This document provides full character profiles and explanations of the motifs and symbols present in the Great Gatsby, along with a few quirks thrown in here and there to make your study experience somewhat more enjoyable.
-is in love with Daisy and wants to be with her → distorted
grief; unable to move on from Daisy → tries to recreate the
past → the more he tries to get back to the past, the further
he is
-is motivated to become extremely rich
-a lot of irony involved in describing Gatsby → a bootlegger
who isn’t seen consuming alcohol → the owner of a swimming
pool who doesn’t use it until the end of the novel → a man of
leisure who doesn’t really engage in a lot of leisure activities
-obsessed with controlling time → wants to erase the past 5
yrs of events and “repeat the past”
-lives in a society happy to consume alcohol illegally but also
disapproving of a sober bootlegger because of his “new
money” status and criminal ties (in spite of their own immoral
and illegal activities) → shows hypocrisy in a society that
claims not to care about social order or background
-considered new money (nouveau riche)
-refers to Nick ( and a lot of other people) as ‘old sport’
-first seen in Chapter 3 hosting a lavish party at his mansion
-countless rumours surround him
-has a new hydroplane
-First Division, 16th Infantry in US army during Great War
(starts convo with Nick using their common statuses as former
soldiers/ veterans)
,-early thirties, “strong neck, tanned skin”, attractive,
charismatic and formal in terms of speech → played by
Leonardo diCaprio
-meets Nick during one of his parties in Ch3 for the first time
-likely a bootlegger→ explains how he got rich so quickly →
alcohol is linked to lowered inhibitions and immorality → offers
Nick a job in his “little business on the side” in order to thank
him for helping set up the meeting with Daisy→ alludes to
illegal work → accidentally comments that it took him only “3
years” to earn the money to buy his house → replies “That’s
my affair” after being asked what business he was in
-confusing personality → dishonest and confused
Ch4
-describes himself as an “Oxford man”
-goes out to lunch with Nick and Meyer Wolfsheim
-excessive (e.g. his car/ silver and gold→ wealth→ over the
top/ has “a man in England who buys” his “clothes” and
“sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each
season, spring and fall”)
-car: “rich cream colour, bright with nickel, swollen and
muscular, complete with hat boxes/ supper boxes/ tool boxes,
surrounded by windshields, green leather seats”
,Ch5
-is wide awake at 2 in the morning (mansion “blazing with
light” and “lit from tower to cellar” → anxious about Nick’s
response→ eager to find out)
-Nick describes his home as looking like the World’s Fair due
to all the lights → alludes to Gatsby being a source of
entertainment → Gatsby responds to it by inviting him to
Coney Island (a fairground) → odd request
-dark, “well-kept” lawn → curates a superficial image and
persona for himself → maintains and puts it together carefully
-”white flannel suit, silver shirt, gold-coloured tie,
sleeplessness”→ emphasis on appearance when waiting for
Daisy’s arrival→ perfectionist→ “pale as death” when he sees
Daisy→ contrasts his normally confident exterior → awkward
meeting with Daisy
-obsessed with Daisy (buys house to be near her, throws
parties to attract her, cultivates image for her, and had been
counting the time he’s been apart from her → “hadn’t once
ceased looking at Daisy”, was “consumed with wonder at her
presence” and “nearly toppled down a flight of stairs” in his
own home while gazing at her lovingly)
- shows Nick and Daisy his bedroom→ is so excited to be with
Daisy again he hadn’t even realised it was much more plain
compared with the rest of his home ( “his bedroom was the
simplest room of all–except where the dresser was garnished
with a toilet set of pure dull gold”) → bedrooms are
traditionally intimate and private places → Nick and Daisy are
, the only two people who can see him in such a vulnerable
position
-past and memory→ contradicts American Dream→ fixated
on his past relationship with Daisy→ wants to present himself
as a European aristocrat (war has a way of making people
equal no matter their original classes) → American Dream is
about working hard for yourself and earning your money in
your own right → aristocracy means you didn’t have to work
for it because you inherited it → shows that he is stuck in the
past → implies he does not have a clear idea of what is
important to him in life
-focus on materialism and idealism→ accumulates material
items in the hopes of achieving the ideal of winning Daisy
back→ Daisy is the only thing that really matters to him
-no such thing as a free favour→ gives and takes→ carefully
builds up his business connections and associates → tells us
that he does not have many normal friendships that do not
involve business → Nick is probably his only “true” friend
Ch6
-”ambitious young reporter from New York” arrives at Gatsby’s
house but does not know what he is supposed to interview
him with → alludes to gossip and rumours and notoriety→ is
becoming a prominent figure→ rumours later cause Gatsby’s
downfall
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