F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby

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F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby

• By
• Natalie Scofield

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About the Author

• Born-September 24, 1896
• Died-December 21, 1940
• Married Zelda Sayre
• Famous works include The Great Gatsby
• The Beautiful and the Damned
• Tender is the Night

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F. Scott Fitzgeralds Impact on Society

• Fitzgerald named the 1920s The Jazz Age
• Wrote screenplays for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

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The Jazz Age

• Prohibition was in effect
• Dances such as the Charleston were popular
• Popular sayings included 23 Skidoo, Bees Knees

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Characters of The Great Gatsby

• Jay Gatsby- The self-made wealthy man who lives
  next door to Nick Carraway and loves Daisy
  Buchanan

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Characters of The Great Gatsby

• Nick Carraway- the narrator, Daisys cousin,
  Gatsbys neighbor

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Characters in The Great Gatsby

• Daisy Buchanan- married to Tom, Gatsbys love
  interest before the war, socialite

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Characters in The Great Gatsby

• Tom Buchanan- Daisys husband, has an affair with
  Myrtle
• Myrtle Wilson- Toms woman in the city, married
  to George
• George Wilson- owns the gas station, kills Gatsby
• Jordan Baker- Daisys friend, professional golfer

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Settings in The Great Gatsby

• West Egg- where Nick and Gatsby live, represents
  new money
• East Egg- where Daisy lives, the more fashionable
  area, represents old money

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Settings in The Great Gatsby

• The City- New York City, where the characters
  escape to for work and play
• The Valley of Ashes- between the City and West
  Egg, where Wilsons
• gas station is

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Symbols in The Great Gatsby

• Green Light- at the end of Daisys dock and
  visible from Gatsbys mansion. Represents
  Gatsby's hopes and dreams about Daisy.

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Symbols in The Great Gatsby

• The Valley of Ashes- the area between West Egg
  and New York City. It is a desolate area filled
  with industrial waste. It represents the social
  and moral decay of society during the 1920s. It
  also shows the negative effects of greed.

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Symbols in The Great Gatsby

• The Eyes of Dr. T. J. Ekleburg- A decaying
  billboard in the Valley of Ashes with eyes
  advertising an optometrist. There are multiple
  proposed meanings, including the representation
  of Gods moral judgment on society.

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Basic Plot of The Great Gatsby

• Nick moves from the midwest to New York City in
  order to pursue a career in bonds
• Nick begins a friendship with his cousin, Daisy
• Nick befriends his neighbor, Jay Gatsby

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Basic Plot of The Great Gatsby

• Nick reunites Daisy with her former love, Gatsby
• Daisys husband, Tom, discovers his wifes affair
• A trip into the City results in the death of
  Toms lover, Myrtle, when she ran out in front of
  a car Daisy was driving

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Plot of The Great Gatsby

• Tom tells Myrtles distraught husband, George,
  that Gatsby killed Myrtle
• George kills Gatsby
• No one but Nick comes to Gatsbys funeral
• Tom and Daisy leave town

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Important Quotes

• I hope shell be a fool- thats the best thing a
  girl can be in this world, a beautiful little
  fool.
• Daisys description of her daughter
• So we beat on, boats against the current, borne
  back ceaselessly into the past. the last line
  of the novel

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Important Quotes

• "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they
  smashed up things and creatures and then
  retreated back into their money or their vast
  carelessness or whatever it was that kept them
  together, and let other people clean up the mess
  they had made." Nicks description of Tom and
  Daisy

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Sources

• http//www.encarta.msn.com
• http//www.sc.edu/fitzgerald
• http//www.moviepoopshoot.com
• http//www.sparknotes.com
• Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner
  Paperback Fiction, New York. 1995.