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Essay on The Great Gatsby Book Report
| Date: |
05-02-98 1:43pm |
| Subject: |
English |
| Word Count: |
3006 |
| Page Count: |
12.02 |
The Great Gatsby Book Report
The Great Gatsby
Book Report
Summary
At the onset of this book, the reader
is introduced to the narrator, Nick Carraway, who relates the past happenings
that construct the story of Jay Gatsby and Nick during the summer of 1922.
After fighting in World War I, or the Great War as Nick called it, Nick
left his prominent family in the West of America for the North where he
intended to learn the bond business. Nick was originally supposed to share
a house in West Egg near New York City with an associate of his, but the
man backed out and so Nick lived with only a Finnish cook. Right next door,
Gatsby lived in a glorious mansion with expansive gardens and a marble
swimming pool, among other luxuries. Yet Nick did not even hear about Gatsby
until he went to visit his distant family at East Egg next to West Egg.
Daisy was Nick’s second cousin once removed,
and Tom Buchanan was Daisy’s hulking brute of a husband and classmate of
Nick’s from college. Jordan Baker, a prominent tennis player of the time,
was staying with Daisy and Tom. As they sat down and chatted, it was Jordan
who mentioned Gatsby, saying that she had been to one of his extravagant
parties that he held every weekend. The four sat down to dinner when Tom
received a phone call, which Daisy suspected to be from Tom’s mistress.
Afterwards, Daisy and Nick talked and Jordan and Tom went out to walk about
the grounds. Daisy talked about her little daughter and how when she was
born Tom was not even there and she had wished out loud that she would
be a fool, for that was the only way she could ever be happy. The four
met again at the house and then Jordan went to bed and Nick went home.
In the next chapter, the reader is introduced
the bleak stretch of land between New York City and West Egg. It was there
that Nick first met Tom’s mistress. Nick and Tom were taking the train
into New York City one Saturday when Tom signaled to Nick that they were
going to get off the train halfway to their destination in what seemed
to be the middle of nowhere. Tom walked into an auto garage where he talked
with a man named George Wilson, who asked about a car Tom was supposed
to sell him. Wilson’s wife, Myrtle, emerged from the upstairs of the garage.
When Wilson went off to his office for a moment, Tom quickly told Myrtle
that he wanted to see her and to take the next train into New York. They
arranged where they would meet quickly and moved away from each other before
Wilson returned. Myrtle told Wilson that she was going to go visit her
sister in New York and boarded the same train as Tom and Nick, but in a
different car. They met again in New York and took a taxi to the apartment
that Tom had purchased for the two of them. Myrtle called her sister Catherine
and the McKees that she and Tom were friends with on the phone and the
six of them sat around in the apartment and got exceptionally drunk once
they arrived. During this time, Nick learned about Tom and Myrtle, as well
as the fact that neither of them could stand their spouse. Nick could hardly
remember what had gone on that night at the apartment and the next thing
he knew, he was in Penn Station waiting for the four o’ clock train to
go home.
Every weekend, Nick’s next door neighbor
Gatsby had extravagant parties at his house. One Saturday morning, Gatsby’s
butler came to Nick’s house and invited him to the party that was to be
held that evening. Nick showed up that night, not knowing a soul there,
and not even knowing what the host himself looked like. He soon found Jordan,
and spent the rest of the evening with her. Nick found himself speaking
with a man he recognized from the war. Nick told him that he did not even
know who the host was, but that he had just been invited by him. The man
looked puzzled and then told Nick that he was Gatsby. Both were embarrassed
and apologized to each other. At that moment, a butler appeared and told
Gatsby of a phone call that he had to attend to. Gatsby excused himself
and said that he would talk to Nick later that night. Nick then rejoined
Jordan. Later, the butler came up to Jordan and asked her to speak to Gatsby
privately. Nick waited around for an hour before the two emerged, and then
said goodbye to Jordan and Gatsby and went home.
One July morning, Gatsby’s car rode up
Nick’s driveway and proclaimed that the two of them were going out to lunch
and that he would drive them. On the ride there Gatsby told Nick the story
of his life thus far, most of which Nick found out to be false later that
summer. Gatsby told him that he was from a wealthy family in the Midwest
and was educated at Oxford. He said that all of his family died and he
came into a lot of money. He then fought in World War I and earned many
awards for his valor and bravery. He then told Nick that he was going to
make a large request of him, but that he could not ask him himself and
Jordan was going to tell him later that day when they went out to tea.
The two men arrived in New York City and
met with Meyer Wolfshiem, the "man who fixed the World Series in 1919",
for lunch. He reminisced about past years while they ate lunch before he
excused himself and left the two men. Nick then recognized Tom and introduced
Gatsby and Tom to each other. Before the three could begin talking, Gatsby
had left.
That afternoon, Jordan explained the story
of Gatsby and Daisy, and how they fell in love, but then Gatsby had to
leave for the war. Before he could get back, Daisy had married Tom, thinking
that Gatsby would never return. Daisy had not heard of Gatsby until that
night that Jordan had mentioned him to Nick at Daisy and Tom’s house. And
it was not a coincidence that Gatsby lived so close to Daisy; he had bought
that house so that he could be just across the bay from Daisy. Gatsby wanted
Jordan to ask Nick if he could invite Daisy over for tea so that Gatsby
could "pop in." Nick, shocked at the simplicity of the request, agreed.
Nick arranged plans for the tea with Daisy
and Gatsby, telling Daisy specifically not to bring Tom. On the planned
day and in pouring rain, flowers and a gardener to mow the lawn arrived
from Gatsby’s estate. Gatsby showed up, extremely nervous and regretting
the whole idea. Just as Gatsby was about to go home, Daisy pulled up in
the driveway. Nick let her in to find that Gatsby was gone. Then there
was a knock on the door and Nick let in a drenched Gatsby. For a while,
there was nothing but awkward pauses between the three people, but after
much prodding from Nick, Daisy and Gatsby began to talk. Then Gatsby suggested
that the three of them go to look at his house. They toured most of the
rooms and then stopped in one of them so that one of Gatsby’s permanent
guests could play the piano for them. The two of them hardly noticed when
Nick left for his house.
For several weeks, Nick did not see nor
hear from Gatsby. Then one Sunday, Nick stopped over to visit and he was
not there for more than a few minutes before someone had brought Tom Buchanan
over for a drink. It was a party of three; Tom, a man named Sloane, and
a woman that Nick had seen previously. They had all ridden there on horseback
and were now sitting around with drinks. After a while, the girl invited
Nick and Gatsby over for dinner, much to the displeasure of Sloane. Nick
refused, but Gatsby agreed after some coaxing. As Gatsby went inside to
get a jacket and his car keys, the three tired of waiting and rode off
without him.
The next Saturday evening, both Daisy and
Tom attended Gatsby’s party. Gatsby introduced them to all of the different
people at the party. Gatsby and Daisy danced and then went over to Nick’s
house to talk as Nick stood guard. They then sat down for dinner while
Tom went off with some other group. Nick and Gatsby could both tell that
the only part of the party that Daisy had enjoyed was when she and Gatsby
had spoken privately. Tom came back while Gatsby was receiving a phone
call and inquired as to Gatsby’s profession, listing several rumors he
had heard that night including a bootlegger. Then Daisy and Tom went home
while Nick waited for Gatsby to be free after Gatsby had said he wanted
to talk to him. When Nick finally met with Gatsby, Gatsby was depressed
because Daisy did not enjoy herself. Nick suggested that maybe it was not
possible for Gatsby to repeat the past with Daisy, a notion that Gatsby
quickly rejected.
The next Saturday, Gatsby failed to have
a party as he always did before. Out of curiosity, Nick went over to Gatsby’s
house to inquire in Gatsby had fallen ill. An unfamiliar butler answered
that he was not and then reluctantly went to inform Gatsby that Nick was
there at his request. He then promptly slammed the door in Nick’s face.
Nick was notified by his cook that Gatsby had fired all of his servants
and replaced them so that he would not have servants telling the entire
town about his private affairs.
The next day Gatsby called Nick on the
phone. At Daisy’s request, Nick was invited to her house for tea with Jordan
and Gatsby the next day. That day was the hottest of the summer, and Gatsby
and Nick waited before the butler led them into the salon where Jordan
and Daisy reclined and Tom rushed in and out answering phone calls and
getting drinks. After much tension, the group decided to go into New York.
Daisy and Gatsby went in Tom’s car and Tom, Jordan, and Nick went in Gatsby’s
car. Tom had to stop for gas at Wilson’s garage. Wilson informed Tom that
he was taking his wife out west and that he had just recently figured out
that his wife was cheating on him. He currently had her locked up in her
room and was going to force her to come with him before she could get away.
Tom drove off and quickly caught up with Daisy and Gatsby. They pulled
up to them and discussed what they were going to do, finally deciding on
meeting at the Plaza Hotel. When they arrived there, the group determined
to rent a room for an afternoon. The tension mounted and Tom began to ask
Gatsby questions about his past that Tom had apparently researched into
previously. Tom revealed that Gatsby really was not an Oxford man as he
had led people to believe. Tom continued to verbally assault Gatsby as
Daisy tried to stop him. Finally, Gatsby burst out that Daisy never loved
Tom and urged Daisy to say the same. Reluctantly, Daisy admitted that she
never loved him, but then broke down and admitted that she had. Tom insisted
that he would take better care of Daisy, but then Daisy replied that she
was leaving him. Then Tom went on about how Gatsby was involved with Meyer
Wolfshiem and the bootlegging business and other illegal moneymaking schemes.
Daisy looked horrified and Gatsby quickly began to deny everything but
Daisy just begged to go home. So Gatsby and Daisy started home in Gatsby’s
car, and the other three of the group started towards home later.
While this was going on, Wilson and his
wife were arguing with each other. Myrtle saw the car she saw him in that
afternoon and thinking that it was Tom driving the car, ran out in front
of it in hopes that he would stop and take her away. But it was Daisy driving
and because she was speeding excessively, she did not even see Myrtle until
it was too late. Myrtle was instantly killed, but Daisy kept going before
she past out and Gatsby was forced to take the wheel and drive home. He
hid his car in his garage and he and Daisy took a taxi to her house. Tom,
Jordan, and Nick came across the scene later on. Out of curiosity, they
stopped to see what had happen. Tom shouldered himself to the center of
the mob that had surrounded Myrtle. Tom was shocked to see Myrtle and hastily
found out what had happened. When he was told that it was a yellow car
that did not even stop, he immediately blamed Gatsby. Tom went over to
Wilson and told to pull himself together, for he was a wreck, but it was
in vain. Tom then announced after instructing someone to stay with Wilson
at all times that he was going to leave, and Jordan and Nick followed.
The three of them arrived at the Buchanan
residence and Tom went inside. Jordan lingered and invited Nick in, but
he said he would just order a taxi and go home. Jordan went inside and
as Nick was walking down the driveway he saw Gatsby in the bushes. Gatsby
explained to Nick what had happened and that he intended to take the blame
for Daisy. He was waiting by her window because he promised her that he
would. Daisy was to flash the lights on and off if she needed help. He
planned to wait there all night if necessary, and that is where Nick left
him.
The next morning, Nick went over to Gatsby’s
house and they sat around together for a while, Gatsby half-waiting for
Daisy to call. Gatsby explained to Nick how he had fallen in love with
her. After they had finished breakfast, Nick had to leave to catch his
train for work. Gatsby decided to use the marble swimming pool that he
had not used all summer long. He informed his butler to only to let the
most important calls through, still hoping that Daisy would call.
Several men had watched George Wilson all
night long. When the last lingering one had left to go next door to make
a pot of coffee, Wilson left his garage with a gun. He walked all the way
to West Egg, and came into the Buchanan’s house. He knew that Tom knew
whose yellow car had hit his wife, and he demanded Tom to tell him at gunpoint.
Tom did, and Wilson left for Gatsby’s mansion. While at work, Nick sensed
that something was wrong, and came home on the train. He drove directly
to Gatsby’s house and asked where Gatsby was. Apparently the chauffeur
had heard the shots, but thought nothing of them. The butler and Nick went
to the pool in search of Gatsby, and found him dead in the pool. On returning
to the house to tell the police, they saw Wilson off in the woods, dead.
In the next few days, there was nothing
but photographers, reporters, and policemen. Nick called Daisy to tell
her, but she and Tom had already left for a lengthy vacation in Europe.
He also called Meyer Wolfshiem, but got no answer. He visited him in his
office, but Wolfshiem said that he could not get involved with Gatsby right
now. He also did not know of any of Gatsby’s family, which Nick was trying
in vain to reach. Three days after Gatsby’s death, a telegram was sent
from Henry Gatz in Minnesota, saying to postpone the funeral until after
he arrived in New York. He was Gatsby’s father and he reached East Egg
a few days later. Nick let him in and showed him the house. The man was
greatly impressed with what he son had achieved in life, and cried for
the loss of his son for most of the day. On the rainy day of Gatsby’s funeral,
Nick, Gatsby’s father, and one other man who had frequented Gatsby’s parties
often that summer were the only ones there.
After Gatsby’s death, the East haunted
Nick. That fall, he decided to go back home. All of the people he knew
were gone in some way, except for Jordan. He went up to her one day and
talked to her about what had happened to every one that summer, including
themselves, and how everything seemed to have fallen apart. She agreed
and then told Nick that she was engaged to another man. Nick walked away
and never saw her again. Later that fall, Nick ran into Tom, who explained
what had happened to Daisy and himself. He said that he told Wilson about
Gatsby, and he felt completely justified in his actions. On the last night
before Nick went back home, he went over to Gatsby’s house. It had gone
into disrepair and the ghosts of the parties of the summer still lingered.
Critical Analysis
The Great Gatsby was a singular story
that expressed the views, beliefs, and actions the socially elite of nineteen-twenties
America. This specific story displayed a period of time. The author developed
a theme of the carelessness of the rich, how the rich with "old money"
treat the ones with "new money", and how money and class separate people.
Showing characters of all of these types of people and showing how they
behaved and how their life ultimately unfolded did this. Fitzgerald helped
to set the time period by substituting real people as fictional characters
in his books, such as Meyer Wolfshiem. He also used many real geographical
locations, like the Plaza Hotel and New York City to place his fictional
characters. This was so that it seemed that the characters in his book
could have easily existed in the real 1922 as they did in their fictional
1922. F. Scott Fitzgerald was not biased for or against the rich in writing
this book, he was simply trying to chronicle the lives and times of the
early part of the 20’s. His lack of a bias is what makes his book such
an accurate description of the era that he wrote about. This book should
be considered "required reading" because it introduces the reader to what
life was like for the rich at that time, as well as the general mood that
pervaded the decade. It speaks of concepts such as bootlegging, gambling,
and "new money", ideas that previously were not commonly written of. F.
Scott Fitzgerald can be considered an authority on the twenties because
he lived in the twenties with the type of people that were described in
his book.
Theme
In writing this book, commonly refered
to as the "Great American Novel", F. Scott Fitzgerald achieved in showing
future generations what the early twenties were like, and the kinds of
people that lived then. He did this in a beautifully written novel with
in-depth characters, a captivating plot, and a wonderful sense of the time
period.
Bibliographical Data
F. Scott Fitzgerald; The Great Gatsby;
Simon and Schuster Publishing; © 1925; 189 pages
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