The Great Gasby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Full and Brief Summary
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Course
Literature
Institution
Book
The Great Gatsby
A carefully written summary of a classic, this document contains not only the most important descriptions and moments of the book, but explains the relationship between the characters and delves into the main topics and symbols explored.
Summary of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Izzy Leisewitz
Characters;
- Nick Carraway (narrator)
- Jay Gatsby (Nick’s neighbor)
- Daisy Buchanan (Nick’s cousin)
- Tom Buchanan (Daisy’s husband)
- Jordan Baker (Daisy’s friend)
- Myrtle (Tom’s lover)
- George (Myrtle’s husband)
The narrator is Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, in the
midwest, who moved to New York to become a bonds salesman even though
he never had any special interest in economics. He says he was actually
interested in writing books, implying that he is the author of The Great Gatsby.
He rents a house in West Egg, in Long Island. His next-door neighbor is a
mysterious man named Jay Gatsby, who lives in a gigantic gothic mansion and
throws enormous parties every saturday night.
Nick studied in Yale and has social connections in East Egg, the more
fashionable and richer part of the city. One day, he goes there to have dinner
with Daisy, her cousin, and her husband, Tom, who was Nick’s classmate
during university. They also invite Jordan Baker, a beautiful and cynical
woman who is a professional golfer and who tells him that Tom has been
having an affair with another woman. Daisy isn’t happy in her relationship.
A few days later, Tom takes Nick to a party in the apartment that Tom bought
for her lover. There, Nick meets Tom’s lover, Myrtle, and many other people
go and party with them. Myrtle is from the lower class and lives in the Valley
of Ashes, which is a working class area. At some point, Myrtle asked Tom
about Daisy. Tom became angry and broke Myrtle’s nose.
Time goes on and Nick gets an invitation to attend one of Gatsby’s parties.
Nobody knows who Gatsby is, and there are all kinds of rumors about his past,
such as saying that he was a spy during the 1st World War or that he killed
someone. At the party, he sees Jordan and they meet Gatsby, a young,
charming man who studied in Oxford and always calls everyone “old sport”.
Gatsby talks with Jordan in private, telling her that he knows Daisy.
Five years before, Gatsby met Daisy in Louisville and fell deeply in love with
her. He was called to serve during the war, so he left her, and when he came
back, she was already with Tom. Gatsby bought his giant mansion only
because it was big and stood right across from Daisy’s house, which was at the
other end of the bay (bahía). He only hosted parties hoping that, one day, she
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