- a detailed analysis of the characters in the Great Gatsby
- used by myself for the OCR: English literature and language specification (H074, H474)
- however, it can be used for other specifications
- achieved A* with these notes (combined with others I have uploaded)
Jay Gatsby:
Although the novel is title after Gatsby, Fitzgerald doesn’t introduce him in person until Chapter 3, and we don’t
learn his real story until much later. This increases the intrigue and mystery about him.
Nick says in Chapter 1 that only Gatsby was ‘exempt’ from his ‘unaffected scorn’. This encourages the reader to find
out why Nick thinks Gatsby is so special.
Rumours surround Gatsby’s past and present. For the first half of the novel the only information provided about
Gatsby is outlandish stories, such as that he’s a ‘cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm’s’, ‘a German spy’ and ‘an Oxford man’.
The fact that Gatsby’s real back story isn’t as mysterious or glamorous as he makes out, heightens the tragedy of his
death – he became successful through a combination of luck and hard work.
Gatsby created his own identity:
Gatsby’s ‘schedule’ is a parody of Benjamin Franklin’s ‘schemes of employment’ – Franklin was a self-made man of
working-class origins.
Gatsby is a romantic idealist, rather than a realist. He stays faithful to the dream of Daisy, never realising he is in love
with a dream.
Gatsby’s single-minded pursuit of his dream helps the reader to sympathise with him, despite the fact that he’s
mysterious and elusive. His hope and creativity are inspiring. However, they also lead to his eventful downfall. In this
way, Gatsby could be interpreted as a tragic hero who is destroyed by his fatal flaw.
The man and the act are different:
The Act The Man
He lived the life of a ‘young rajah’ He worked as a fisherman before joining Cody on his
yacht
‘Every Allied government’ gave him a decoration in He has an ‘authentic’ looking medal from Montenegro
the war. and he ‘did extraordinarily well in the war’.
He was an ‘Oxford man’ He only attended Oxford for ‘five months’
He inherited money from his family Dan Cody left him money, but he never received it
He ‘was in the drug business’ He owned drug stores but ‘sold grain alcohol over the
counter’
Throughout the novel there are hints that Gatsby isn’t who he claims to be:
- He tries to conceal his working-class background by adopting phrases like ‘old sport’, but this sounds forced and
unnatural. His limited vocabulary makes him sound inarticulate – e.g. ‘interesting people … people who do
interesting things’. Nick comments on his use of ‘threadbare’ and overused phrases.
- He doesn’t realise that Mr Sloane doesn’t want him to come for supper – he fails to understand etiquette.
Gatsby is isolated:
Because Gatsby is so concerned with maintaining his created persona, he keeps his distance with most characters
and doesn’t let his guard down. Nick describes him as being in ‘complete isolation’.
At parties, Gatsby stands ‘alone on the marble steps’. This makes him seem God-like, watching over the crowds from
above. When Daisy finally comes to a party he mingles with the crowd and loses his God-like status.
He only tells Nick his real history when his persona has been destroyed and he has nothing left to lose ‘Jay Gatsby
had broken up like glass’.
The War:
We are told that Gatsby did ‘extraordinarily well in the war’. His brave conduct resulted in promotion to the rank of
major. This enhanced his social status and seems to have made it easier for him to make connections. A scheme also
enabled American officers to attend European universities also led to him spending five months at Oxford.
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