The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is a quintessential novel of the Jazz Age, offering a critical social history of Prohibition-era America. The story unfolds in the summer of 1922 and is narrated by Nick Carraway, a young Midwesterner who moves to West Egg, Long Island, to work as a bond salesman. He becomes neighbors with the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby, a mysterious man known for his extravagant parties.

Across the bay in the more fashionable East Egg, Nick’s cousin Daisy Buchanan lives with her brutish and immensely rich husband, Tom. Nick also encounters Jordan Baker, a cynical and beautiful professional golfer and a friend of Daisy’s. As the summer progresses, Nick becomes increasingly drawn into the lives of his wealthy acquaintances, particularly Gatsby, who orchestrates a reunion with Daisy through Nick’s help.

Gatsby’s lavish lifestyle and relentless pursuit of Daisy are revealed to be driven by his desire to recapture the past and win her back, believing that his newfound wealth can erase the five years that have passed since their youthful romance. However, the rekindled affair exposes the underlying tensions and moral decay within the opulent society of the time. Tom’s discovery of the affair leads to a dramatic confrontation, revealing the illicit source of Gatsby’s fortune and the shallowness of Daisy’s character.

Tragedy strikes when Daisy, driving Gatsby’s car, accidentally kills Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress. Gatsby takes the blame to protect Daisy. Myrtle’s ¹ distraught husband, George, mistakenly believes Gatsby was Myrtle’s lover and murders him before taking his own life.  

In the aftermath, Gatsby’s dream and the illusions of the other characters are shattered. The novel concludes with Nick’s disillusionment with the wealthy elite and his poignant reflection on Gatsby’s dream and the corrupted American Dream. The Great Gatsby stands as a powerful commentary on the pursuit of wealth, the yearning for the unattainable past, and the social stratification and moral ambiguity of the Jazz Age.