling disgusted with Tom and the lifestyle of the wealthy elite.

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 3

In Chapter 3, Gatsby invites Nick to one of his lavish parties. The party is filled with music, dancing, and extravagance. Nick observes the behavior of Gatsby’s guests, including the women who seem to be attracted to Gatsby’s wealth and status. Nick is introduced to Gatsby for the first time, but the host seems to be elusive and mysterious, disappearing into the crowd. Jordan Baker, a professional golfer who is attending the party, tells Nick that Gatsby wants to speak with him. However, Gatsby disappears before Nick can speak with him. The chapter ends with Nick reflecting on the curious nature of Gatsby and his guests, feeling both intrigued and skeptical of their behavior.

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby provides insight into Jay Gatsby’s past and his rise to wealth. Gatsby invites Nick to lunch in New York City and introduces him to Meyer Wolfsheim, a man rumored to have fixed the 1919 World Series. Gatsby reveals to Nick that he inherited his wealth from a wealthy family member who died, but Nick remains skeptical of his story. Gatsby also mentions his past relationship with Daisy and his plans to win her back.

Later, Gatsby takes Nick for a drive and shows him evidence of his wealthy and glamorous lifestyle, including expensive cars and shirts. Gatsby then asks Nick to invite Daisy to his home for tea, as he hopes to reunite with her.

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 5

In Chapter 5, Gatsby and Nick prepare for Daisy’s visit. Gatsby is visibly nervous, and Nick helps him prepare his home and appearance for the meeting. When Daisy arrives, Gatsby is overcome with emotion and leaves the room to compose himself. The reunion between Daisy and Gatsby is tense at first, but they soon become more comfortable with one another. Gatsby shows Daisy around his home and property, and they discuss their past relationship. At one point, Gatsby even shows Daisy his collection of expensive shirts, a symbol of his newfound wealth.

As the day comes to a close, Nick leaves the two alone, sensing a romantic connection between them. Gatsby invites Daisy to his next party, and she agrees to attend.

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 6

In Chapter 6, Nick learns more about Gatsby’s past and his true identity. Gatsby reveals that he was born into a poor family and changed his name as he worked his way up to wealth and success. He also admits that he was in love with Daisy and that their separation was devastating for him.

Gatsby then asks Nick to arrange a meeting with Daisy for him. They meet at the Buchanan’s home, where tensions rise between Gatsby and Tom. Gatsby tries to assert his dominance over Tom by reminding Daisy of their love and accusing Tom of being a brute. However, Tom reveals that Gatsby’s wealth came from illegal activities, and Gatsby is unable to refute the claim.

The chapter ends with a heated argument between Gatsby and Tom, with Nick caught in the middle. Daisy leaves with Tom, and Gatsby is left alone and dejected.

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 7

Chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby is a pivotal moment in the story, as tensions between the characters come to a head. The chapter opens with Nick receiving an invitation to attend one of Gatsby’s extravagant parties. When Nick arrives, he finds that many of the guests are there solely for the free food and drink and have no genuine interest in Gatsby or his lifestyle.

Meanwhile, tensions continue to rise between Tom and Gatsby over Daisy. Gatsby tries to impress Daisy by showing off his wealth, including his expensive car. However, when they all take a drive together, the group ends up at the Plaza Hotel, where a heated argument between Tom and Gatsby breaks out. Tom accuses Gatsby of being a bootlegger, and Gatsby denies it, leading to a physical altercation.

The chapter ends tragically, with Daisy driving Gatsby’s car back to his home and accidentally hitting and killing Tom’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson.

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 8

Chapter 8 focuses on the aftermath of the tragic events in Chapter 7. Nick visits Gatsby at his home and finds him in a state of despair. Gatsby tells Nick about his past with Daisy and how he met her while he was in the military. He also reveals that he bought his home in West Egg specifically to be near her.

Meanwhile, Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, is searching for the owner of the car that hit his wife. He confronts Tom, who lies and tells him that Gatsby was driving the car. Wilson then goes to Gatsby’s home and shoots him, mistaking him for the owner of the car. Gatsby dies alone in his pool, with only Nick and his father attending his funeral.

The Great Gatsby: Chapter 9

In the final chapter of The Great Gatsby, Nick reflects on the events that have transpired over the past few months. He decides to move back to the Midwest, disgusted by the emptiness and materialism he has witnessed in New York. He also realizes that all of the characters he has encountered, including Gatsby, have been driven by their desires and obsessions.

Nick tries to reach out to some of the characters, including Tom and Daisy, but they have moved on with their lives and do not seem to care about the tragedies that have occurred. Nick ends the book with the famous line, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” acknowledging that the characters’ struggles and desires are ultimately futile in the face of the forces of time and history.

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The Great Gatsby

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Summary and Study Guide

The Great Gatsby is a fiction novel published in 1925 by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Inspired by Fitzgerald’s experiences during the Jazz Age of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby captures the prosperity and the hedonism of the era through a cast of characters who reside in the fictional Long Island towns of West Egg and East Egg. Despite a cold reaction from critics and audiences upon its release, many modern scholars include The Great Gatsby in the canon of great American novels. In 1998, the Modern Library selected The Great Gatsby as the second best English language novel of the 20th century.

Plot Summary

The narrator, Nick Carraway , moves to Long Island after returning from World War I. Although he is from Minnesota, he feels restless after the war and believes that the east coast is more interesting and exciting than the Midwest.

After he relocates to the fictional town of “West Egg” and begins his job as a bond salesman, Nick becomes reacquainted with a distant cousin, Daisy, and her husband, Tom Buchanan . Both Tom and Daisy are from very wealthy families, and Tom is a successful businessman. Nick also meets their friend, Jordan Baker , a professional female golfer. Tom and Daisy live in East Egg, the more prestigious “old money” counterpart to West Egg, where people with “new money” live. Tom also has a mistress, Myrtle Wilson , the wife of a gas station and car dealership owner named George. Nick meets her and finds her unattractive.

One night, Nick meets Jay Gatsby , his neighbor. Although Gatsby is extremely rich and holds lavish parties at his home, he has few close friends. Rumors constantly circulate about his origins and the source of his money. He invites Nick to one of his parties, and they become acquainted. Jordan and Nick spend more time together until they become romantically involved, mostly due to Jordan’s own desires, although Nick is attracted to her. One day, Jordan approaches Nick to inform him that Gatsby and Daisy were once romantically involved–Daisy almost called off her wedding to Tom because of her feelings for Gatsby. Jordan asks Nick’s assistance in facilitating a reunion. They meet at Nick’s house one day, and then Gatsby shows Daisy to his own house. She marvels at his luxurious belongings and cries when she sees his beautiful collection of shirts. Nick leaves Daisy and Gatsby alone together.

Gatsby and Daisy begin an affair and see each other often with Nick. Daisy and Tom attend one of Gatsby’s parties, and although Daisy finds the party distasteful, she defends Gatsby to Tom. Gatsby hopes that Daisy will leave Tom for him, and he stops throwing parties, since he only ever threw them hoping that she would show up. One day, Nick, Gatsby, and Jordan attend lunch at Daisy and Tom’s house. The affair between Daisy and Gatsby becomes apparent to Tom and he attempts to assert his dominance. They all drive to town to ease tension, where they fill up on gas at George’s gas station. George informs them that he and Myrtle are moving, implying that he knows about he and Tom’s affair. Myrtle mistakes Jordan, sitting next to Tom in the car, for Daisy.

Tom confronts Daisy and Gatsby about their affair, and she admits that she loves Gatsby and wants to leave Tom. Tom informs Daisy that Gatsby is a criminal. This is true: Gatsby is not from a family with money but is instead a self-made alcohol smuggler from a modest Midwestern family. After the revelation, they all drive away, and Jordan, Tom, and Nick come across the gas station again, where they find out that Myrtle is dead after being hit by a car. Tom convinces a distraught George that Gatsby drove the car.

It transpires that Daisy was driving Gatsby’s car and hit Myrtle after Myrtle ran into the street in a fit of rage and jealousy. Gatsby wants to cover for Daisy’s culpability, and Nick tells him that the police will eventually identify his car. George pursues Gatsby, murders him, then dies by suicide. None of Gatsby’s party guests, nor any of his criminal associates, attend his funeral; his father travels from the Midwest to attend. Disillusioned, Nick makes up his mind to return to the Midwest. He breaks up with Jordan. Daisy and Tom leave East Egg to an unknown location, and Nick and Tom speak one last time. Tom admits that he suggested Gatsby’s guilt to George.

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• Annotated Full Text
• Literary Period: Modernism
• Publication Date: 1925
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The Great Gatsby

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

Table of Contents

• Chapter III
• Chapter VII
• Chapter VIII
• Character Analysis
• Foreshadowing
• Historical Context
• Literary Devices
• Quote Analysis

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The Great Gatsby

By f. scott fitzgerald.

'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald is filled with interesting and morally bankrupt characters, such as Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Ewing Klipspringer.

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is filled with interesting and morally bankrupt characters. Of the many characters readers are introduced to, only a few have any redeeming features. This makes empathizing with many of them difficult, if not impossible. But, their very human problems are quite easy to relate to. The characters in the novel are tied together through their desire for wealth, social climbing, affairs, greed, and lack of empathy for one another . 

Jay Gatsby 

Jay Gatsby is the title character of The Great Gatsby and the man around whom the novel revolves. He’s incredibly wealthy, throws lavish parties, and lives in a large mansion in West Egg, where all the newly rich families establish residences. No one knows where he came from or how he became a millionaire. Nick slowly becomes Gatsby’s confidant after moving into a small house next door. As the novel progresses, readers learn more and more about the mysterious Gatsby. 

His real name is James Gatz and he’s from North Dakota. He met the love of his life, Daisy, when he was young and made his fortune through criminal enterprises. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to win Daisy back, despite the fact that she’s already married to someone else. His single-minded focus on this dream eventually leads to destruction and death. 

Nick Carraway 

Nick is the narrator of The Great Gatsby and the protagonist. He’s a young man who served in World War I, attended Yale University, and moved to New York City to work in bonds. He rents a small house next to Jay Gatsby’s in West Egg. Nick becomes acquaintances with Gatsby and helps him reunite with Daisy, Gatsby’s life-long love interest, and Nick’s cousin.

Nick’s reserved, yet open-minded, and often troubled. This means that he serves as Gatsby’s confidant, often hearing the other man’s secrets and intentions. His history and personal relationships shape how the reader understands all the other characters and events. Nick is torn between an interest in the New York lifestyle and the fact that at his core, it doesn’t really suit him. It’s morally empty and purposeless, he determines at the end of the novel. Nick finally returns to Minnesota where he embarks on a different kind of life. 

Daisy Buchanan

Daisy Buchanan is a beautiful, socially popular young woman who has lived a privileged life and is one of the main characters in the novel. She’s married to Tom, a wealthy although loveless man. The two live in East Egg together. Daisy is Gatsby’s love interest. She represents a life and passion he’s trying to return to, as well as a future dream he can’t help but fight for. She is the perfection Gatsby is striving for, and in his desire for her, he’s unable to see her flaws. In Nick’s eyes, she’s careless and willing to hide behind her money when times get tough. Her best-known quote includes the phrase “beautiful little fool” in regard to the best thing a girl can be in the world.

Tom Buchanan 

Daisy’s husband and a mostly unlikeable figure. He’s large, comes from a wealthy family, and is often rough. He was a football star in his youth, a period of his life that is alluded to as his peak. Now, he uses boisterous and sometimes racist language and has had multiple affairs since marrying Daisy. The latter is not something he’s ashamed of. His current mistress is Myrtle Wilson. Despite this, he maintains that he and Daisy are in love with one another and they always will be.

Tom is described as “cruel” in the novel. Someone who uses his size and position to dominate others. He’s very single-minded, juxtaposed against Nick’s open-mindedness, and is only able to look at the world through one specific lens. He has everything anyone could ever want but continues to present himself as a victim of the world. 

Jordan Baker 

Jordan Baker is Daisy’s friend who works as a professional golfer. She’s young, beautiful, and often captures the eye of eligible men. She dates Nick but is unable to charm him in the same way she has others. Her life is fairly shallow and she a perfect symbol of the immorality Nick is turned off by. She cheated to win her first golf tournament and continues to live a dishonest life. 

George Wilson 

The husband of Myrtle Wilson, the woman with whom Tom is having an affair. He runs an auto shop that’s falling apart. When he realizes that his wife is cheating on him, he’s filled with sorrow and is further devastated when Myrtle dies. Readers might draw comparisons between George and Gatsby in that they’re both striving for a dream. Gatsby has been partially successful though. George is trapped in his lower-class income. Despite their differences, their lives are both upended by women. 

Myrtle Wilson 

Myrtle is Tom’s mistress. She’s married to George Wilson. She’s trying to improve her life by having an affair with Tom, who is many times wealthier than she is. She tries to take some control over her life with the affair, asserting a kind of power in her unfaithfulness. Unfortunately for her, Tom has no respect for her and treats her as an object. She meets a terrible end. 

Owl Eyes 

A drunk man that Nick meets at the first Gatsby party he goes to. He expresses astonishment over Gatsby’s books in the library.

Ewing Klipspringer 

One of the many people, a freeloader, who attends Gatsby’s parties. He takes advantage of the wealthier man’s money. After Gatsby’s death, Klipspringer is never seen again. His only concern is for a forgotten pair of tennis shoes. 

Meyer Wolfsheim 

A member of an organized crime group. He helped Gatsby make his fortune and continues to hang around the younger man. Wolfsheim is an intimidating figure that the reader immediately feels they can’t trust. He is revealed to have fixed the World Series one year.

Dan Cody 

Gatsby’s mentor. He taught Gatsby everything he knows about living his life and following his dreams. He’s a wealthy copper businessman for whom Gatsby worked for aboard his yacht. He was Cody’s personal assistant. This role helped to inspire Gatsby to become rich.

Michaelis 

George Wilson’s neighbor. He comforts the widower after his wife is killed. He’s one of the few “good” people that The Great Gatsby has to offer. 

Who is the narrator of The Great Gatsby ?

Nick Carraway is the narrator of The Great Gatsby.

Who is Jay Gatsby?

His real name is James Gatz and he’s from North Dakota. He made his fortune in illegal bootlegging and her criminal enterprises. His fortune, home, and desires are central to the plot of the novel.

Why did Jay Gatsby lie about his past? 

He lied to become the person he wanted to be. James Gatz was poor and dreamless. Jay Gatsby on the other hand is powerful and wealthy.

Why did Daisy marry Tom Buchanan? 

Daisy married Tom even though she was in love with Gatsby because he could provide the kind of life she wanted. Money and security were more important to her. 

Who is the main antagonist in The Great Gatsby?

Tom Buchanan is the main antagonist of The Great Gatsby. 

Who killed Gatsby?

Jay Gatsby was killed by George Wilson. The latter was under the impression that Gatsby had killed his wife, Myrtle.

Who is Gatsby really in love with?

From the beginning of the book, it’s clear that Gatsby believes he’s in love with Daisy Buchanan. She’s a married woman who, as the novel progresses, does not rise to Gatsby’s high expectations for her.

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About Emma Baldwin

Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

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