THE GREAT GATSBY by Francis Scott Fitzgerald THE

THE GREAT GATSBY by Francis Scott Fitzgerald

THE PLOT Ø Nick Carraway moves to New York from the Midwest. His cousin Daisy Buchanan lives there. Ø Nick’s mysterious neighbour JAY GATSBY throws epic parties. Ø Gatsby befriends Nick to get to Daisy. Ø Daisy and Gatsby begin an affair o they were already engaged during the War, but Daisy was forced to refuse Jay because of his poorness. Ø Tom Buchanan (Daisy’s husband) and Gatsby have a showdown over Daisy. Ø Driving Gatsby’s car, Daisy runs over Myrtle Wilson (with whom Tom had an affair) and kills her. Ø George Wilson (Myrtle’s husband) thought it was Gatsby and shoot him. Ø No one goes to Gatsby’s funeral. Ø Tom and Daisy move. Ø Nick goes back to the Midwest.

THE PLOT

“rich girls don’t marry poor boys” “I’M GATSBY”

Romantic Hero Jazz-Age self-made man Has a pure dream Becomes corrupt in his quest towards that dream Dies for his dream Wants to recreate the past through the power of money JAY GATSBY Ø Built his richness as a bootlegger and through other illegal activities Ø Mysterious Ø “New money” wealth Ø Obsessed with Daisy Ø Restless and Resourceful Originally James Gatz from North Dakota → left his parents at 16 y. o and met with Dan Cody, who became a mentor and a link to another class to Jay.

Doesn’t have the STATUS/MONEY of other characters ‘old money’ family Judgemental Dazzled by wealthy ‘new money’ lifestyle Moral Arbitrer Like Fitzgerald, Nick saw through the glitter of the ‘Jazz Age’ to the moral emptiness and hypocrisy beneath Fitzgerald shows through him his fondness for the West, which he idealised as being a moral land NICK CARRAWAY The hardest character to understand Nick is at the same time observer and participant in the novel “I’m one of the few honest people I have ever known. ”

Tom Buchanan Arrogant and aggressive body language Very wealthy-lived in East Egg “old money” No morals Typical ‘alpha male’ Despite the fact that Nick portrays a negative image of Tom, he is successful in the end as he has still got Daisy and as a result of Daisy’s deception he regains power over her Dishonest and unfaithful man Daisy Buchanan Unhappy marriage Careless who smashes things up and retreats behind her money Indecisive Amoral values of East Egg Nostalgic Behaves superficially to mask her pain at her husband’s constant infedelity

SETTINGS

East Egg • Most fashionable of the two island • The inhabitants came from ‘old money’ , either inherited or accrued over a long period of time West Egg • • Symbolizes freedom (non conformity to rich society), new beginnings and fresh start Decadence of the Roaring Twenties Young generation Lavish displays of wealth and garish poor taste Valley of Ashes • Impoverished and hopeless landscape • Symbolizes the death of the American Dream New York City (Plaza Hotel) • Stifling, muffled and suffocating • Wealthy and grand • Symbolizes the oppressive life that Daisy conducts with Tom

THE AMERICAN-NESS OF THE NOVEL IS EMPHASIZED BY SOME THEMES: • the move from West to East; • the confrontation between the romantic ideals of courage, honour and beauty and the corrupted world of money; • the relationship of Gatsby’s material achievements, the myth of ‘rags to riches’; • the tremendous growth of the car industry; • the corrupting effects of Prohibition; • the poverty of spiritual life in America during its most hedonistic decade.

LOVE in the great American Dream Click on this image

GATSBY’S DEATH Solitude in death → only three people went to Gatsby’ funeral (Nick, Gatsby’s father and a man Nick didn’t knew) He dies calling Daisy and watching the Green Light

ALCOHOL IN THE GREAT GATSBY

THE ROARING TWENTIES / THE JAZZ AGE characterized by the American myths of individualism, money and success. PROHIBITIONISM In the US (1920 -1933) was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverage. Organized crime received a major boost from Prohibition. A profitable black market for alcohol flourished: bootleggers (as Gatsby) made them fortunes during those years. Full of excitement due to the radical changes in way people behaved and thought. Reaction against the strict Puritan morality of the previous century.

THE AMERICAN DREAM

DRESS CODE FROM THE ‘ROARING TWENTIES’

LITERARY ELEMENTS IN THE GREAT GATSBY

STYLE • frequent appeals to the senses evocative use of colours; • poetic devices such as repetition, simile and metaphor • The language blends realism and symbolism. • Nick Carraway is a retrospective narrator after going through an experience, he looks back on it with a better understanding. • All the events and characters of the story are presented from Nick’s point of view. • Chronological order is rejected fragmentation of time and flashbacks to represent the inner world of the characters and the way knowledge is acquired in real life. • Gatsby’s personality is not developed through explicit statement but rather through implication.

IMAGERY IN THE GREAT GATSBY: EXAMPLES

SYMBOLIC IMAGES The description of the Jazz Age is full of symbols. Gatsby’s car = destructive power of money. The valley of ashes = emotional and spiritual sterility. Gatsby’s house = celebration of his success during the parties, of his loneliness when empty. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock at East Egg symbolises : Gatsby hopes and dreams Gap between past and present The phisical an emotional distance between Gatsby and Daisy

THE THEME OF BLINDNESS Blindness is another central theme The characters in the novel do not wish to see. Daisy and the guests to Gatsby’s parties seek out blindness in the form of drunkenness. Jordan, Daisy, Tom and others drive carelessly are blind to danger in the selfish pursuit of pleasure. Only Nick truly sees. He is Fitzgerald's spokesman in his representation of the decay of his generation.

YELLOW IN THE GREAT GATSBY

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Scene from Ted 2

FRANCIS SCOTTFITZGERALD Born in 1896 in Minnesota. Graduated at Princeton University. Joined the US Army during WWI. In 1921 he married Zelda Sayre. Back in the United States, he started to write film scripts to pay his debts. Died in 1940 in the French Riviera, where he and his wife spent their last days together. Main novels: This side of Paradise, Tales of the Jazz Age, The Beautiful and the Damned, The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night. He gave a forceful picture of the lifestyle of people during the Roaring Twenties, capturing the sense of loss behind the cult of money and materialism. He also portrayed hedonism, corruption of loss of values of the ‘Lost Generation’.