The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald

How would I describe the book cover?

There is only one character on the cover. A man standing on the top of a building, looking at all sorts of places: a factory, offices, blocks of flat. We don’t know what the man looks like because we only see him from the back, but he seems smartly dressed. He is wearing a black suit that suits him well and a hat, a noticeable detail which gives him an upper-class fashion style. He is standing with his hands in his pocket, looking up at the stars.  Although he seems posh and trendy, the mood or the tone of the sepia picture is quite sad because the man is standing there with no one to talk to. In addition, he’s looking at a blurry city environment and if he moves one or two steps forward, he might fall and then kills himself. It seems a moment of a personal reflection.

Dramatic cover design that uses a yellow, black and brown picture and shadows to suggest a mystery.

Anatomy of the book cover

Author : F. Scott Fitzgeral

Title : The Great Gatsby

Illustration : The front cover delivers the identity of the main character.

Spine : Young Adult Reader ( 42 years old ! It seems like a great choice).

Book summary : “Gatsby ?” asked Daisy urgently. “What Gatsby ?”

Could it be the same young army lieutenant whom Daisy Fay met five years ago and who owns a sumptuous house on Long Island, where New York society enjoys the best parties on offer? Is it just coincidence that Gatsby lives across the bay from Daisy- now married to a wealthy polo-player Tom Buchanan? As one man´s mysterious dream moves towards its ultimately tragic conclusion, Midewesterner Nick Carraway is drawn into the dark world of Gatsby`s past and present -a  world of hidden frustrations and superficial relationships which perfectly illustrates the “careless and confused” nature of Americ´s Jazz Age.

Endorsement: Scott Fitzgerald’s third novel was published in 1925 and has justifiably become a 20^th century literary classic.

The plot : The Great Gatsby is set up in New York city in the mid-1920. It´s about the lives of very rich people and the parties that posh people go to. It’s divided into nine different chapters.

Chapter 1 : Dinner at the Buchanans

Chapter 2 : A trip to New York

Chapter 3 : The first party

Chapter 4 : The plan

Chapter 5 : The reunion

Chapter 6 : Important meetings

Chapter 7 : Confrontation

Chapter 8 : Chaos

Chapter 9 : Seeing the light

Considering the titles, I would say that it might be a romance and a tragedy at the same time.

Now, let´s make a list of words I expect to find in this book.

NOUNS	ADJECTIVES (I LOVE ADJECTIVES !)	VERBS
A celebration A party A dinner An invitation A conversation A question An answer An argument A meeting A reunion Guest Guest list VIP list Members High society Social class Upper class Medium class Lower class Couple A group A single person	Sumptuous Rich Wealthy Posh Fortunate Ambitious Tasty Disgusting Delicious Amazing Brilliant Creative Romantic Rival Opposed Affluent Well off Well-to-do Prosperous Moneyed Expensive Costly Precious Valuable roaring	To celebrate To welcome To host a party To cheer To cook To drink To dance To talk To spend time- money To flirt To consider To accept To decline To pretend To like To ignore

Let’s focus now on the characters in chapter 1.

NICK

Nick is the narrator. After he graduated, he went to Europe as a soldier. When he came to Long Island, he rented a simple old bungalow alone. In chapter 1, he’s having dinner with her distant cousin Daisy and her husband. He lives in West Egg, a neighbourhood where new rich and extravagant people have giant mansions. 

DAISY

Daisy Buchanan is a relative of Nick’s. She is quite cynical about everything. She describes herself as sophisticated. She is wealthy by marriage.

JORDAN

Jordan is Daisy’s friend. Like Daisy, she is a young woman. She is slim and she stands like a young cadet. She does not look like a happy person. She is a golf player.

TOM

Tom is Daisy’s husband. He is described as a “sturdy man of 30, muscular, with an aggressive manner and a rough tenor voice.” He is a former football player. Dinner at the Buchanans was interrupted twice by a telephone call for tom. Rumours are spreading around the table. Who is not respecting his privacy at dinner time? In chapter 1, he is quite an unpleasant character. I found him arrogant and full of himself.

GATSBY

Gastby is Nick’s neighbor. Nick describes him by the end of the chapter. He is the main mystery man, looking across the bay. At the end of the dock, he can see a green light.

CHAPTER 1 ANALYSIS

Nick Carraway is a late 20’ man from Minnesota who comes to New York in the spring of 1922. The book starts with a mantra. It’s an interesting advice given by his father. He said to him : “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that not everybody is as lucky as you are.” Nick never forgot this quote and has lived most of his life by this philosophical concept. It means do not judge too quickly. Do not easily jump to conclusions. Always consider the circumstances before saying your opinion.

He rents a simple old bungalow in West Egg, a very fashionable area, next to a mansion owned by a millionaire called Gatsby. When he firstly moved there, he felt quite lonely and depressed but he “bought a lot of books on banking and started reading as much as he had in college, with the intention of becoming a “well-rounded” man again.” The writer mentions the benefits of reading, how much it stimulates your motivation, your curiosity and how it can be the way forward to self-education.

He lives in a very small and ugly house whereas his neighbours have gigantic houses. There is a clear contrast between the place where he lives and the description of the mansion. The writer is using the adjective “gigantic” so the hyperbole makes the place bigger and better. There is “a marble swimming pool and more than 40 acres of lawn and garden.”

Soon after he arrives, Nick is invited to dinner across the bay in West Egg by his distant cousin Daisy Buchanan. There he meets Daisy’s husband, Tom, whom he knew from university at Yale. On the paper, he seems to have it all. “Tom came from a wealthy family and had been a football hero at Yale.” The writer spends some time describing his physical appearance but make him sounds like superficial and arrogant when he first declares : “I’ve got a nice place here.” Tom plays football and is proud of his mansion and his marriage to Daisy.

That evening Nick meets Daisy’s friend. Miss Baker who is a professional golfer. She does not drink because she’s in training. She is slim and stands like a young cadet. When she talks, she complains and yawn because “she was stiff from lying so long on that sofa.”

Daisy tells Nick over dinner that she is unhappy. We can feel the tension because the party is interrupted twice by a phone call and Tom leaves the table. We can notice a complete mood change when Daisy starts telling of her cousin because he didn’t come to her wedding. Then, she admits being cynical about everything. She feels alone and isolated. When she mentions the details about the moment she gave birth, I thought it was the worst part of the evening because she explains how she felt when she found out she has a baby girl. “Well, I’m glad it’s a girl- and I hope she’ll be a fool. That’s the best thing a girl can be, a beautiful little fool.” She’s very distant and she’s got no consideration about her new-born. Then, she suddenly changes topic, and she says she wants Nick and Jordan to see each other again.

Nick goes home a little confused and sees Gatsby standing with his hands in his pockets, looking up at the sky. The end of the chapter is more peaceful and quieter. Even if the scene takes place in a city, the atmosphere is nice and poetic. The writer describes what the narrator sees and hears. “The night was bright, there were plenty of birds in the trees and the frogs sang.”

The narrator got a vibe from Gatsby that he was happy to be alone. He was about to call him but finally decided not to do it. By the end of the chapter, Nick sees “a small, single green light, far away”. What is that light on the other side of the bay for ?

 I am Nick. I am writing a letter of thanks to Daisy and Tom for the dinner.

Dear Daisy and Tom,

It’s four in the morning. I am writing you know to say thank you very much for the dinner last night. You seemed very much happy Daisy to see me again after such a long period of time. No one has ever said to me “I’m p-paralysed with happiness”, while you were holding my hand and looking into my face. I felt very much welcome and spent a pleasant evening until I started to feel pretty embarrassed when you mentioned the plan that I could possibly look after your friend Jordan. I mean don’t get me wrong, she is a beautiful young woman but as far as I am concerned, I’ve never had any intimate talk with any of you two where I would have suggested being interested in building up a relationship. So please do not insist anymore because I came back home confused and a bit upset. You are my cousin and right now I do not need anyone to play the matchmaker position. I am fairly confident you understand that Jordan and I will not be “thrown together”.

I hope to see you both again any time soon. I would like you to tell me what was your life like when you where in France for a year.

Lots of love,

Your cousin Nick