Summary of The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald - Book Report/Review Example

The Great Gatsby ntroduction Written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American author, The Great Gatsby is a fictional novel whose plot follows lives of a number of character in a fictional town in Long Island. The author of the novel explores a number of thematic issues and uses a number of strategic literary techniques. His artistic use of the various literary techniques succeeds in developing a realistic plot that has a number of conflicts as the discussion below portrays. Plot The plot of the novel begins when Nick Caraway takes a job as a bond salesperson in New York. The Yale graduate and a veteran of the First World War narrates his experiences. Nick rents a flat in a wealthy neighborhood in West egg and lives next to Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, a young wealthy man throws lavish parties every so often. Nick begins his life in West Egg by going out for dinner in East Egg where his cousin Daisy Buchanan stays with her husband, Tom. At the dinner, Nick meets the beautiful and contemptuous Jordan Baker and the two initiate a romantic relationship. As the relationship between Nick and Baker thrives so does a number of other romantic relationships and affairs that are the core conflicts in the plot (Batchelor, 2013) Nick gets closer to Gatsby and he learns of his life and motives for throwing the party. Gatsby loves Daisy Buchanan. The two meet and rekindle their love affair to the chagrin of Tom, Daisy’s husband. Tom learns of his wife’s relationship with Gatsby and expresses his disappointment. However, Tom is also having an affair. The novel ends tragically with the death of a number of characters. Daisy drives from Nick’s house after the confrontation with her husband and runs over Myrtle, Tom’s mistress thereby killing her. Unfortunately, she does so while driving Gatsby’s car. When George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband learns of this, he confronts Gatsby believing that his wife was having an affair with him. George kills Gatsby before he kills himself. Nick organizes a small funeral for his friend, Gatsby before he returns to his hometown in the Midwest. Main characters The main characters in the novel include Nick Carraway. Nick is the narrator in the story. He moves from Minnesota in the Midwest after finding a job in New York. Nick possesses the best qualities that make him the most appropriate narrator of the conflict. He introduces himself in the first chapter by explaining that he is open minded, a good listener, quiet and tolerant. Furthermore, his life is less dramatic thereby providing him with an opportunity to observe and report the developments in each of the other characters’ lives objectively. Jay Gatsby is a wealthy and aloof man whose history provides a background of abject poverty. However, he succeeds in amassing massive wealth through organized crimes. He plays an integral role in the plot thus influencing the name of the novel. The conflict in the novel revolves around Gatsby’s mysterious life with the author of the novel presenting him as a relentless individual as he pursues Daisy Buchanan and wealthy, two great things that embody happiness to him (Bruccoli, 2000). While at first he appears aloof and cannot approach Daisy, Gatsby is a sociable, good hearted and loyal man who relates to other characters in the plot appropriately. Daisy Buchanan is another integral character in the plot. The conflict in the story revolves around Buchanan, the beautiful woman from Kentucky. Buchanan loves material luxury, money and ease. She loves Nick, her cousin and Gatsby whom she loves sincerely. However, she is loyal to her husband, Tom. She is equally uncaring since she treats her daughter as an afterthought. Her character traits position her strategically in the plot thus making the conflict realistic and natural. Themes Among the major themes in the novel is sociology of wealth. The author divides the fictional Egg into West Egg and East Egg with the West Egg comprising of newly rich individuals while the East comprises of old nobilities. Gatsby who embodies the lifestyle of the newly rich is vulgar, lacks social graces and is ostentatious. This differs from the life of Tom and Daisy from East Egg who do not pick on subtle social signals. They maintain a modest and peaceful lifestyle. The differences between West Egg and East Egg show the differences in old money, new money and no money. Furthermore, the theme success in portraying the hollowness of the upper middle class of the 1920s in the United States. The American dream is yet another significant theme in the novel with the author striving to prove the corruption of the American dream. The plot shows that hard work yields success as Gatsby, a boy born and brought up in abject poverty succeeds in amassing wealth. However, Gatsby’s lifestyle and engagement in crime shows that Americans care about getting rich and they will employ whatever tactic to achieve this. Furthermore, the level of immorality in the plot shows how the wealth corrupts the characters in the novel. Life thrived in America’s 1920s. The end of the First World War brought good tidings for the American people among other leading economies. F. Scott Fitzgerald strives to capture this in the novel with the roaring twenties being a significant theme in the plot. Gatsby holds lavish parties every so often since he can easily afford to. The characters live lavishly and engage in endless parties coupled with endless series of romantic affairs (Bloom, 2010). Narrative strategies F. Scott Fitzgerald employs the first person narration technique. The author develops an appropriate character who tells the story from his point of view. As explained earlier, Nick describes himself as the most appropriate character to narrate the story owing to his observant and less scandalous lifestyle. As such, the author tells the story by allowing Nick to describe his experiences and role in the conflict in the plot as he relates to the other characters. The narration technique is appropriate since it heightens the action in the plot (Gross & Gross, 1998). Nick for example is an active participant in the development of the conflict. He for example arranges and enables Gatsby to meet Buchanan. He enjoys a cordial relationship with both the Buchanan, his cousin and Gatsby his neighbor. This way, he has the opportune placement to narrate the story and even organize a burial for his friend, Gatsby after he dies. Style and techniques Besides the overriding first person narration technique, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a number of other literary techniques and styles in telling the story. Among the most evident of such is delayed introduction of characters. The author takes his time before he introduces some of his integral characters in the plot. This provides the audiences with the chance to understand the development of the story besides building anxiety. He for example delays the introduction of Jay Gatsby and when he finally does, he presents Gatsby as an aloof and enigmatic host of equally mysteries parties. The technique is appropriate in introducing Gatsby since it portrays his approach to life having worked hard and engaged in crime in order to succeed in life. He even changes his name (Fitzgerald, 2012). As the plot progresses, Gatsby proves to be an aggressive and hardworking though unscrupulous man. Another equally integral style is dialogue as the narrator captures his conversations with other characters. Additionally, the narrator provides real life discussions among other characters. Dialogue is an appropriate style that enhances the plot by breaking the monotony of reading blocky paragraphs. Furthermore, the style provides an appropriate understanding of each of the characters thus making it easy for an audience to analyze the roles and traits of every character in the plot. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to build realistic conflicts in the plot. Among the major symbols in the novel is a car. Cars symbolize wealth, speed and are the pinnacle of opulence. Gatsby drives a number of flashy cars while Tom and Daisy drive a Rolls Royce some of the world’s finest brand of cars. Later in the plot, Daisy uses a car as a tool of destruction when she runs over Myrtle thus killing her. Gatsby’s pool is yet another symbol in the novel. The pool symbolizes communion since numerous people use his pool for a number of reasons. They rejoice and celebrate when they learn of Gatsby’s death. The celebrations symbolize the level of emptiness in the society (Balakian, 1984). Conclusion In retrospect, F. Scott Fitzgerald developed a realistic plot in the novel by addressing a number of appropriate thematic issues that he observed in his 1920s American society. The novel provided him with an opportunity to criticize the developments of his society as he places himself strategically in the plot through Nick. He describes the developments by creating realistic conflicts among the various characters. He creates realistic characters whom he assigns effective personality traits thereby succeeding in advancing his thesis. Furthermore, he uses appropriate narration and literary techniques that succeed in developing a number of conflicts that sustains the story to completion. First person narration heightens the action since the narrator has a firsthand experience of the action. Other styles help in improving the conflicts. References Balakian, A. (1984). The Symbolist Movement in the Literature of European Languages. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. Batchelor, B. (2013). Gatsby: The Cultural History of the Great American Novel. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Bloom, H. (2010). F. Scott Fitzgerald's the Great Gatsby. New York: OUP. Bruccoli, M. J. (ed). (2000). F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby: A Literary Reference. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. Fitzgerald, F. S. (2012). The Great Gatsby. Lisboa : Atlântico Press. Gross, D., & Gross, M. J. (1998). Understanding The great Gatsby: A student casebook to issues, sources, and historical documents. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. Read More