The Great GatsbyChChapter Notes

Chapter 1 CharactersChapter 1 CharactersNick Caraway• The narrator of the novel.

– Tolerant, but reserves judgment– Is ambivalent towards Gatsby. While he hates

Gatsby’s gross and vulgar materialism, he also d i th f hi d Hi “ tadmires the man for his dream. His “extra-

ordinary gift for hope.”– Nick hates the “Eastern types” and their “foulNick hates the Eastern types and their foul

dust;” so at the beginning of the novel, he has moved back to the Midwest and removed hi lf f ihimself from society.

– “Gatsby turned out alright in the end.”

Tom Buchanan• The upper class brute of the novelThe upper class brute of the novel

– He expects obedience from his subjects especially his wifesubjects, especially his wife.

– Comes from “old money”.Social Darwinism: the theory that the– Social Darwinism: the theory that the white race will prevail and overcome other races.

– Is an adulterer, and is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson.y

Daisy Buchanan• The naïve and pure woman of• The naïve and pure woman of

the novel.Sh t f “ ld ”– She too comes from “old money”. She often wears white.She is Nick’s cousin and Tom’s– She is Nick s cousin and Tom s wife.We see her pain and cynicism– We see her pain and cynicism through her daughter’s birth. Daisy hopes that she will become y p“a beautiful little fool.”

Jordan Baker

•The typical 1920s woman of the novel

– She is a professional golfer.

novel

– Really, she serves no purpose in the novel, other than to showcase how a typical woman of the erahow a typical woman of the era may act and react to the situations of the novel.

– Friend to the Buchanan’s

Jay Gatsby

• The main character of the novel– Our first glimpse of him is at the end of hisOur first glimpse of him is at the end of his

dock, arms stretched outward, trembling. “Nothing except a singlegreen light, minute and far away, that might have y gbeen the end of a dock.”

Chapter 2 CharactersChapter 2 CharactersGeorge Wilson

“a blond, spiritless man, anemic and faint less.”i. Owns his own garage in the Valley of Ashes

d b di ll h i il h i d dand embodies all that it entails; he is dead inside, like a living ghost.ii Goes through the motions of life with noii. Goes through the motions of life with no spiritual center. He has no energy and no faith.iii. He does not understand the power of Tom pand what he is dealing with when he tries to make a deal with him.iv. George will become very important at the end of the novel.

Myrtle WilsonG ’ if d th h h ll th it th tGeorge’s wife and the one who challenges the purity that

is Daisy.i A sensuous woman; middle 30s; has the energyi. A sensuous woman; middle 30s; has the energyher husband lacks.ii. She becomes drawn to Tom as a lover who can take her away from the gray and empty prison of the valley.iii Sh li “ i l l ff diii. She lives “violently affected,moment by moment” and allows

T t t l h i l tlTom to control her violently.iv. In order to see Tom, she must ride separate from the East Eggersride separate from the East Eggers.

There is a façade of respectability between her and Tom.

The Symbols-Chapter 2• The Valley of the Ashes, is located between the y ,

West Egg and New York City. It represents the moral geography of the novel and the anxiety, f i d i f ifrustration, and emptiness of a post-war generation cut-off from spiritual values by the shock of WWI. The Valley is home to the poor victims of theThe Valley is home to the poor victims of the Eggs and New York City. The men are “ash” gray and “move through the landscape dimly and g p yalready crumbling through the powdery air.”

Doctor T. J Eckleberg. What is left of his faded sign g ghangs over the Valley of the Ashes, watching over the people like the eyes of God. His eyes are blue p p y yand gigantic; no face, but enormous yellow spectacles over a non-existent nose. There is no pknown creator of the sign but suggests there is a superior being who no longer cares about the pathetic p g g pcreatures below.

New York. It is the center for corruption, where wealth and self-gratification openlywhere wealth and self gratification openly meet. Here, Tom can flaunt his relationship with Myrtle The apartmentrelationship with Myrtle. The apartment scene represents how Fitzgerald felt about N Y k E i iNew York. Everyone tries to impress everyone else, and the lies flow freely.

The Characters-The CharactersChapter 3: Jay Gatsby

A. Young, handsome, polite. He drifted “coolly out of nowhere and bought a place on Long Island.” He lives on West Egg.

i He is a paradox: both “rough neck” and one whoi. He is a paradox: both rough-neck and one who practices formal speech. His favorite saying is “old sport.” No one really knows who he is, or has seen him; all they know is that night after night, he throws elaborate parties.

ii. Our job as the reader is to search through the vulgar, violent surface of this world to find the man beneath. Only gradually, y g y,do we get to know Gatsby at the beginning of the chapter through the eyes of his guests at his parties.

iii Who is he? Did he go to Oxford? Is he a German spy? Or theiii. Who is he? Did he go to Oxford? Is he a German spy? Or the nephew of the Kaiser?

Nick Caraway

a Is “involved” with Jordan He is attracted toa. Is involved with Jordan. He is attracted to her free spirit. She is dishonest, careless, and the type of woman Nick should not like. “Dishonesty in a woman is ya thing you never blame deeply.”

i. We are led to believe that Nick is a hard worker and of a good moral character. “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that Iand this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”

ii. Nick will lead us towards understanding who . N c w e d us ow ds u de s d g w oGatsby truly is. While unearthing the immoral fibers of the East Eggers.

Owl Eyesa. A guest at one of Gatsby’s parties, his glasses make his eyes seem bigger than they are. He notices the booksi th lib d h G t b h t t thin the library, and how Gatsby has not cut the pages.

i. He “sees” Gatsby for what he truly is and recognizes the façade that Gatsby puts on for his guestsrecognizes the façade that Gatsby puts on for his guests. He recognizes the theatrical nature of Gatsby’s parties.

ii. References a man named “David Belasco”who wanted everything to be perfect and spared no expense to build on his materialism.

The Symbols-Chapter 3W EWest Egg:

An amusement park ride for those with new money who try to earn expensive prizes. It is a

ld f i fi it h dworld of infinite hope and possibility. Young women with laughter like gold wait for thelaughter like gold wait for the right man, and middle-aged women, tired of their husbands, search for lovers. Ambitious young men search for the right

h ill b i hcontract that will bring them instant fame and fortune.

Gatsby’s PartiesThey are filled with brightness, confusion, magnificence, daring, vulgarity, excess, and excitement. g , g, g y, ,These are the years before the Great Depression, and his guests use Gatsby for his lavish parties and amenities. The bar is stocked with “cordials long forgotten that most of his female guests were too young to know one from the other ”from the other.

Chapter 4:• The plot begins here in this chapter. We

have been introduced to all of the main characters through three different parties. In this chapter, we now come to understand why they have all been brought together.

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The Characters-The CharactersJay Gatsby

• Describes his life as a “young raja in all capitals of Europe”, collecting jewels and hunting big game.i l i h h i f h id• i. He claims that he is from the “Midwest” or San Francisco, which is a blatant lie. He states that his family is dead and that he graduated fromhis family is dead and that he graduated from Oxford. To prove himself, Gatsby shows Nick a picture of himself standing in front of the

i it d d l f M duniversity, and a medal from Madagascar.ii. Nick does not believe a word Gatsby says, but respects his need to live the American Dreambut respects his need to live the American Dream. Nick also realizes how well New York City seems to suit Gatsby and his unknown business.

Meyer Wolfsheimy• Is a model after the real-life bookie who helped fix

the 1919 World Seriesthe 1919 World Series.• i. Through Meyer, we begin to understand

where Gatsby’s money comes from. He describeswhere Gatsby s money comes from. He describes Gatsby as “the kind of man you’d like to take home to introduce to your mother and sister.”ii. Meyer is sentimental about friends, but not business. He wears cufflinks made out of human molars And is extremely uncultured due to hismolars. And is extremely uncultured due to his need to speak about his boorish and ruthless battle for money and power.

The Symbols-Chapter 4The Symbols Chapter 4The List

• Serves no other purpose than to show who were at Gatsby’s parties. It is almost a mockery of the lists ones would find in great pieces of literature such as The Ili d Th Od h th iIliad or The Odyssey where the various great warriors are listed to show importance All listed are self made menimportance. All listed are self-made men, vast and vulgar, and all ultimately hungry to obtain what the East Eggers have;to obtain what the East Eggers have; money.

The Tea:• Jordan tells Nick the story of Gatsby and Daisy as if

it was a fairytale. Daisy Fay, an 18-year-old girl from L i ill KY t th ldi JLouisville, KY, courts a then younger soldier, Jay Gatsby. After Gatsby goes off to war, Daisy marries Tom and continues her life of excess Tom provesTom and continues her life of excess. Tom proves himself unfaithful, even on their honeymoon, when he has an affair with the chambermaid in Santa Barbara. Daisy does not think of Gatsby again until Jordan mentions him the day Nick comes to visit.

• “Gatsby bought a house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.” --Jordan

The Tea• • “Then it had not been merely the stars to which

he had aspired on that June night. He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of hi purposeless splendor ” Nick respondspurposeless splendor. Nick responds.

• • Nick realizes that Gatsby’s parties are not meant to be ostentatious, but are a means to the ,fulfillment of his dream. Mainly, the need for the green light and its youth, love, hope and beauty.A h d J d k Ni k ll G b• At the end, Jordan asks Nick to allow Gatsby to reunite with Daisy at his home. It is a day that Gatsby has thought long and hard about.Gatsby has thought long and hard about.

Chapter 5Chapter 5• Gatsby offers to help Nick make extra

mone on the side and Nick t rns his do nmoney on the side and Nick turns his down, showing the immoral side of Gatsby

The DayThe Day• 1. This is when Gatsby and Daisy reunite. A day Gatsby has been

l i i hi i d f l i I i i i iplanning in his mind for a very long time. It is rainy, yet stops raining just at the right moment for Daisy to enter. Nick’s grass has been cut, and fresh flowers have been brought over by Gatsby to create the right

dmood.• a. Gatsby is a nervous as a schoolboy waiting for Daisy. When she

finally sees him , he knocks over the clock; symbolically stopping y , ; y y pp gtime.

• b. At first, Gatsby tries to make conversation, then tells Nick, “This is a terrible mistake ” Nick leaves to allow them time to reconnectis a terrible mistake. Nick leaves to allow them time to reconnect, returning and find that this has, indeed, happened. Gatsby has recovered his dream and seems “radiated” and full of exultation.c The scene overall has a sense of comedy to it; funny yet notc. The scene, overall, has a sense of comedy to it; funny yet not funny at the same time.

The Shirts

• The most tangible item Gatsby has to display his l h D i Sh h i fwealth to Daisy. She sees them as a sign of

affection, showing her extreme materialism.• a Gatsby has symbolically worn the gold hat at• a. Gatsby has symbolically worn the gold hat at

this moment. He bounced big, accumulating possessions for this moment, so that when Daisy sees them, she will cry out, “I must have you!” b. “They’re such beautiful shirts…It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such beautiful shirts ”sad because I’ve never seen such beautiful shirts.” The princess is astounded for once in her life.

The Green Light

• The symbol for Gatsby’s dream at the end of D i ’ d k G b ll D i h h hDaisy’s dock. Gatsby tells Daisy how he has watched the light as a symbol for his dream, and now the light has become only a light and nothingnow the light has become only a light and nothing more. Sometimes dreams are better left unfulfilled. There must have been moments, even th t ft h D i t bl d h t f hithat afternoon, when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams. Not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It has gone y gbeyond her; beyond everything.

Their Love• It is more beautiful more• It is more beautiful, more

intense, and finally, more painful. There is both joy p j yand sadness in a love as great as theirs. Klipspringer plays “Ain’t We Got Fun!” on the piano, creating dramatic irony for thedramatic irony for the moment, only because it is so different from what isso different from what is actually happening.

Chapter 6• Fitzgerald needs us the• Fitzgerald needs us, the

reader, to begin to feel a connection to Gatsby in ythis chapter, so he gives us a glimpse into his past. Up until this point, Nick has only been able to give us what he knowsto give us what he knows as the narrator.

G b ’ PGatsby’s Past• He was born James Gatz to poor North Dakota farmers. In p

order to receive an education, he had to become a janitor and consequently, he quits school after two weeks.

• a. As a boy, Gatsby dreamed of a better life, where all of his gaudy and bright fantasies would be fulfilled. He

d b lf dwanted to become a self-made man

Gatsby’s Past• b. Enter Dan Cody. Only he meets Jay Gatsby, not James

Gatz. Immediately, Gatsby emerges as a liar and a fraud to exude the image that he is someone else; someoneexude the image that he is someone else; someone important. Gatsby leaves his family to serve Dan Cody. Gatsby learns from Cody about the “the good life”, learns to avoid liquor and use others for their money. Eventually,to avoid liquor and use others for their money. Eventually, Gatsby’s inheritance would be taken away from him by Ella Kaye, one of Cody’s mistresses.

• c Nick states “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West• c. Nick states, The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his own platonic conception of himself. So, he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a 17 year old boy would like to invent and to thisa 17 year old boy would like to invent, and to this conception, he was faithful to the end.

The Visit• Nick finds Tom and the Sloan’s have dropped by to

see Gatsby. Tensions are high between Tom and Gatsby and Gatsby tells Tom that he knows DaisyGatsby, and Gatsby tells Tom that he knows Daisy. “Women run around too much these days to suit me…they meet all kinds of crazy fish,” sates Tom.y y

• a. Mr. Sloan invites Gatsby to dinner out of respect, but never assumes that he will accept. Not the proper thi t d i h hi h i lthing to do in such high circles.

• Tom discusses Gatsby’s lack of etiquette and poor taste Simply Gatsby would not know anytaste. Simply, Gatsby would not know any better not having grown up in that culture. Quite representative of the West Egg Culture.Quite representative of the West Egg Culture.

The Party• Gatsby and Daisy have continued to see each other

in private, trying to recapture what was lost. As a reader though we know that the past can never bereader, though, we know that the past can never be recaptured, and we find ourselves not totally trusting Daisy’s intentions.

a. Tom, Daisy, and Nick attend one of Gatsby’s parties. The events of the evening are told to us by Nick, but are seen through Daisy’s eyes.b. Tom and Daisy argue over where Gatsby’s money comes from, and Daisy defends him with a lie She capturesdefends him with a lie. She captures Gatsby’s essence more than Tom’s merciless truth.

The Partyc. At the end of the evening, Gatsby is saddened by the fact that he thinks Daisy did not have a good time. Nick states, “You can’t repeat the past.” Gatsby becomes furious and recantsGatsby becomes furious and recants, “Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!” We hear the desperation in

• Gatsby wants to ignore that life is a process of change. If only Daisy would tell Tom she never

his voice.

change. If only Daisy would tell Tom she never loved him, then time could stand still. Gatsby wants Daisy to satisfy his platonic image of hi lf d th id l lf hi h h i t dhimself and the ideal self, which he associated with his love for Daisy in Louisville in 1917.

Chapter 7• This chapter joins all major characters and

geographical locations of the novel together in a final catastrophe.

The Appointed Day

• Gatsby has fired all of his servants to prevent them from gossiping about he and Daisy, and consequently all parties have stopped becauseconsequently all parties have stopped because Daisy is back in his life. His home is now filled with Meyer Wolfshiem’s people, reinforcing his y p p , gcareer choice to the reader.

• Gatsby goes to lunch at Tom and Daisy’s where h t th i d ht d th lit f th ihe meets their daughter and the reality of their marriage hits Gatsby hard. The lunch is also where Tom sees the love between Daisy and Gatsby y G ysurface; tensions are high.

The Appointed DayN Y k t th f th f t ti j t lik thNew York sets the scene for the confrontation, just like the party in Chapter 2. Plus, the group must pass through the Valley of Ashes to get there, passing by all of those they V y g , p g y yhave forgotten. The eyes of T.J.Eckleberg are “..keeping vigil” as he mocks the characters feeble attempts to hide f th t th Th l th ti d thfrom the truth. The eyes alone see the corruption and the decadence beneath the gorgeous façade. Jordan, Tom, and Nick ride in Gatsby’s car and stop at Wilson’s garage for y p g gsome gas. Myrtle is locked in her room and mistakes Jordan for Daisy. George tells Tom that he has become aware what his wife has been doing behind his back and thus plans tohis wife has been doing behind his back, and thus plans to take them both out West. Tom’s world begins to collapse at this point.

The Appointed DayThe Appointed Day• They all meet at the Plaza Hotel where Tom y

confronts Gatsby about his Oxford days. Gatsby confronts Tom stating, “Your wife y gdoesn’t love you. She never loved you. She loves me.”

The Appointed DayThe Appointed Day• Gatsby and Tom both beg Daisy for her support GatsbyGatsby and Tom both beg Daisy for her support. Gatsby

wants Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him, and to deny the past. Tom points out “why, they’re things b i d h ’ll k hibetween Daisy and me that you’ll never know. Things that neither of us can ever forget.” Daisy now finds herself turning to Tom, while Tom begins to shredherself turning to Tom, while Tom begins to shred Gatsby’s dream with the unveiling of his drug storesand bootleg operations. Gatsby has officially lost Daisy because the security of a husband, unfaithful as he may be, means more than a romantic relationship with Gatsby The party is over Tom has won and NickGatsby. The party is over, Tom has won, and Nick realizes that it is his 30th birthday.

The Appointed Day

• While we identify with Gatsby, this is Nick’s novel, too. The novel of his growing , g gup like Gatsby growing up on Dan Cody’s yacht. The summer events have taught him y gabout life in a way that no school book ever could. The final phase of his education is plearning about death.

The MurderMichaelis, the Greek restaurant owner, tell us

how Myrtle was killed.• Locked in her room, she runs out in the street

only to be hit by a car coming from New York. y y gWe see her lying in the road, her mouth wide open, her “…left breast swinging loose like a p , g gflap.”

The M rderThe Murder• Fitzgerald wants to emphasize h di i li hher extraordinary vitality at the moment of her death and the desperate agony with which shedesperate agony with which she tried to hold onto life.

• Tom arrives with Jordan and• Tom arrives with Jordan and Nick, sees Myrtle, and is just as devastated as Wilson. Tom knowsdevastated as Wilson. Tom knows that Wilson saw Gatsby’s yellowcar and cannot imagine that Daisy g ymight have been driving.

The Aftermath• Nick has officially had it with the East and theNick has officially had it with the East and the

people who live there.• a. Gatsby waits in the bushes at the Buchanan’s y

home to see if Daisy is okay. He sends Nick over to check on her, and he sees Tom and Daisy eating together It is an ordinary domestic scene in sharptogether. It is an ordinary domestic scene in sharp contrast to the drama that surrounds them usually. Nick realizes they have accepted each other and that Gatsby has lost Daisy forever.

• Nick goes home and leaves Gatsby “standing there in the moonlight atching o er nothing ” Thein the moonlight, watching over nothing.” The dream is over.

Chapter 8Chapter 8• This chapter begins a few hours later. Nick

G b ’ h d li igoes to Gatsby’s house and listens to stories about his youth, his courtship of Daisy, and hi i f hhis experiences from the war.

Gatsby’s HouseGatsby s HouseHis memories of his past life with Daisy are romanticized p y

and perfect.a. Gatsby fell in love with Daisy, her house, and her

i l h h d hpossessions. Plus, the fact that everyone “wanted” her, increased her worth in his eyes. Regardless, he was a penniless man without a past and so he “committedpenniless man without a past, and so he committed himself to the following of a grail,” and made marrying Daisy his ultimate goal in life.

b. Daisy promised to wait for Gatsby until the war was over, but she knew nothing of his past and future plans. Her need for love attention and security drives her toHer need for love, attention, and security drives her to marry Tom.

The Autumn ChangegThe gardener informs Gatsby that he is going to drain the pool and Gatsby asks him to wait one more day so that p y yhe can use it at least one time.

• As Nick walks away, he yells to him “They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” We realize that at this moment why the novel is called The Great Gatsby Nick disapproves of Gatsbyis called The Great Gatsby. Nick disapproves of Gatsby from beginning to end. Disapproves of his vulgar materialism, his tasteless pink shirts, his connection

i h M W lf i hi l f h llwith Meyer Wolfseim, his love for a woman as shallowas Daisy, and his pathetic efforts to win her back by showing off what he has rather that who he is inside.showing off what he has rather that who he is inside. And yet, Gatsby is not part of the “foul dust” that is the Buchanans.

The Autumn Changeg

Hi i tibl d h thi d bl• His incorruptible dream has something pure and noble about it, which sets him apart from the others. Tom, Daisy and Jordan belong to the “rotten crowd” becauseDaisy, and Jordan belong to the rotten crowd because they are selfish, materialistic, and cruel. They are without spiritual values or compassion. Gatsby, on the p p ysurface, seems just as far away from beauty and grace. In reality, he is nothing more than a thug. And yet, in Ni k’ d h h i h h h lNick’s eyes, and perhaps ours, he is worth the whole damn bunch of them put together. If only because of his total dedication to living out his dream When the dreamtotal dedication to living out his dream. When the dream is gone, Gatsby has nothing else to live for.

The Murder CompleteThe Murder CompleteNick hears the story from Michaelis, the Greek

restaurant owner and the newspaper reports.• Wilson was up all night with Michaelis as the eyes

of Dr. Eckleberg “had just emerged, pale and enormous from the dissolving night into the morning sun ” To Wilson these are the all seeingmorning sun. To Wilson, these are the all-seeing, all-judging eyes of God.

The Murder CompleteThe Murder Complete• He decides to play God himself and avenge the

d f hi if h h i i dmurder of his wife, who he is convinced was killed by her lover.H t T d k h d i ll• He goes to Tom and asks who drives a yellow coupe. Tom explains it was Gatsby. Wilson goes to Gatsby’s home sees him lying in the pool on ato Gatsby s home, sees him lying in the pool on a raft, and then shoots Gatsby, followed by himself. The tragedy is complete.g y p

Final Thought

• “He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered y g g gas he found what a grotesque thing a rose is an how raw the sunlight was upon the g pscarcely created. A new world, material without being real, where poor ghosts, g , p g ,breathing dreams like air, drifted fortuitously about…”y

Final Thought• For Gatsby, the world is material without being real. It is something he can touch and g gsee and feel, yet is completely without meaning for him.g

• Gatsby lived too long with a single dream. Without it life has become absurd He wasWithout it, life has become absurd. He was already dead when Wilson shoots him, because his dream had diedbecause his dream had died.

Chapter 9Chapter 9• This chapter covers the period of time from

Gatsby’s death until Nick’s departure to theGatsby s death until Nick s departure to the Midwest the next autumn. It allows Fitzgerald to tie up any loose ends and sumFitzgerald to tie up any loose ends and sum up the final significance of the novel with a final poeticthe novel with a final poetic passage that has become one of the most famous inof the most famous in American Literature.

The Funeral• Nick tries to pull people together, but everyone has conveniently disappeared Only Owl Eyes comes to theconveniently disappeared. Only Owl Eyes comes to the funeral; the one man who “saw” Gatsby for what he was from the beginning.g g

• a. Mr. Gatz appears at the funeral. Like unto Christ, Gatsby has been scorned by the world and only his father

tseems to care.• Gatsby’s father has followed his career, and had a picture

of his house Mr Gatz shows Nick Gatsby’s dailyof his house. Mr. Gatz shows Nick Gatsby s daily schedule growing up. It reads like Ben Franklin’s almanac, and reminds us how deeply, even as a boy, he believed in h A i f G b hthe American Dream of success. Gatsby must have

believed that if you work hard, you can achieve all that you want. Is this true?

Nick’s Departure

• Nick ends his affair with Jordan rather apathetically because he cannot stand her Eastern attitude nor does he shake Tom’s hand when theyattitude, nor does he shake Tom’s hand when they meet on 5th Ave. Tom explains that he was the one who told Wilson that it was Gatsby’s car. Nick can yonly turn and walk away. The Buchanans are careless people who “smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into theircreatures, and then retreated back into their money…and let other people clean up the mess they made.” Nick does not want to become a careless person, so he returns to the Midwest.

The Final Passage• Nick’s final words transform the novel from the story of a small group of people at a moment of time to a portrait of

ti tian entire nation. • Gatsby believed in the dream, and Nick will always love

him for it But what Gatsby never understood is that thehim for it. But what Gatsby never understood is that the dream was already behind him, “somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of thevast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.”

The Final Passage• The Great Gatsby is not, then, just a book about the

1920s. It is a book about America, its promise, and the betrayal of that promise Throughout the bookbetrayal of that promise. Throughout the book, Fitzgerald has contrasted Gatsby the dreamer with the “foul dust” that preyed on his dream. The tragedy of ou dus a p eyed o s d ea . e agedy oGatsby is that he still dreams the dream, but that he is not wise enough or strong enough to see that Daisy is not worthy of his devotion, of his sacrifice.

• Nick steps back to see where Gatsby’s dream has gone wrong. And so, his education completed, he returns

h Mid b i hi d lto the Midwest to begin his new adult life.