The Great Gatsby
Book Review
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Setting
Main Characters
- Nick Carraway is the narrator of the story. He befriends his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and helps Jay Gatsby to win over his long lost love, Nick's cousin, Daisy. Nick becomes Jay's closest friend and plans Jay's funeral after he dies, being the only non-family member to come.
- Jay Gatsby is a bootlegger who throws wild parties at his mansion in West Egg. Jay lost his chance with Daisy and hoped to attract her attention by throwing the parties. Jay's yellow car would later kill Tom Buchanan's mistress, causing Jay to be shot dead in his swimming pool.
- Daisy Buchanan is Nick Carraway's cousin, Tom Buchanan's wife, and Jay Gatsby's love interest. The whole novel is based around Gatsby's pursuit for Daisy's love and the events that follow. Daisy lives just across the water from Gatsby in East Egg.
- Tom Buchanan is Daisy's husband and belonged to Nick Carraway's social group at Yale. Tom has racist and sexist social views, he is also very arrogant and hypocritical. When he suspects that Gatsby and Daisy are having an affair, he forces a conversation.
- Jordan Baker is Daisy's friend, and Nick Carraway's girlfriend throughout most of the novel. She is a competitive golfer and is supposed to represent the "new women" of the 1920s that are more boyish and self-centered. Jordan often lies and bends the truth.
- Myrtle Wilson is Tom Buchanan's mistress. Her husband runs a car garage in the valley of ashes. Myrtle is always trying to achieve a better life, but cannot achieve that with Tom, for he sees her as an object of his desire. She runs into the road and gets hit and killed by Daisy who is driving Gatsby's car.
- George Wilson is Myrtle's husband and Gatsby's killer. He is destroyed by his grief after his wife dies. George and Gatsby are similar because they are both ruined by their unrequited love for women that love Tom, and they are both dreamers.
Problem
The main problem faced in The Great Gatsby was winning back Daisy's love, although she is devoted to Tom Buchanan and their child. Daisy wants to love both men, but both Gatsby and Tom want to be the only man in her life. Nick Carraway is caught in the middle of caring for Daisy and caring for his friendship with Gatsby, and tells the story with a bias towards Gatsby.
My Responses
I did not like, however, how the book ended. The ending of the book was very sad, compared to the bright outlook of the beginning of the book. The book starts out optimistic about Nick's future and seems to highlight the great times that Nick had with Gatsby, but the ending of the book showed how alone Gatsby was, even though he was surrounded by a large group of people. The ending seemed to show how, even in a crowded room one can be totally alone. The ending, however, showed how loyal Nick truly was to his friend, although he caused a lot of conflicts in his family.