Laura Saeli

February 9, 2015
COM220
Story Assignment
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is a modernist novel that takes place in New York in the 1920s.
NickCarroway,theprotagonist,hasrecentlymovedfromtheMidwesttoNewYorkin
hopestogethiscareerstartedinthecity.HelivesontheislandofWestEgg,whichis
directlyacrossfromEastEgg,wherehispompousfriendsTomandDaisyBuchananlive.
Whilelivingontheisland,NickisintroducedtotheluxuriouslifestylethatTomand
Daisylive.Nicksoonfindshimselffascinatedbythemysteriousmanwholivesnextdoor
tohim.NicksoondiscoversthatthemaninthemansionnextdoorisJayGatsby,aman
notoriouslyknownforthrowingelaboratepartieswithoutevermakinganyappearances.
ThestorybeginstodevelopevenfurtherwhenGatsbyintroduceshimselftoNickatone
ofhislegendaryparties.GatsbyandNicksoonbecomefriendsandTomdiscoversthat
thereismuchmoretoGatsbythanmeetstheeye. Fullofpastexperiencesandstories,
Gatsbysfortuneandsuccessremainsamysterytomost.NicksoonlearnsthatGatsbyis
hauntedbyhisloveforDaisy.Theyalmostmarriedwhentheywereyounger,buthewas
toopooranddecidedtowait.Instead,DaisymarriedTomBuchanan,awealthyaristocrat.
Eversincethis,GatsbyhasbeenunabletomoveonandacceptthatDaisyhasfound
anotherlove.
InhopestowinDaisyback,GatsbyseeksNickshelp.NickthenhelpsGatsby
meetwithDaisyinsecretandtheyrekindletheirromance.Inthemeanwhile,Tombegins
tosuspecttheromancebetweenhiswifeandGatsbyandtriestoprovethatGatsbyisnot
whoheseems.DaisybecomesenragedatTom'scondescending,superiorattitudeand
saysthatshewillleaveTomforGatsby.However,shethenfindsoutthatGatsbyisnot
therespectedpharmacistheclaimstobeanddiscoversthathegetshismoneythrough
bootlegging.DaisyisunabletoleaveTomforGatsbybecausepartofherisstillinlove
withTom.UnabletograspthatDaisyhasfallenoutofhislove,Gatsbyisenraged.This
complicationintheplotsignifiesGatsbysinabilitytomoveonfromthepast.Fromthen
on,thingsonlygodownhillforGatsby.Daisydenieshisloveandhegetscaughtina
dangerouslovetriangleandisultimatelyshotandkilledbyamanwhofalselybelieves
thatGatsbyhadanaffairwithhiswife.Intheend,Gatsbydiesaloneinhismansionand
almostnooneattendshisfuneral.
Therearemanythemesandmotifsinthisstory.Someofthemostsignificant
themesinthisstoryarethedeclineoftheAmericandream,thedifferencebetweensocial
classesandtheroleofthepastindreamsofthefuture.Someofthemotifsinthisnovel
aretheimagesoftime,thequestforwealthandtheinabilitytorecreatethepast.Oneof
Gatsbyslargestcharacterflawsishisinabilitytorecognizethathecannotgobackin
timeandmakethingsthewaytheyusedtobewithDaisy.Throughoutthestory,Gatsby
iscaptivatedbythegreenlightacrossfromhisdock.Thegreenlightsymbolizespast
experiencesthatGatsbywillneverbeabletoreliveagain.Thegreenlightandthe
inabilitytorecreatepastexperiencesreferencesbothGatsbysstruggletorecreatehis

lovewithDaisy,andAmericansocietysinabilitytorecreatethelavishlifestyleand
heightoftheroaring20safterthedownfallofTheGreatDepression.