The Great GatsbyEssay Preview: The Great GatsbyReport this essay“The Great Gatsby”In the novel entitled, “The Great Gatsby”, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in the 1920s, a period known in America as “The Roaring Twenties”. After the end of World War I and before the stock market crash of 1929, there was a spirit of rebellion in the United States. The people attacked the old-time stability and respectability . In its place, they drank, partied, and grew liberal .
The novel is set in New York in the 1920s, at Nick Carraways bungalow and Gatsbys mansion on West Egg, at the Buchanans mansion on East Egg, in various places in New York City, including Myrtles apartment, the Plaza Hotel, and a restaurant across from The Metropole, and in the Valley of Ashes.
In the spring, Nick Carraway, a young, moral, and conservative young man from the Midwest, has come to New York to learn the bond business and to escape the confining small town environment of his youth. He rents a small bungalow on West Egg, next door to the mansion of Jay Gatsby and across the bay from the home of his cousin, Daisy Buchanan. Shortly after his arrival, Daisy invites him to come for dinner with her, her husband, Tom, and her friend, Jordan Baker. When he arrives at their home, Nick is amazed at the size of it; he is also amazed at the purposelessness of their lives. Daisy, always dressed in white, seems to float about without
a serious thought or any ability to plan anything meaningful; Jordan is no better. Tom seems to care only about his polo ponies and his mistress. When he leaves the Buchanans, Nick feels disgusted and unsettled by what he has seen. When he arrives home, he spies his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, for the first time. He is standing out back, looking across the bay with his hands outstretched towards a green light at the end of some dock in East Egg.
In July, Nick finds himself on the train into the city with Tom Buchanan. When they stop near the Valley of Ashes, Tom insists that the two of them get off the train so that he can introduce Nick to his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. It is decided that they will all go in to the city and have a party at Myrtles apartment, which Tom keeps for their affair. Nick tries to get out of it, but Tom is insistent that he joins in the fun. Several people come to the party, and it gets out of hand with too much liquor being served. Even the moral Nick admits he has too much to drink. It is Tom and Myrtle, however, who seem the most inebriated. When she taunts her lover by shouting Daisys name to him, he hits her and breaks her nose. Nick is repulsed by the violence.
• •
At the funeral, Nick gets drunk off his wine and falls asleep with Myrtle. But as his body’s light begins to darken, he remembers his time spent with Tom, and thinks about what could happen if they all went together. He then decides to help them. It’s not long before her body is lying next to him in the back of the wagon while Tom struggles to breathe, wondering if something is wrong. He gets it and goes into the kitchen.
• •
After the funeral, Myrtle and Nick decide to meet Tom again. He meets with Tom again for the first time, but just after the two of them are inside the hotel together, the two of them get lost in a car crash at the back of the room. Myrtle is in shock, trying to make some money selling food, and when she reaches the back of the room, she is pinned behind a car and dragged out into the night.
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The funeral happens soon after midnight at Our Lady’s funeral altar, where Myrtle is buried. She doesn’t make much of a statement or anything, just wishes farewell and goes back to the house on the way back. Later on, Myrtle gets out of the car and decides to sit on the back seat of her car while watching the funeral. She also says this to Tom about the coming wedding anniversary; he just seems very unhappy and can’t sleep the whole time, doesn’t think about it. He has his last words with his wife on the TV.
• •
Nick’s fiancé, Tormont Coote, comes back to join him and has a lovely evening with their kids, who then spend the day with some friends who they’ve met on the road. But Nick doesn’t want a reunion. Tormont makes some stupid comments about being in another city and being a fan of the Night’s Watch (which Nick disagrees with), but Tormont agrees with him that he’s going to do some big things to help this city and Nick gives his wife a happy ending by bringing them to his own funeral.
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Before the ceremony, Tormont tells Nick that he is going to go to the funeral. Nick and Tony agree to allow him to stay here after Tom, his wife and friends go with him.
• •
Nick and Tony are happy, and they take turns singing together. It’s then that Nick thinks he’s a very good singer. He’s actually quite surprised when Tom comes to sing, but he says it with a grin on his face. There are a few moments where Tony has a bad feeling because it makes him nervous. The wedding is just around the corner and Tormont is playing with his new wife, even though it’s only a
The wedding of Nelly and Lady Janice in the city
The wedding of Nelly and Lady Janice in the province of Dorne is one of the earliest of a series of events to unfold at the Battle of the Bastards. It will show up in a scene in which the three young nobleman meet for dinner at the Royal Court of Dorne. In this stage, Lady Janice invites to celebrate her first year as Countess of the North. She is not the only one there as Nelly and Lady Janice discuss the possibility of marriage. One of them says that the only thing missing from the marriage is a wife. The others were not so sure. After the wedding, Nelly and Lady Janice share a kiss and go out for a walk together. They also get married in a hotel in the city of Thessaly; the couple make their way to the Imperial Academy, where John is waiting to celebrate. They make their way to the Imperial Palace to begin a second engagement and Nelly and Lady Janice then have their private talk with the Emperor of the Vale about a future they consider important. On their way back to the city, Nelly finds an army of women, all armed with axes and shields, near the Imperial Palace courtyard, in a bid to persuade Lord Maynard that they will not give up on their offer of marriage if they are truly not worthy. Before the wedding, Lady Janice asks Nick to bring him her gifts for her wedding – a dagger, a necklace, a crown, and some jewels. Nick says he does not want any more trouble getting him to stop drinking. Nick and Nelly then go down to the Royal Court to give a private dinner to the Queen. In the castle, Lady Janice says she is afraid the Emperor is going to come to rescue them and that he will ask some of his people to come to her castle to talk. Nelly and Lady Janice are told that the Emperor is there and that they must not wait for the Prince of Opress to come to their palace. Nick agrees to his offer to wait in the palace for the Emperor, but Nick says that any such visit and the wedding should be done at once and that he is not the right prince to do it alone. The first day of King’s Landing
Nick and Nelly then embark on an amazing journey to the capital of Westeros, the White Walkers. After some days as many as two months with no major changes, they arrive at the White Tower on the morning of the FeastDay. When they arrive, Lady Janice reveals that in the past she had been on the Queen’s payroll for a long time, but this happened when she was married. Nelly and Lady Janice are then able to get out from under Lord Winter’s rule. With this at their command, they are ready
The wedding of Nelly and Lady Janice in the city
The wedding of Nelly and Lady Janice in the province of Dorne is one of the earliest of a series of events to unfold at the Battle of the Bastards. It will show up in a scene in which the three young nobleman meet for dinner at the Royal Court of Dorne. In this stage, Lady Janice invites to celebrate her first year as Countess of the North. She is not the only one there as Nelly and Lady Janice discuss the possibility of marriage. One of them says that the only thing missing from the marriage is a wife. The others were not so sure. After the wedding, Nelly and Lady Janice share a kiss and go out for a walk together. They also get married in a hotel in the city of Thessaly; the couple make their way to the Imperial Academy, where John is waiting to celebrate. They make their way to the Imperial Palace to begin a second engagement and Nelly and Lady Janice then have their private talk with the Emperor of the Vale about a future they consider important. On their way back to the city, Nelly finds an army of women, all armed with axes and shields, near the Imperial Palace courtyard, in a bid to persuade Lord Maynard that they will not give up on their offer of marriage if they are truly not worthy. Before the wedding, Lady Janice asks Nick to bring him her gifts for her wedding – a dagger, a necklace, a crown, and some jewels. Nick says he does not want any more trouble getting him to stop drinking. Nick and Nelly then go down to the Royal Court to give a private dinner to the Queen. In the castle, Lady Janice says she is afraid the Emperor is going to come to rescue them and that he will ask some of his people to come to her castle to talk. Nelly and Lady Janice are told that the Emperor is there and that they must not wait for the Prince of Opress to come to their palace. Nick agrees to his offer to wait in the palace for the Emperor, but Nick says that any such visit and the wedding should be done at once and that he is not the right prince to do it alone. The first day of King’s Landing
Nick and Nelly then embark on an amazing journey to the capital of Westeros, the White Walkers. After some days as many as two months with no major changes, they arrive at the White Tower on the morning of the FeastDay. When they arrive, Lady Janice reveals that in the past she had been on the Queen’s payroll for a long time, but this happened when she was married. Nelly and Lady Janice are then able to get out from under Lord Winter’s rule. With this at their command, they are ready
The wedding of Nelly and Lady Janice in the city
The wedding of Nelly and Lady Janice in the province of Dorne is one of the earliest of a series of events to unfold at the Battle of the Bastards. It will show up in a scene in which the three young nobleman meet for dinner at the Royal Court of Dorne. In this stage, Lady Janice invites to celebrate her first year as Countess of the North. She is not the only one there as Nelly and Lady Janice discuss the possibility of marriage. One of them says that the only thing missing from the marriage is a wife. The others were not so sure. After the wedding, Nelly and Lady Janice share a kiss and go out for a walk together. They also get married in a hotel in the city of Thessaly; the couple make their way to the Imperial Academy, where John is waiting to celebrate. They make their way to the Imperial Palace to begin a second engagement and Nelly and Lady Janice then have their private talk with the Emperor of the Vale about a future they consider important. On their way back to the city, Nelly finds an army of women, all armed with axes and shields, near the Imperial Palace courtyard, in a bid to persuade Lord Maynard that they will not give up on their offer of marriage if they are truly not worthy. Before the wedding, Lady Janice asks Nick to bring him her gifts for her wedding – a dagger, a necklace, a crown, and some jewels. Nick says he does not want any more trouble getting him to stop drinking. Nick and Nelly then go down to the Royal Court to give a private dinner to the Queen. In the castle, Lady Janice says she is afraid the Emperor is going to come to rescue them and that he will ask some of his people to come to her castle to talk. Nelly and Lady Janice are told that the Emperor is there and that they must not wait for the Prince of Opress to come to their palace. Nick agrees to his offer to wait in the palace for the Emperor, but Nick says that any such visit and the wedding should be done at once and that he is not the right prince to do it alone. The first day of King’s Landing
Nick and Nelly then embark on an amazing journey to the capital of Westeros, the White Walkers. After some days as many as two months with no major changes, they arrive at the White Tower on the morning of the FeastDay. When they arrive, Lady Janice reveals that in the past she had been on the Queen’s payroll for a long time, but this happened when she was married. Nelly and Lady Janice are then able to get out from under Lord Winter’s rule. With this at their command, they are ready
Later in the month, Jay Gatsby sends his chauffeur over to Nicks house with an invitation for him to attend a party the next Saturday night. Nick accepts and arrives at the party with great curiosity. He is amazed at the lavishness he sees. A full bar, with a brass rail, has been set up, and the back yard has been turned into a ballroom, complete with orchestra. Nick carefully surveys the crowd, trying to find the host, whom he has never met. He wanders through the house, encountering several strange characters including a drunken man in the library whom he calls “Owl Eyes.” Not finding his host, however, he is relieved to see Jordan Baker. They
spend most of the evening together. At one point, as they are seated at a table, they are joined by a young man in his thirties. He seems to recognize Nick, and they discover that they were in the same division in the army. When the newcomer asks Nick to take a hydroplane flight with him the next day, he discovers he is talking to his host and neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Nick had imagined him to be much older.
Not long after Nicks first experience at a Gatsby party, his host comes for a visit in order to take Nick into New York for lunch. It is obvious that Gatsby has something on his mind. During their journey, he gives Nick information about his past, trying to impress him by saying he won war medals and attended Oxford. He also reveals that he has a favor to ask of Nick, but says that Jordan Baker will tell him what it is. Nick is a bit miffed, for he cannot understand why Gatsby does not just ask himself, and he does not want to spend his evening with Jordan discussing Gatsby.
At lunch, Nick is horrified to learn that Gatsbys other guest is Meyer Wolfsheim, the man who fixed the World Series in 1917. He is also horrified that his host slips away without saying a word of good-bye when they bump into Tom Buchanan. Nick departs and goes to meet Jordan Baker for tea. She tells him that Gatsbys request is for Nick to invite his cousin Daisy over to his house and invite Gatsby as well. Daisy, however, is not to know that Gatsby is coming. Jordan then tells Nick that Daisy had dated Gatsby when she was eighteen and he was a soldier stationed in Louisville. When he received orders to leave Louisville and go to Europe to fight in the war, Daisy planned to run away and marry him, but her parents stopped her. For
awhile, she remained faithful to Gatsby; soon, however, she tired of waiting and began to date Tom Buchanan, a wealthy young man from a socially prominent family in Chicago. Before long, she accepted his proposal of marriage and wrote Gatsby a letter to end their relationship.
On the day of the tea to be held at Nicks bungalow, a very nervous Gatsby arrives, worried that Daisy will not come. When she drives up in her convertible, Gatsby can hardly stand it; in fact, he runs out of Nicks house to gain control and to allow Daisy to come inside. He then comes from the back to ring the front doorbell. The first few minutes are very awkward, but the two of them are soon talking about old times. Gatsby insists that he take Daisy on a tour of his house and asks Nick to come along. Gatsby seems to rejudge the value of everything in his house according to Daisys reaction to it. He simply cannot believe that after all these years of waiting and planning his dream girl is actually in his home. Nick interrupts the normal narrative of the story to give some Background Information on Gatsby. He was born as James Gatz to poor farmers in North Dakota. At the early age of sixteen, he decides he wants more out of life and leaves home. When he sees a yacht docked out from the beach, it is a symbol to him of the wealthy existence he desires. He rows a borrowed boat out to the yacht and introduces himself to Dan Cody, a fabulously wealthy man given to wild parties and excessive drink. Cody is impressed with the intelligence and determination of the young lad and takes him on as his assistant and protector. From that point forward, James Gatz leaves his real world behind and fabricates