The Great Gatsby

Depiction of the 1920s

The 1920s was also known as The Roaring Twenties.
From the historical point of view, it was a time of prohibition, prosperity, crime, fashion,
popularity of sports, entertainment and jazz.
1. The era of Prohibition took place from 1920-1933. It was a nationwide constitutional ban on
the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages which was
established in 1919 on the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
As you read the novel The Great Gatsby, you can see that the main characters are not
impacted by the law but add alcohol to their daily lifestyle. But how was it possible to drink
alcohol even though it was banned? There were people who transported and sold it illegally
because of a huge profit. They were called bootleggers, example of such a person in the novel
is Jay Gatsby.
2. In the novel, we can see very prosperous side of America where people cared about drinking,
partying and owning large mansions. The 1920s was a time of great economic prosperity and
many people became rich and wealthy. Some because of the inherited money which was
called old money and some as Gatsby obtained new money that came from investments,
gambling and bootlegging. Along with large amount of money, whether old or new, came lots
of spending, amusement, fun, pleasure and big parties.
3. Fashion in the roaring twenties gained great changes especially for women. The main reason
for it was that women obtained in 1920 the right to vote. To show the freedom and power,
dresses became shorter and looser to allow to move freely. Dresses were shapeless and the
trendy hairstyle was short and smooth.
The trendy women of this era were called flappers. They dressed in colorful shift dresses and
short, even haircuts, bare arms, flat chests, and long cigarette. In the style of men - There was
not a lot of use of color, but there were additions like wide lapels. Cream suits were worn by
the upper class, and sweaters were an addition to sportswear. Do you know an example of a
flapper lady in The Great Gatsby?
4. In the 1920s, people had a lot of leisure time. The rich played a variety of sports to satisfy
their boredom. Example of such sport was golf that was reserved for the rich. Although sports
are meant for pleasure and fair play there is still cheating and corruption involved. For
example, Jordan Baker cheats during her golf tournament in The Great Gatsby which also
illustrates the dishonesty of the rich. Do you know any other sport that was reserved for the
rich?
5. The entertainment that grew in popularity in the Roaring Twenties were radios, sports and
silent movies with famous stars, such as Charlie Chaplin.

In the novel, Gatsby makes big parties and invites famous people even politicians because he
wants to be noticed and impress people especially Daisy.
6. Jazz was known to be the controversial mainstream music defining the roaring twenties. In the
novel, Fitzgerald made references to the jazz music to show the obsession with wealth or love.
Francis Scott Fitzgerald American writer born on 24th of September 1896 in St. Paul
(Minnesota) , died on 21th December 1940 in Hollywood (California). He studied in New
Jersey and Princetown. In 1917 Fitzgerald left university to join army during World War I,
Years from 1917 to 1919 he spend in army garrison in Alabama where he met his future wife
Zelda Sayre- the daughter of wealthy judge. The Great , romantic love has an important
impact on his future fortunes, and its marks can be seen in many of his literary works. He
started to write as early as at school, writing poems and plays for school theater. For real he
started to write in 1919. His first novel This Side of Paradise (published in 1920) was an
bestseller and made him famous. His next novel was The Beautiful and the Dammed
(published in 1922) novel partly autobiographical and The Great Gatsby (published in
1925), work consider as a Fitzgeralds masterpiece. This book explores themes of decadence,
idealism, resistance to change, social changes, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age
or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a warning tale regarding the American
Dream. The great Gatsby has five film adaptations, the newest one realized in 2013 (with
Leonardo DiCaprio). Fitzgerald is also an author of many short stories. Then his problems
have started, firstly his wifes mental illness began and then The Great Depression has started.
In literature the dominance of social issues can be observed and his next novel Tender is the
Night with autobiographical aspects is judged rather coldly. Due to financial problems
(because of his lavish life style) and alcoholism Fitzgerald stared to work as a scriptwriter in
Hollywood. The fruit of his work in Hollywood is unfinished novel The last tycoon Scott
died before he could complete this novel and left behind extensive notes for the unwritten
part. This manuscript was edited by his friend Edmund Wilson and in 1941 the book once
started as The love of the Last Tycoon was published as The Last Tycoon.
On 21st December 1940 Fitzgerald died of a massive heart attack. His work has inspired
writers ever since he was first published
Impressionism was actually a term that was created to mock and deride the work of French
painters, (of whom Monet was one), who aimed to focus more on the impact of light on
objects rather than the objects themselves. This transferred itself in literature to a focus on
perspective and vision; impressionism therefore concerns a gap between what the narrator
seems to experience and see and what actually occurs. Noted authors who are considered
impressionist in some of their works are Thomas Mann, Herman Hesse and Ford Maddox
Ford, whose works all adopt a somewhat elliptical style as narrators share their own
perception of reality whilst at the same time making it clear to the clever reader just how big
the gap is between their truth and the actual truth.
There is certainly much that can be said about narration in this vein in The Great Gatsby.
Nick's account is partial, and for all that he insists he attempts to be accurate and to be
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trustworthy, there are times when his narrative breaks down and even he is unsure of what
happens. Note Nick's interaction at the end of Chapter 2 with Mr McKee, and how the dots
represent an elliptical style that shows just how partial Nick's perception of events are as he
copes with his drunkenness:
...I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets, clad(odziany) in his
underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands.
Nothing pre-empts this strange event, and Nick apparently just finds himself there and only
has a bizarre recollection of McKee showing him his portfolio. However, if his account is
partial in some senses, the reader is doubtful about the extent of his veracity(szczero) in
other areas of the novel. Therefore this novel can be considered to be impressionistic with
regard to its narration and the partial perspective that Nick Carraway offers.
DISCUSS THE MORALITY OF CHARACTERS
The example of Jay Gatsby is central to a discussion on the special morality of this group of
people. Gatsby puts an great emphasis on achieving a certain dream of love. This dream is, in
itself, pure. Yet, to achieve his goal of marrying Daisy, Gatsby must break up a marriage
(between Tom and Daisy), effectively undoing two lives in order to realize his own dream.
Gatsby never doubts the validity of his position, morally or otherwise, and maintains
confidence even in the end after Myrtle has been run over. He waits for Daisy to call. George
Wilson comes instead as an arbiter of misplaced moral justice and Gatsby's dream comes to
an end.
Jay Gatsby, the dreamer and romantic, is a liar and a criminal (as a bootlegger) and Nick sees
him as being a low sort of person at first. Later, Nick learns to empathize with Gatsby,
recognizing Gatsby's rare penchant for maintaining innocence in the face of circumstances
that would have erased any innocence in others.
This statement represents the sole important moral achievement in the novel. Nick learns that
people can be good and bad at the same time and he chooses to see the good in Gatsby. The
elitism of the rich, in the end, is nothing more than an excuse for bad behavior. It does not
protect them (not all of them) from the repercussions of immoral behavior.
Though Daisy, Tom, Jordan and Nick escape punishment for their involvement in
Myrtle's death, no characters are finally innocent in the novel. A quick review of the
characters shows us how moral (or immoral their world is:
Tom, Daisy, Myrtle, and Gatsby are involved in affairs, cheating in one way or another.
George Wilson commits murder. Jordan Baker cheats in her sport. Tom is a racist.
Gatsby is a bootlegger and a fraud.

1. Author's Commentary
The author conveys the idea that morality is something of little importance to many
people, especially when it comes to obtaining status/wealth. Though this is a novel
with a moral, the characters in the story are often not involved in moral decisionmaking. Instead, they are figures of privilege, people who see themselves as being
unbound by standard morality. This exceptionalism is fatally challenged in the end,
when Myrtle is run over by a car and Gatsby is killed as a result.
2. Morality of certain characters:
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- JAY GATSBY: Jay Gatsby is a prime example of this commentary. He committed crimes
such as bootlegging in order to obtain status/wealth. He chose to forget about conducting
business ethically in order to climb the social ladder. Another example of Gatsbys disregard
for a moral code is his choice to have an affair with Daisy when he knew that she was married
to Tom. Yet again, this shows Gatsbys willingness to forsake his morals in order to acquire
Daisys love, which equates to money.
- TOM BUCHANAN - His first moral shock comes when he goes to dinner with Tom, Daisy
and Jordan and discovers that Tom's affair is a scandal but not a matter of morality. Tom is
cheating on Daisy, yet no one suggests that this act is immoral. It is, rather, dramatic and rude,
but the affair itself is not as much of an issue as the fact that everyone knows about it.
- MYRTLE - Myrtle is similar to Gatsby because she, too, is participating in an affair.
However, she is different from Gatsby because she is someone who desires to have money,
whereas Gatsby already has money. Myrtle wishes to live the lifestyle of someone rich and
important with Tom and in doing so, she exhibits infidelity towards her husband, Wilson. It is
apparent that Myrtle prioritizes Tom and his money higher than she does Wilson.
- DAISY wife of Tom. She becomes involved in an affair with Gatsby. She is willing no to
fulfill her own ambitions to live a peaceful life.
- NICK CARRAWAY - Nick is the only character that grows through the novel. He is not
perfect, in any sense, but he matures.
We can see the novel as presenting a progression and development in Nick regarding morality,
judgment and empathy. Nick narrates the story and records his responses to the people and
events that populate East and West Egg.
Nick's ability to empathize with Gatsby can be seen as evidence of his own moral growth. In
the end, he does not judge Gatsby, but relates to him with sympathy - something he could or
would not do at the novel's outset.
Nick is the only character willing to sympathize with Gatsby in the end. He goes so far as to
tell Gatsby how he feels, before Gatsby is shot.
SYMBOLS:
THE VALLEY OF ASHES:
LEMONS AND ORANGES: The Lemons and Oranges that are brought into
Gatsby's parties are very symbolic of the moral depletion that the partygoers
undergo. They come to the parties fresh and even somewhat innocent. However,
by the end of the party, they are "depleted" of their moral values. They have done
things such as getting drunk or making other bad decisions, that leave them feeling
empty and depressed. "The car wrecks, marital squabbles, and damaged objects
resulting from the parties could equally be seen as the novel's effort to metaphorize
the price exacted from people and things by Gatsby's class ambitions."(Forter) The
point made here by Forter is again, the price that is paid in morals in order to
obtain class.
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EVENTS:
- GATSBY's PARTIES: Many people felt compelled to go to Gatsbys parties because it was
cool to do so. However, at these parties, no one exhibited restraint. They would, for
example, get so drunk that they couldnt drive(which is even worse because this takes place in
the prohibition era.)
-TOM'S PARTY IN NEW YORK: Tom's Party in New York is a good example of a lack of
morality. All of the partygoers get drunk and argue over trivial matters. Tom even punches
Myrtle in the nose, just because she mentions his real wife, Daisy. All of this is evidence of
the characters getting caught up in the benefits of having money and time to squander.
The Failure of the American Dream
The American Dream was first publicly defined in 1931 by James Truslow Adams in Epic of
America. Adam's : The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be
better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability
or achievement." What is more, it is not, "... a dream of motor cars and high wages
merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to
attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by
others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.
The American Dream is protected by the Declaration of Independence, in this familiar quote:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed
by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
So, how about The Great Gatsbys characters and their attempts to chase the American
Dream?
Each character in the novel follows a specific dream. The main one is of course Gatsbys
dream . He wants to win back the love of Daisy who he perceives as perfect. Gatsby does
everything to become a rich man and achieve his dream even sacrifices his honesty by
involving in illegal business. We can say that he chases the illusion of love.
Cant repeat the past? he cried incredulously. Why of course you can! He looked
around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of
reach of his hand. Im going to fix everything just the way it was before, he said,
nodding determinedly. Shell see (pg.110).
For Daisy Buchanan, the most important is to reach a higher standard of living and to become
very rich even though she has to betray her own heart.
Wilson also has a dream. He wants to earn enough to start a new life with his wife. He tries to
achieve it in different ways but they are useless because he needs Toms help who as we know
does not want to help him.
Wilsons wife on the contrary, wants to become a girl of the upper class. Her key to it is an
affair with Tom. Throughout the novel, she acts as if she already belonged among those rich
people. It is shown through her constant clothing changes. It also means that she is unhappy
with her life. What is more, she changes personalities every time she changes her dress.
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With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change. The
intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive
hauteur
(pg.30).
Now something about Nick, He is a realistic man, who comes from the Middle-West, and
does not really share the American dream. But still he is struggling for something. Namely, he
wants to be himself, as he sees himself, tolerant, objective and reliable. He says of himself I
am one of the few honest people that I have ever known (pg.49). It can be said that his
dream consists of mental values, a pursuit of honesty.
Fitzgerald uses characters in the novel to show the corruption and the illusionary nature of the
American Dream. The superficial achievements give no fulfilment, no real joy and peace; but
instead, creates lots of problems for the characters in the novel. What happens to Jay Gatsby,
Nick Carraway, and Daisy Buchanan represent the failure of the American Dream.
Failure is connected with change in means to achieve goals. Achieving the American dream
means having moral values instead of wealth and fortune. In the novel, characters lie cheat,
have affairs and do illegal business in order to achieve what they want. It of course, leads to
the failure. Greed is also harmful.
To conclude, what Fitzgerald probably wanted to say is: Money isnt everything. It cant
bring happiness. Having a lot of money and power can provide material satisfaction in life,
but it cannot achieve the real needs of the human heart, which is true love and genuine
happiness.
Fitzgerald presents the death of the American dream through Gatsbys, Myrtles death and
Wilsons suicide.
The Significance of the title
I believe that the meaning of the adjective great is ambiguous here. Firstly, it serves as the
grand illusion of a man, portrayed by the gossips and the rumours at his parties. Many
people doesnt have much of a real impression of Gatsby so they made him into something
immense and exciting.
Then there's the ironic reading of the title. Gatsby rises to the top of society in a dishonest
way; he's earned his fortune through illegal activities. He is not preserved as great by people
who are really rich and come from the upper class. When he falls all of his friends turn their
back on him.
But then there's a third way of looking at that adjective. Although Nick doesn't quite approve
Gatsbys actions, he knows that Gatsby's driven by a noble emotion: love. Nick believes that
Gatsby is truly a good person; the generous, loyal, and sincere man. In this way, Gatsby is
great.
Symbolism
The Valley of Ashes One of the first symbols mentioned in the book is the Valley of Ashes, a
fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where
ashes take 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. it
symbolizes some kind of darkness and shows a picture of poverty and may symbolize
peoples destruction. It is the area between West Egg and New York. The valley of ashes
symbolizes the moral decay of people who live in East Egg because they only look for a
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pleasure without considering the consequences of their actions. It is a place where only poor
characters live. The valley of ashes may be considered as a by- product of capitalism because
it is shown as an industrial dumping. The place is grey, dirty, full of ashes and shows misery
of the people who work there for example George Wilson who was hardworking man and had
very difficult life there among ashes and dirt.
The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of bespectacled eyes painted on an old
advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. This eyes probably symbolize God who sees
everything and judges American society. However, this connection between God and these
eyes which see everything exists only in George Wilkinsons mind. Moreover, the eyes
symbolize meaningless of the worlds. People use to connect one thing with another
discovering hidden meaning. According to Mr. Wilkinson these eyes reflect God image
because is strongly believes in God. He says God sees everything. So characters detect
hidden meanings in ordinary things and see them as symbols-> the eyes of Doctor T. J.
Eckleburg. Nick compares the green bulk of America rising from the ocean to the green light
at the end of Daisys dock. The eyes can also symbolize Nick because he knows what is going
on through all novel. the eyes symbolize the growing commercialism of America life in
America is all about making money, a lot of money as evidenced by the wealth of people like
Tom Buchanan a mans success is measured in terms of how much money he is worth, not
on what kind of person he may be morally. However, the frowning eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg
look down on the Valley of the Ashes as if to say that the American Dream is one big lie the
American Dream produced wealth for some (like Gatsby), but for the majority of people, their
hopes for gold is just like the ashes. The reality is that not everyone can have as much money
as the Buchanans have for every Buchanan, there are thousands of Wilsons. The idea that
everyone can live the dream is just a dream. For most, life is the nightmare of the Valley of
the Ashes which the Eyes frown down on all day long.
At the end of the novel Nick concludes the book with these words, Gatsby believed in
the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then,
but thats no mattertomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. And
then one fine morning So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back
ceaselessly into the past. This describes Gatsbys inability to move on from the past.
Everything he does in the novel is to try and recreate the past. In this metaphor, Gatsby
tries to goes against the currentsor timeto reach the green light or his dream. And as
in the quote, the green light which represents his dream, recedes like waves year by
year.
The Green Light- The green light at the end of Daisy's dock is the symbol of Gatsby's hopes
and dreams. It also represents the distance between Gatsby and Daisy. The green light
represents Gatsbys hopes and dreams for the future. Whats more he even associate the light
with Daisy. Gatsby believed in the green light. The green light can lead him (Like Daisy) to
achieve his goals and make his dreams come true. In Chapter 9, Nick compares the green
light to America, when first American settlers looked for a new hope and new nation. So this
green light is also connected with American Dream. The green light is probably one of the
most important symbols in The Great Gatsby. Green is the color of hope and it first appears
when Gatsby stares across the bay towards a green light at the end of a dock. Later the reader
finds out that this light stands on Daisy Buchanans dock. In the context of the novel this

green light represents Gatsbys hope to meet Daisy again and a chance to win her back.
Gatsby believed in the green light
NARRATION IN THE GREAT GATSBY:
FORM OF NARRATION the story telling the events of the plot from their perspective.
Sometimes these characters deviate from the truth or have mental conditions that limit their
abilities to tell the story accurately. We call these characters unreliable narrators.
An unreliable narrator is a character whose telling of the story is not completely accurate or
credible due to problems with the character's mental state or maturity. Some literary critics
argue that there is no such thing as a reliable first-person narrator since every character is
affected by his or her past experiences in the telling of a story, but most first-person narrators
attempt to give the most accurate version of the events. An unreliable narrator, however, holds
a distorted view of the events, which leads to an inaccurate telling of the story. This can give
readers/viewers a chance to offer their own interpretations.
Nick Carraway is our first-person narrator, but he's not the center of the storyand that
makes him a peripheral narrator, someone who's always on the outside looking in. He tells us
at the beginning of the first chapter that "I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that
has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran
bores" (1.3). Translate? People like to tell Nick their stories. And boy do we get stories:
Gatsby's story, of course, but also Tom's story, Jordan's story, Daisy's story, and even the story
of the Wilsons.
Ultimately, Nick's major character trait reserving judgment allows him to be almost an
"invisible" narrator, similar to a traditional third-person omniscient point of view. Which
leaves us with a question (or three): why choose a first-person narrator at all? Why not just a
third-person and be done with it? And how "invisible" and "non-judgmental" is Nick, really?
PREFACE
The Great Gatsby is the third novel of Fitzgerald, published in 1925 after This Side of
Paradise (1920) and The Beautiful and the Damned (1922). It is a turning point in Fitzgerald
literary career because it was to improve on his previous works: he tested new techniques and
insisted on the novelty of his enterprise: I want to write something new, something
extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned (letter to Perkins, agent at
Scribners). Indeed, Fitzgerald devoted a lot of care and attention to pruning unnecessary
passages and tried to introduce editing methods (just like a film-maker) to re-arrange his story
in movie sequences. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgeralds main innovation was to introduce a
first person narrator and protagonist whose consciousness filters the storys events. This
device was not a total invention since a character through whose eyes and mind the central
protagonist is discovered is to be found in two of Conrads books: Heart of Darkness and Lord
Jim. As usual with this device, the main protagonist remains strange and shady. This
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technique reinforces the mystery of the characters. The second advantage is that the mediation
of a character-witness permits a play between the real and the imaginary. This indirect
approach is inherited from Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hence, it is difficult to distinguish between
true representation and fantasizing. For Emerson, vision was more important than the real
world.
A reluctant participant
The main narrative voice belongs to Nick Carraway, a character within the text who addresses
an audience outside of the text. As he is within the fictional world of the text, he is
an intradiegeticnarrator. In terms of his involvement, Nick presents himself as an outsider,
mostly observing the events of the main plot and the story of Jay Gatsby, without being
instrumental in any of the action. He is directly involved in a smaller subplot, his romance
with Jordan Baker, but even in this action, he is reticent and a little opaque in his account, and
the events are minimal compared with the dramatic happenings surrounding Gatsby. In the
final chapter, Nick directs the funeral arrangements for Gatsby, very much in the role of a
reluctant helper. In this way, Nick shifts between the third person to the first person during the
course of the novel, and is therefore sometimes a heterodiegetic (third person) narrator and
sometimes a homodiegetic (first person) narrator.
Reliability
Nick is an overt narrator, drawing attention to his presence in the text from the first chapter.
However, he also gives the reader reason to question his reliability within the opening pages
of the text, as he acknowledges his own contradictions:
And, after boasting this way of my tolerance, I come to the admission that it has a limit.
This instability continues throughout the novel, and even in the final chapter, Nick comments
that, hed never told me definitely that his parents were dead which contradicts his account
of Gatsbys words, in Chapter 4:
Ill tell you Gods truth. His right hand suddenly ordered divine retribution to stand by. I am
the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West all dead now
Nick often appears to be contradictory:
Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction
Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn.
Such statements prompt the reader to search for the subtle and the complex meanings of
Nicks comments, and the opening chapter is very effective in prompting a heightened
sensitivity in the reader.
Drunken perception
For most of the novel, Nick is generally presented as being more sober and rational than those
around him, and therefore a more reliable narrator. (Gatsby is the most sober, having formed
the habit of letting liquor alone, which Nick attributes to lessons learned from Dan Cody the
pioneer debauchee.)

However, in Chapter 2, Nicks narrative is particularly fragmented and disjointed which

reflects his drunken state at the party in Toms flat in New York. Nicks inebriation brings him
to the same level of incoherence and inability to comprehend events as the other characters,
thereby involving his audience in the same uncertainty. In this chapter, he is as confused as
Myrtle, Tom, Catherine and the McKees, and, as the party becomes violent with Tom
breaking Myrtles nose, he responds by leaving and his narrative becomes devoid of empathy.
The connections between one event and another are also broken in this chapter, using ellipsis
at the end to highlight the effect of discontinuity, creating a sense of an irrational and
incomprehensible world where meaning is lost.
Mr McKee awoke from his doze and started in a daze towards the door. When he had gone
half way he turned around and stared at the scene his wife and Catherine scolding and
consoling as they stumbled here and there among the crowded furniture with articles of aid,
and the despairing figure on the couch, bleeding fluently, and trying to spread a copy of Town
Tattle over the tapestry scenes of Versailles. Then Mr McKee turned and continued on out the
door. Taking my hat from the chandelier, I followed.
Deliberate misconstruction?
In the final chapter Jordans stinging criticism of Nick sees him accused of being a bad
driver i.e. neither honest nor straightforward. This is, of course, ironic, since she is also a
bad driver and described by Nick as incurably dishonest, but it further undermines the trust
we might have reposed in his narration for most of the novel.
Nevertheless, compared with other characters, there is less reason to doubt Nicks version of
events; everyone else appears to be profoundly dishonest and untrustworthy, and even
malicious in the case of Tom Buchanan.
Ambiguity
Perhaps a good way to view Nick is in terms of his ambiguity in many of the key moments of
the novel. Notably, his conversation with Tom is presented in vague language which is so
slippery in its meanings that we cannot be certain what is being said. For example, what
should be made of Nicks statement?:
There was nothing I could say, except the one unutterable fact that it wasnt true.
On first reading, this implies that Nick challenged Tom directly, but there is no definite
indication that he said anything at all
The choice of unutterable supports this second interpretation as the fact cannot be
uttered, and perhaps is not
Tom continues with his defence of himself, and Nick shakes hands with him, seeming
to concede that Tom and Daisy are careless people, which is more consistent with
Nick saying nothing.
Enigmatic judgements
Nicks narration of events is, despite all these confusing moments, relatively unproblematic,
but his interpretations and ideas are where he is most challenging to the reader. His comments
on Gatsbys dream, his wonder and the human condition are profoundly enigmatic. For
example:
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So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
He offers insights using quite abstract language, sometimes symbolic and sometimes
religious:
He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her
perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God the incarnation
was complete.
As well as using the word unutterable again (this time to modify visions), Nick also
expresses a sense of loss, using language which emphasises the failure of language:
I was reminded of something - an elusive rhythm, a fragment of lost words, that I had heard
somewhere a long time ago. For a moment a phrase tried to take shape in my mouth and my
lips parted like a dumb mans, as though there was more struggling upon them than a wisp of
startled air. But they made no sound, and what I had almost remembered was
uncommunicable for ever.

Points of view
Using multiple points of view means writing from the viewpoint of more than one character.
So basically, we can say that the story may be told by different characters in different
chapters. One chapter may be from a womans point of view and the next one may be from
the mans point of view, and the next one may be from the womans again or their child. Its a
story told by many characters.
How is that created in the book? We have 1 st person narrator, Nick, who presents events in the
book. Even he himself gives us a hint on the 1st page of the 1st chapter that people love telling
him stories. (BOARD) But, whats important here. Nick was present only during a few of
those events, not all of them. At the beginning, readers learn facts about Gatsby mainly from
rumors about him. After the third chapter we have Gatsby himself saying something. What are
other points of view in the book that we can find? Nick Michaelis(tells the story of
Myrtles death) - Jordan
(Nick reports words of other characters in the book. Instead of saying he or she the
narrator says I even though he wasnt present during the concrete event.)
The character development
Now, lets move on to the character development. As you all should know after reading a
book, Jay Gatsby wasnt born as Jay Gatsby. He was born to poor, farmer people in North
Dakota as James Gatz. What we know about his appearance is that he wore a torn green
jersey and a pair of canvas pants. Hes father used to call him Jimmy. What was the
relationship between James Gatz and his parents? We know that James Gatz was a young boy
under 17 years old. What was he like? He was for sure very imaginative and as we learn in the
end of the book, ambitious. (PRESENTATION). He studied in the small Lutheran college of
St. Olaf in southern Minnesota but only for 2 weeks since he didnt like the janitors work.
After that, he was looking for a new job and finally his life changed when he saw Dan Codys
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yacht. Dan Cody became a friend to James Gatz. He bought him a blue coat, six pair of white
duck trousers and a yachting cap. He gave him an experience and a lesson to avoid alcohol.
Since that moment James Gatz became Jay Gatsby.
After the death of Dan Cody Jay Gatsby is left with no money so he joins the war and after, he
studies at Oxford for a while. During the war he met love of his life, Daisy who promised to
wait for him but unfortunately when he comes back she is married to Tom. Anyway, Gatsby
decides to do everything to have her back. He buys huge home to be next to her. He throws
huge parties hoping that Daisy would come. He illegally earns a lot of money because he
knows that she would love it. Daisy becomes his obsession. Now, he is Jay Gatsby, from West
Egg, Long Island, who runs the life of extravagance and luxury, who
Jay and James are similar, they both want to have everything. Everything for James was
money and his career.
Everything for Jay is Daisy.
The significance of the funeral scene
Jay Gatsby was a tragic figure who had dreams and by trying to accomplish them, he was
killed. What is more, his death was empty because he didnt manage to achieve what he really
desired: the love of an illusion of beauty and goodness Daisy.
During Gatsbys life, he was constantly surrounded by people. He made big parties and
everyone always wanted to come or be around Gatsby. But when he died, no one cared except
for Nick, his father and a few servants.
This shows how empty Gatsby's life was. The lack of attendance emphasizes how people
simply used Gatsby and didnt really know him beside the rich man who had parties.
Nevertheless, he was more concerned with the desire to be reach and gain the love of Daisy
that he forgot to make real relations with people, he had only those that served his business.
Eventually, only Nick was a person who became close to Gatsby even though Gatsby only
wanted to use his connections to Daisy to his benefits. But Nick felt a real bond with Jay, so
he planned the funeral and called people to come even though he knew Gatsby only one
summer.
The funeral scene also shows the attitude of Fitzgerald towards American Dream. He
questions the idea of an America in which all things are possible if one simple tries hard
enough. We can conclude that no matter how hard one works to make his dreams come true in
America, it wont be possible to achieve and no one will care.
The Significance of the father appearance:
We know very little about Gatsby's true family because he claims that they all died before he
moved east. In the last chapter, it is revealed that Gatsby has 1 remaining family member,
which is his father. The readers learn more about Gatsby's true past through his father and
receive a new perspective of Gatsby from a father's point of view.
What is the significance of Mr. Gatz arrival ? The significance of Mr. Gatz arrival was to
show that he was alive and even though Gatsby had completely removed him from his life
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and looked at him as if he never needed him Mr. Gatz still came and he still cared. The irony
is that Mr. Gatz admired the house and all the accomplishments Gatsby made in amaze but
Gatsby looked at it as if it were nothing because it was all for daisy.
The day of Jay Gatsby's funeral a new character appears in the novel. Henry C. Gatz,
Gatsby's father, comes to the funeral where he meets Nick. This part of novel helps explain
more of the mysterious life of Gatsby. When Henry shows Nick a small book that contains his
sons' schedule as a younger man it helped understand Gatsby's character further and visualize
him as a young boy pursuing perfection, richness and in his mind happiness. The schedule had
been written by Gatsby as a young boy. This shows how determined Gatsby was. It showed
even as a young boy who wants to improve himself. All Jay Gatsby's friends were just using
Gatsby, they weren't interested in his friendship but instead his status, money, and basically
everything materialistic. Gatsbys father, Henry C. Gatz shows Nick in chapter IX a book
called Hopalong Cassidy, in which at the back cover has Gatsbys schedule. This is
important to the novel because it not only shows more about Gatsbys character but also
about the future or dream during that era. This schedule explains to the reader that Gatsby
was an individual who wants to improve. This shows that Gatsby makes his best to attain his
dream (Daisy) and fight to be successful. In a sense Gatsby failed to achieve his
dream. This shows that during the 1920s, in which this book takes place, the dream of the
people was being lost and materialism was evident during that period.

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