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09/04/y 12:29
Great Gatsby Notes
Englishmedia
...
uk
For Chapter 1
Nick Carraway
Significance: tells facts from his point of view
...

Past: He is physically able, intelligent and rather rich
...

Present: He has decided to move East to be a stock broker
...

His cousin Daisy lives in East Egg
...

Present: Cheats on wife, racist rants; very condescending and arrogant; quite aggressive
(alpha male)
...

Past: Comes from a wealthy background;
Present: Has a child; feels rather distant from her child
...

What other characters say/think about them

Significance
of role
Nick
Caraway

Plays the
role of
serving as
some sort of
foe to
Gatsby
because

Past

Present

He plays the
role of the
narrator and
tells us the
story from
his point of
view
...


“one of the most
powerful ends that ever
played football in New
Haven”
...


Daisy
Buchanan

Jay
Gatsby
Jordan
Baker
Myrle
Wilson

Use of colours, images, and metaphors,
- the crimson room bloomed with light

He was a
football
player
and
made a
fortune
in
business

He is a
very rich
but
arrogant
man who
cheats on
his wife
...


She is the
wife of
Tom
Buchanan

Seen as a
lightheaded,
innocent foolish
girl
...
A “breeze blew through the room” !

6! B
4! A
3! D
1! C
2 !E

“ a fantastic farm” ! the alliteration in ‘f’ serves to emphasize just how marvellous the farm
is and how pleasant it is, yet a small tone of irony might be heard in this description
...

“ Ash grey men” work their and this raises “an impenetrable cloud which screens their
operations from your sight” ! the world impenetrable emphasizes just how prison like the
setting is
...

“Small foul river” ! gives an air of un-interestingness to the river
...


Statement A : Tom is morally blind and betraying
...

Statement B:
Nick and Gatsby seem to be very similar men in the beginning and as we discover through
their discussions seem to get along pretty well
...
However, Tom Buchanan being described as a horrible arrogant rich man, Nick
might feel that a sense of morality would be restored if Gatsby were to “steal” Dais from

Tom
...


The garage: unprosperous and bare, shadow
George Wilson: faintly handsome, blond, spiritless, anaemic, light blue eyes, as if he were a
ghost, dark gleam of hope,
Myrtle Wilson: Dark blue eyes, middle thirties, smouldering, faintly shout, sensuously,
vitality
b) The party
Myrtle’s sister Catherine : trying to be something she is not
...

Mr Chester McKee: A photographer, pale and feminine
...
He is in the artistic game
...
Is more active than her husband, but yet
less dominant
...

Technique

Example

Comment

Simile

« came and went like moths
amon the whisperings and
the champagne of the stars »
« station wagon scampered
like a brisk yellow bug »

People are like insects and
are uncontrollably attracted
to Gatsby’s parties
...
»

Repetition of pronouns

« I watched his guests …his
raft … his beach … his …
his two motorboats
...
A) Gossip about him
- Cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm
- Killed a man
- Made his fortune in the oil industry
B) What Nick says about him
- He is a one of a kind man due to his sheer kindness and mannerisms such as calling
everyone “old sport”
...

- Has fought in the war and has been awarded a medal of honour
- Says he was educated in oxford
2
...
Why?
Gatsby seems to be quite an ambiguous character
...
Though he is a very
educated and posh gentleman, he shows bursts of anger against Tom which frighten Daisy
and unveil an uncontrollable violence within him
...
Passage analysis
Still learning about Gatsby : this passage reveals very relevant information about Gatsby
...
Though some element seem straightforward for Gatsby : ”simply the
proprietor of an elaborate roadhouse next door”, he is worried in other regards : “what’s your
opinion of me anyhow” ! concerned of what others think about him to have an idea of what
Daisy might think of him
...
” ! creates mystery around Gatsby making the reader want
to learn even more about his background and his current issues
...
Is also a way of
diminishing those to whom he talks ; Nick’s name is never pronounced by Gatsby
...
Has few things to say yet many things to show,
many things to impress Daisy amongst his many possessions (like his manor and his car)
...
Searches to impress and confirm Nick’s (and
implicitly the readers and Daisy’s) admiration
...

Description of the car is extremely complex with much detail showing Gatsby’s vast
resources
...


“You’re having lunch with me” shows Gatsby’s dominant and confident tone as he
continuously says everything in an affirmative manner
...
He is restless ! efforts of trying to win back Daisy
...

“I’d seen it, everybody had seen it”: shows Gatsby’s power and how he exposes the things he
owns to others
...

Gatsby expert
Daisy
Wolfshein: pronunciation and cufflings (human molar)
Gatsby
John Green
Is Gatsby great?

1
...
And so Gatsby is nervous, he tells Tom that he knows Daisy, his wife
...

This passage is during the party, Gatsby tells Nick to look around because famous people are
here
...
It starts with “Tom was
evidently perturbed by Daisy running around alone” and ends with “in fact, I was just
thinking I don’t know a soul around here”
...
Thesis – Why the passage is important in the work as a whole
L:
This passage shows once again Gatsby is trying to please his love with material
luxury
...

A:
It’s also the first real sense of confrontation between Tom and Gatsby, the subject
being Daisy
...
Detailed analysis
P:-Tom creates opposition with Gatsby, with the words “don’t know” “don’t go”, he’s
staying negative
...
We don’t know for sure if Tom knows for
sure that Daisy has an affair with Gatsby
...

L:-Gatsby and Tom are in denial of each other ! for example by being arrogant : “ Tom’s
arrogant eyes roamed the crowd”
...
So the reader understands that the atmosphere is full of tension,
while it foreshadows the future clash between the two protagonists
...

A:-We also see that Daisy is a sort of trophy that must be won by Gatsby or Tom
...
Then

1
...
Ominous signs?
Lights areout, no more parties, cars come and go quickly, everybody familiar is gone
b
...
Breeze is not natural unlike chapter 1
...

Girls are no longer idols

2
...
Parallels between this scene and chapter 1
when Nick goes to Buchanan for the first time
...
Thought Tom was …

What view view does he have of youth and getting older
Negative view of his birthday: “menacing road”, “new decade” + he adds dramatic effect to
his birthday: “no… I just remembered it’s my birthday”
...
“promise of a decade of loneliness”: he is very pessimistic, he
realizes he is no longer young
...
a) How can we see that Nick is disgusted by the night’s events
b) Comment on Gatsby’s impression
c) How does the end of the chapter suggest that Gatsby is no longer relevant in their (Tom
and Daisy) lives

2
...
How did their love affair break up?
“ he knew that daisy was extraordinary”
...

“Her porch was bright with the bought luxury of star shine” ! shows superficiality of Daisy
...
+ “
many men had already loved Daisy, it increased value in his eyes”
...


- Their love affair starts breaking up in the first argument with Tom when Gatsby asks Daisy
to admit her love for him in front of Tom
...

- Daisy also seems quite uncertain of what she should do when Gatsby pushes her to leave
Tom and come live with him
...


4
...
Pick out elements to
show that this visit left him with a feeling of failure (p
...


1) Nick’s romanticising of Gatsby is an important part of the meaning of the novel
True
...

“He literally glowed
“Radiated from him”
“Twinkle bells of sunshine”
“Recurrent light”
2) Nick is an even more interesting and enigmatic character than Gatsby
False
...
Nick does not seem to be such an interesting character; he
does not make it feel that way as all of the attention is constantly focused on Gatsby as Nick
is the narrator and does not have a narcissistic personality
...

True
...

4) All first-person narratives are partial
...

True, because we get the opinion of the narrator but not only the different actions that
happen
...
He’s just a person trying to understand a complex
set of events and personalities
...
Nick is limited by what he sees, hears and witnesses
...

6) Nick’s blind spots, particularly about himself, are techniques Fitzgerald uses to create and
convey the character of his narrator
...

Yes, because he admires Gatsby and so makes him greater then most of other narrators like
Tom, Daisy or even an external narrator would have been
...


False because the story still has a meaning in the reader’s mind even if we know that it isn’t a
true story
...
It is only after reading that doubt creeps up
...
Although this question obviously strongly depends of which reader is answering the
question, I truly believe that Nick’s story of summer of 1922 is strongly emphasized and that
the reader should still be hesitant towards all of the information that is being directed at him
...

Daisy as the third character of this group very naïve who seems to ignore what is going
between the two of them
...


Gatsby’s  story  –  make  a  list  of  things  we  learn  from  his  past  
 
-­‐  Saved  Dan  Cody’s  ship  from  wrecking  
-­‐  We  learn  about  his  relationship  with  Dan  Cody  and  how  everything  he  knows  was  
taught  by  him
...
 
-­‐  Real  name  is  James  Gatz
...
 
-­‐  From  North  Dakota  with  poor  parents
...
 Comment  
a
...
 What  does  this  mean  ?  

This  shows  a  self  centred  verison  of  Gatsby  who  loves  himself  and  is  obsessed  with  his  
image
...
 
Faggotini  for  dinner  +  chicken  faggits  sauce  for  desert  =gay  meal  
b
...
 Why  does  Nick  tell  Gatsby’s  story  now  ?  
It  might  seem  more  appropriate  to  tell  Gatsby’s  story  once  we  know  him  a  little  better  
and  might  not  judge  him
...
 This  way  we  know  
about  Gatsby’s  past  situation,  his  present  and  do  not  judge  him  on  described  actions  but  
as  a  whole,  as  a  person  with  history  and  ambitions
...
 Tom  visits  Gatsby’s  mansion))  pages  98-­‐100
...
 Why  
do  you  think  so  ?  
Tom  and  his  friends  are  probably  quite  jealous  of  Gatsby’s  situation  who  throws  
voluptuous  parties  and  is  the  topic  of  gossip  in  everybody’s  mouth
...
 Gatsby’s  father  
 
Comment:    
 
“He  wanted  to  get  ahead”  
a
...
 It  shows  that  
finally,  the  only  person  that  knows  him  well  is  his  dad,  and  it  reminds  us  that  he  is  from  
a  poor  background
...
   
 
b
...
 He  was  only  a  young  man  but  had  a  lot  of  
brain  power”
...
 

  
-­‐-­‐-­‐-­‐  
“Copy  of  a  book  called  Hopalong  Cassidy”  (book  he  had  when  he  was  a  kid)
...
   
 
c
...
 
-­‐  Wallet  with  a  photograph  of  the  house
...
 “Jimmy  sent  it  to  me
...
”  
 
“He  pointed  out  every  detail  to  me  eagerly  and  then  sought  admiration  from  my  eyes”
...
 
 
 
 
Nick  judges  people;  
 Information  is  given  in  fragments;  
Gatsby’s  link  with  organized  crime;  
 
 
 
-­‐  Desire  to  make  the  scene  more  memorable  and  dramatic:  “  I  looked  around”
...
 
-­‐  Use  of  pathetic  fallacy  with  presence  of  “thick  drizzle”  !  also  contributes  to  making  
passage  more  dramatic
...
   
-­‐  “The  rain  poured  down”:  the  adjective  “pouring”    might  remind  the  reader  of  Gatsby’s  
assignation  with  sensorial  imagery  (we  can  image  the  blood  pouring  down  Gatsby’s  
dead  body  and  spreading  through  the  pool)
...
 
-­‐  “I  tried  to  think  of  Gatsby  then  for  moment”    “but  he  was  already  to  far  away”  !  deep  
regret  of  Gatsby’s  death
...
 
-­‐  Importance  of  judgement:  “horribly  black”  
-­‐    
 
 Themes:  
-­‐  Aspirations  and  the  American  Dream  
-­‐  The  power  of  money  
-­‐  Appearance  and  reality  
-­‐  Artificiality  
-­‐  Dream  and  Reality  
-­‐  Class,  status,  wealth  
-­‐  Identity  
-­‐  Perception  
-­‐  The  past  and  nostalgia  
-­‐  Love  and  desire  



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