thegreatgatsby解析

The Great Gatsby

解析

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The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Setting: The story takes place during the 1920's, there are four major settings:

1. 2. 3. 4.

East egg West Egg

The valley of ashes New York City.

The West Egg is the \"less fashionable\" side of Long Island where Gatsby and Nick live. The East Egg is the \"fashionable\" side of Long Island where the Buchanans and other \"old money\" people live. The Valley of Ashes is the desolate wasteland where the Wilsons live. New York City is a symbol of what America has become in the 1920's : a place where anything goes, where money is made and bootleggers flourish, and where the World Series can be fixed by a man such as Meyer Wolfsheim.

Background Information:

Nick Carraway, the narrator is a young midwesterner who, having graduated from Yale, had fought in World War I and returned home to begin a career. He decides to move east to New York and learn the bond business. The novel opened early in the summer of 1922 in West Egg, Long Island where Nick has rented a house. Next to his house is a huge mansion which belongs to Mr. Gatsby. Before leaving the Midwest, Nick's father tells Nick not to be quick to judge. Nick believes his father means never to judge at all. That created a problem. In the 1920's money was very abundant. This was known as \"the golden age.\" People were very materialistic during this time period. The wealthy families in the novel such as Gatsby or the Buchanans, were always trying to impress rather than trying to be themselves. This was a period of drinking, partying, and endless talk, which was best portrayed by the Buchanans. They seem to be very self-centered people who couldn't give up a bit of the \"ritzy\" life to take care of their own child.

Major Characters:

Nick Carraway - The narrator of the novel; moves from the Midwest to New York to learn the bond business.

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Jay Gatsby - Lives next to Nick in a mansion; throws huge parties, complete with catered food, open bars, and orchestras; people come from everywhere to attend these parties, but no one seems to know much about the host. Daisy Buchanan - Shallow girl who is the emodiment of Gatsby's dreams; she was going to marry Gatsby but he went off to war.

Tom Buchanan- Husband of Daisy; a cruel man who lives life irresponsibly. Jordan Baker - A cynical and conceited woman who cheats in golf; wants Nick to go out with her.

Myrtle Wilson - Tom has an affair with this married woman, and then abandons her after he become bored with her.

Plot Summary: Nick Carraway having graduated from Yale and fought in World

War I, has returned home to begin a career. He is restless and has decided to move to New York to learn the bond business. The novel opens early in the summer of 1922 in West Egg, Long Island, where Nick has rented a house. Next to his place is the Gatsby's mansion.

Tom and Daisy Buchanan live in East Egg. Daisy is Nick's cousin and Tom had been in the same senior society at Yale. They invite Nick to dinner at their mansion, and he meets a young woman golfer named Jordan Baker, whom Daisy wants Nick to be interested in. During dinner the phone rings, and when Tom and Daisy leave the room, Jordan informs Nick that the caller is Tom's woman from New York.

Myrtle Wilson, Tom's woman, lives is a section of Long Island known as the Valley of Ashes. In the Valley of Ashes is George Wilson's garage. Painted on a large billboard nearby is a fading advertisment for an optician with the eyes of a Doctor looking over them with a pair of glasses.

One day Tom takes Nick to meet the Wilsons. The party breaks up when Myrtle starts using Daisy's name, and Tom breaks her nose with a blow of his open hand. Several weeks later Nick is invited to one of Gatsby's elaborate parties. Nick watches Gatsby and notices that he does not drink or join in the revelry of the party. At a luncheon with Nick in New York, Gatsby tells Nick that he graduated from Oxford. During lunch Gatsby introduces Nick to his business associate, Meyer Wolfsheim, who fixed the World Series in 1919.

At tea that afternoon Nick finds out the Gatsby wants Nick to arrange a date

between him and Daisy. Gatsby had loved Daisy five years ago, but he had been sent oversees by the army. Daisy had given up waiting for him and had married Tom. Gatsby decides to win Daisy back and his first step is to buy a house in West Egg. His house is across the bay from Daisy's house, and he can see a green light at the end of Daisy's dock. It represents his hope.

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Gatsby and Daisy meet for the first time in five years, and he tries to impress her with his mansion and his wealth. Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, Nick and Jordan go into the city where the truth is revealed about Gatsby and Daisy. Daisy will not go away with Gatsby and the five year dream is over. Gatsby and Daisy go home together in a yellow Rolls Royce. On the way home they get into a car accident in which Myrtle was killed. Gatsby will take the blame for Daisy who was driving. George Wilson shoots Gatsby and then kills himself.

Not many people showed to Gatsby's funeral except Nick, Mr. Gatz, and a few servants. Nick returns to his home town.

Themes:

1. Hope - represented by the light across the bay that Gatsby was fixated on. It was the embodiment of his sole goal in life, which was a reunification with Daisy.

2. Success - Gatsby felt that the only way he would win Daisy was through his money.

3. Ignorance - The characters have little self-knowledge and even less knowledge of each other.

4. Judgement - Nick misinterprets the advice of his father and tries not to judge people.

5. Disillusionment - Gatsby dreams of getting back together with Daisy even though she is married and has a daughter.

6. Morals - The morals of people with great wealth seem to be less than desirable, but many times are more socially accepted than lower classes.

Key Issues:

Success - Gatsby uses a corrupt form of the American dream to acquire the wealth he thinks he needs to win back Daisy. Tom and Daisy must have a huge house, a stable of polo ponies, and friends in Europe. Gatsby must have his enormous

mansion before he can feel confident enough to win Daisy. The energy that might have gone into the pursuit of noble goals has been channeled into the pursuit of power and pleasure, and a very showy, but fundementally empty form of success. Gatsby had been in love with Daisy for a long while. He tried every way that money could buy to try to satisfy his love and lust for Daisy. Instead of confronting her with his feelings, he tried to get her attention by throwing big parties with high hopes that she might possibly show up. Gatsby was actually a very lonesome and unhappy man who lived in a grand house and had extravagant parties. He did it all for one woman, who initially was impressed with his flagrant show of wealth. Daisy was extremely disenchanted after she found out how Gatsby had aquired his fortune.

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Morals - The characters in this novel live for money and were controlled by money. Love and happiness cannot be bought, no matter how much money was spent. Tom and Daisy were married and even had a child, but they both still committed adultery. Daisy was with Gatsby and Tom was with Myrtle. They tried to find happiness with their lovers, but the risk of changing their lifestyles was not worth it. They were not happy with their spouses but could not find happiness with their lovers. Happiness cannot be found or bought. Daisy lost her love and respect for Gatsby when she found out he was a bootlegger. Tom, after having an affair himself was angry about Daisy's affair. Hypocrisy tends to be a trait in the very rich.

Hope - Gatsby bought a house in West Egg, in the hopes that he would win Daisy back. He did this so that he could look across the bay to the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He expected her to turn up at one of his parties, and when she didn't, he asked Jordan to ask Nick to ask Daisy. Fitzgerald stresses the need for hope and dreams to give meaning and purpose to man's efforts. Striving towards some ideal is the way by which man can feel a sense of involvment, a sense of his own identity. Fitzgerald goes on to state that the failure of hopes and dreams, the failure of the American dream itself, is unavoidable, not only because reality cannot keep up with ideals, but also because the ideals are in any case usually too fantastic to be realized. Gatsby is naive, impractical and oversentimental. It is this which makes him attempt the impossible, to repeat the past. There is something pitiful and absurd about the way he refuses to grow up.

Lessons/Morals/Applications:

1. Money cannot buy happiness. 2. You cannot relive the past.

3. If dreams are too fantastic, and reality cannot keep up with ideals they are usually not fulfilled.

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