-Setting-
The setting of New York City in the 1920s enables the plot to be more realistic because the story is about rich flappers and men. Instead of some fantasy land, the story is written in a real place that we pretty much all know and can envision.
-Characters-
The main characters are as follows:
Nick Carraway is the narrator. He "objectively" observes the happenings of the elite, and not so elite in New York City. He is very interested in Gatsby's mind.
Daisy Buchanan is Tom Buchanan's wife, and Gatsby's (presumably) true love. Nick is Daisy's cousin. She also ran over Tom's mistress.
Tom Buchanan is Daisy's wife, and a very wealthy man. He got his money from his family.
Myrtle Wilson is Tom's mistress.
George Wilson is Myrtle's husband who is a poor car mechanic.
Jordan Baker is Daisy's friend.
-Point of View-
The Great Gatsby is written from the point of view of Nick Carraway. He is not as rich as the people that surround him. In fact, he is a bit mystified by their lives. Nick likes to think of himself as extremely objective; as a man who withholds judgment.
The pros of this book being written from a first person point of view are it helps show a deeper side of one the characters, Nick. I really like that fact because I like knowing the characters on a deep level. A con of the story being written from first person point of view is that we always have a biased view of the story. Even though Nick says he reserves judgment, he does judge!
The pros of this book being written from a first person point of view are it helps show a deeper side of one the characters, Nick. I really like that fact because I like knowing the characters on a deep level. A con of the story being written from first person point of view is that we always have a biased view of the story. Even though Nick says he reserves judgment, he does judge!
-Narrator-
Nick was definitely not a reliable narrator! He says that he reserves judgment at all times, but he judges people all of the time! I think that is Fitzgerald’s way of showing how rich people, or just people in general, like to think of themselves as a different version of themselves. Nick judges people all of the time in the book.
-Conflict-
Jay Gatsby faces the main conflict of wanting Daisy. He had known her back in the day, and had fell in love with her madly. He had loved her ever since. When she left him, all he could think about was Daisy. Without Daisy in the picture, Gatsby’s mind roamed free and created a perfect Daisy in his head. This was his ultimate downfall, because people can never live up to images that have been created in the minds of lonesome lovers.
Daisy Buchanan faces the main conflict of loving Gatsby, but wanting to stay true to Tom as well. Gatsby was one of Daisy’s first boyfriends, and she loved him very much. But then she married Tom, and fell in love with him. Then Gatsby came back, and she fell back in love with Gatsby. Gatsby pressured her to leave Tom for him instead, and Daisy did not handle that well. She did not choose Gatsby. This shows that Daisy is one of the weakest characters in the story, and she is the symbol for hedonistic, rich girls who make mistakes.
Daisy Buchanan faces the main conflict of loving Gatsby, but wanting to stay true to Tom as well. Gatsby was one of Daisy’s first boyfriends, and she loved him very much. But then she married Tom, and fell in love with him. Then Gatsby came back, and she fell back in love with Gatsby. Gatsby pressured her to leave Tom for him instead, and Daisy did not handle that well. She did not choose Gatsby. This shows that Daisy is one of the weakest characters in the story, and she is the symbol for hedonistic, rich girls who make mistakes.