Beautiful, enchanting, unworthy object of dream, illusion of love with voice like money
Daisy Fay Buchanan
Hulk of a man, bigot, hypocrite, uses people, treats people like possessions, example of upper class values
Tom Buchanan
First person narrator, observes at first, finally judges, develops full moral responsibility at age 30 (turning point, loss of youth), represents the Midwest
Nick Carraway
Draws Nick into story, friend of Daisy's, shows change in women during 1920's
Jordan Baker
Gambler, part of organized crime, involved with Gatsby
Meyer Wolfsheim
Trapped in hopeless situation, common man in material wasteland
George Wilson
Mistress of Tom's trying to rise above station in life
Myrtle Wilson
Static character devoted to dream, symbol of American Experience
Jay Gatsby
American archetype (original, model), romantic figure with money
Dan Cody
What does Green Light symbolize?
Situated at the end of Daisy's East Egg dock and barely visible from Gatsby's West Egg lawn, the green light represents Gatsby's hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates it with Daisy, and in Chapter 1 he reaches toward it in the darkness as a g
What does Gatsby's car symbolize?
riches, nice, show it off, status- symbol of the American dream
What does Valley of Ashes symbolize?
First introduced in Chapter 2, the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. It represents the moral and social decay that results from the uninhibited pursui
What do the seasons symbolize?
phases or changes on one's life
Spring- Fresh start west to east- Nick
Summer- good times, parties, love, affairs, searching for dreams
Fall- end of youth, dream gone, things fall apart, die or Jordan says that life starts over
What does Gatsby's Schedule symbolize?
hard work and study leads to American Dream of adventure and money, Irony is that he completely deviates from this intent by illegally obtaining his money
What do Settings (move from west to east) symbolize?
all move west to east in hope of finding a better life, glamour, riches or escape (Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Nick, Jordan). None succeed because all develop false values to adapt to lifestyle. Only Nick save himself by returning to mid- West
What does West and East Eggs symbolize?
West= New money, fast money, rages to riches immigrant stock, showy and vulgar, wannabes (Gatsby and Nick)
East= old money, inherited wealth of established families, snooty, upper crust, white palaces (Tom and Daisy)
What do Gatsby's Shirts symbolize?
enchanted objects
What do Gatsby's Parties symbolize?
carelessness, low morals, vulgar behavior, drunkenness, waste, trash, chaos, accidents
What are 4 major themes in this book?
1. The Decline of the American Dream in the 1920s (can no long measure up to explorers' dreams - Visions of America)
2. Moral irresponsibility creates moral wasteland (Valley of Ashes)
3. The Hollowness of the Upper Class(can no long (Sociology of wealth)
What does The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg symbolize?
The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. They may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never
American Modernism
Literature after WWI that deals with loneliness and fragmentation/1913-1945; rejects recorded history, traditional values, traditional rhetoric and language, elevate the individual the inner man over the social man
Harlem Renaissance
A period in the 1920s when African-American achievements in art and music and literature flourished
The Lost Generation
Post war writers that left a sense of dislocation and alienation. They felt the real America had been lost or distorted.
Algonquin Roundtable
An informal group of writers, editors and intellectuals who met informally beginning in 1919 at the Algonquin Hotel to discuss literature and current events. The group met consistently through the 1920s to discuss literature and current events. Several of
Nick Caraway
A young Midwesterner educated at Yale, is the novel's narrator. When he moves to the West Egg area of Long Island, he joins the lavish social world of Tom, Jordan, Gatsby, and his cousin Daisy.
-He not only narrates the story but casts himself as the book
Jay Gatsby
The handsome, mysterious Gatsby, who lives in a mansion next door to Nick's cottage, is known for his lavish parties. Nick, whom he trusts, gradually learns about Gatsby's past and his love for Daisy.
Daisy Buchanan
Beautiful, charming, and spoiled, Daisy is the object of Gatsby's love. Her caprice and materialism lead her to marry Tom Buchanan.
Tom Buchanan
From an enormously wealthy Chicago family, Tom is a former Yale football star who sees himself at the top of an exclusive social hierarchy. He is conceited, violent, racist, and unfaithful.
-tries to interest the others in a book called The Rise of the Co
Jordan Baker
Daisy's friend Jordan epitomizes the modern woman of the 1920s. A liberated, competitive golfer, she is firmly established in high society. She both attracts and repels Nick as a romantic interest.
-a competitive golfer who yawns as though bored by her su
George Wilson
The owner of an auto garage at the edge of the valley of ashes, George finds his only happiness through his faithless wife, Myrtle.
-a lifeless yet handsome man, colored gray by the ashes in the air
Myrtle Wilson
Myrtle dreams of belonging to a higher social class than George can offer. Vivacious and sensual, she hopes her adulterous affair will lead to a life of glamour.
-has a kind of desperate vitality; she strikes Nick as sensuous despite her stocky figure.
-g
1920
The 18th Amendment, establishing Prohibition, becomes law.
The 19th Amendment passes, giving 26 million women the right to vote.
Warren G. Harding is elected president.
1921
Charlie Chaplin stars in The Kid.
Coco Chanel introduces Chanel No. 5.
Rorschach inkblot tests first used.
"Shoeless" Joe Jackson and others banned from baseball in wake of the "Black Sox" scandal
1922
James Joyce's Ulysses published.
T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land published.
First issue of Reader's Digest published.
Louis Armstrong leaves New Orleans for Chicago to play with King Oliver.
Dance marathon craze begins.
1923
First transcontinental nonstop flight takes off from New York and lands in San Diego.
Jelly Roll Morton makes his first Paramount recordings in Chicago.
President Harding dies; Calvin Coolidge takes oath of office.
1924
George Gershwin premieres Rhapsody in Blue.
J. Edgar Hoover appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation, later named the FBI.
The ten-millionth Model T rolls off the Ford assembly line.
Colleen Moore plays the title role in the film The Perfect Flap
1925
Charles Scribner's Sons publishes The Great Gatsby.
First issue of the New Yorker goes to press.
After John Scopes is charged with teaching from Darwin's Origin of Species, Clarence Darrow takes his case.
1926
The value of bootlegging in the U.S. estimated at $3.6 billion.
Benny Goodman records his first solo, "He's the Last Word," with the Ben Pollack Band.
Henry Ford institutes the 5-day workweek and 8-hour workday.
1927
The Jazz Singer opens as the first talking motion picture.
Charles Lindbergh lands his Spirit of St. Louis in Paris after the first transatlantic flight.
Ford introduces the Model A.
Duke Ellington opens a four-year residency at the Cotton Club in New Yor
1928
Walt Disney makes his first Mickey Mouse silent short, Plane Crazy, and succeeds with his second one, Steamboat Willie, which was synchronized with sound.
Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to make a transatlantic flight.
Herbert Hoover is elected pre
1929
March 26: The New York Stock Exchange hits a record high, with 8.2 million shares traded.
The Gerber Co. invents canned baby food.
Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms is published.
October 29: On Black Tuesday, the stock market crashes.
West Egg
Fictional town in Long Island, NY where the "new money" live. Nick lives there next to Gatsby. it is across the lake from East Egg. Is characterized by lavish displays of wealth and garish poor taste.
East Egg
Fictional town in Long Island, NY where Daisy and Tom live and where the the money in inherited from their family members (old money people).
He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible preju
Nick's first close examination of Gatsby's character and appearance. This description of Gatsby's smile captures both the theatrical quality of Gatsby's character and his charisma. Additionally, it encapsulates the manner in which Gatsby appears to the ou
The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God�a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that�and he must be about His Father's business, the service of a vast, vulgar, a
Nick finally describes Gatsby's early history, he uses this striking comparison between Gatsby and Jesus Christ to illuminate Gatsby's creation of his own identity. Though the parallel between Gatsby and Jesus is not an important motif in The Great Gatsby
Gatsby lists a long and preposterously detailed set of accomplishments:
he claims to have been educated at Oxford,
to have collected jewels in the capitals of Europe,
to have hunted big game,
and to have been awarded medals in World War I by multiple European countries.
Meyer Wolfshiem
-claims, was responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series. - is a shady character with underground business connections
Gatsby bought his mansion in West Egg solely
to be near Daisy.
Why does Gatsby want Nick to invite Daisy to tea.
he is terrified that Daisy will refuse to see him.
As well as shedding light on Gatsby's past, Chapter 4 illuminates a matter of great personal meaning for Gatsby:
the object of his hope, the green light toward which he reaches. Gatsby's love for Daisy is the source of his romantic hopefulness and the meaning of his yearning for the green light in Chapter 1. That light, so mysterious in the first chapter, becomes th
Evidence in Chapter 5 that Gatsby seems agitated and almost desperate to make Nick happy includes:
-he invites him to Coney Island, then for a swim in his pool. Nick realizes that Gatsby is nervous because he wants Nick to agree to his plan of inviting Daisy over for tea. Nick tells Gatsby that he will help him with the plan. Overjoyed, Gatsby immediat
Evidence that Gatsby's reunion with Daisy starts off terribly awkward includes:
Gatsby knocks Nick's clock over and tells Nick sorrowfully that the meeting was a mistake. Gatsby's character throughout his meeting with Daisy is at its purest and most revealing. The theatrical quality that he often projects falls away, and for once all
Why is Chapter 5 the pivotal chapter of The Great Gatsby?
Gatsby's reunion with Daisy is the hinge on which the novel swings. Before this event, the story of their relationship exists only in prospect, as Gatsby moves toward a dream that no one else can discern. Afterward, the plot shifts its focus to the romanc
Thomas Jefferson and the other founding fathers envisioned America as a place that would be free of the injustices of class and caste, a place where people from humble backgrounds would be free to try to improve themselves economically and socially. What
that this dream of improvement, carried to its logical conclusion, results in a superficial imitation of the old European social system that America left behind by Gatsby's house being compared several times to that of a feudal lord, and his imported clot
What is the real story reveled about Gatsby's youth?
Gatsby was born James Gatz on a North Dakota farm, and though he attended college at St. Olaf's in Minnesota, he dropped out after two weeks, loathing the humiliating janitorial work by means of which he paid his tuition. He worked on Lake Superior the ne
Dan Cody
-a wealthy copper mogul
-took young Gatz, who gave his name as Jay Gatsby, on board his yacht as his personal assistant and traveled to the Barbary Coast and the West Indies,
-a heavy drinker
-left Gatsby $25,000,
How does Chapter 6 further explore the topic of social class as it relates to Gatsby.
Nick's description of Gatsby's early life reveals the sensitivity to status that spurs Gatsby on. His humiliation at having to work as a janitor in college contrasts with the promise that he experiences when he meets Dan Cody, who represents the attainmen