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Esther Wei

Mrs. Heerema

English 3

24 December 2014

The Pursuit of the American Dream

The American Dream originated in the early days of the American settlement, with the mostly poor immigrants searching for new opportunities. It was first manifested in the Declaration of Independence, which describes an attitude of hope. In the book The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s dream can be identified with the American dream since he worked hard to rise from the rags, tried to win Daisy’s love with his wealth, and remained steadfast to his dream of the pursuit of happiness throughout the novel.

When Gatsby was young, he was unwilling to be a poor man, so he wanted to work

hard to be wealthy. Gatsby was born in James Gatz on a North Dakota farm. Although he attended college at St. Olaf’s in Minnesota, he dropped out after two weeks, and loathed the humiliating janitorial work by means of which he paid his tuition. He worked on Lake Superior the next summer fishing for salmon and digging for clams. In Chapter VI, a young reporter from New York asked Gatsby if he had something to say, and Gatsby replied, “James Gatz--that was really, or at least legally, his name. He had changed it at the age of seventeen and at the specific moment that witnessed the beginning of his career” (Fitzgerald 31). It was not

revealed until this chapter, more than halfway through the novel, that “Gatsby” was not his real name. David Parker, in his essay, mentioned that “Gatsby makes no sincere attempts to reveal his family name, instead hiding it from society; his former, legal title appears as invisible as his servants.” Moreover, Nick thinks that Gatsby did not like his family either, saying, “I suppose

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he’d had the name ready for a long time, even then. His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people — his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all” (Fitzgerald

33). Just like the American dream of self-made success, Gatsby was eventually able to distance himself from the “unsuccessful farm people,” who were his parents, and he also shook off poverty through hard work.

Later on, Gatsby became a sailor. Before he went off to fight, he met Daisy for the first time and fell in love with her. However, he knew that he was just a poor soldier and could not marry Daisy because like Daisy said to Gatsby in the movie, “Rich girls don't marry poor boys” (Clayton). Gatsby realized that he had to be rich to win Daisy’s love. He started to find opportunities to make money. Abby Warlock mentioned the process of Gatsby’s success:

“While sailing with his mentor Dan Cody, Gatsby learned to speak and act like a well educated gentleman. This allowed him to keep a reputation as a member of high society and reach people who would not have normally had access to” (Warlock). With his ability to make

friends all over the city, Gatsby became immensely valuable to the criminal underworld, where he sold bootlegged alcohol and made a lot of money. Later, after the war, when Gatsby was going to meet Daisy again, he was very nervous. He continually doubted his decision saying, ““This is a terrible mistake,” he said, shaking his head from side to side, “a terrible, terrible mistake”” (Fitzgerald 69). He knew that Daisy had married Tom, who was a wealthy man. Gatsby was a single-minded man with an obsession over Daisy. Just like David Parker said, “Gatsby is no less tenacious, loving Daisy unswervingly for five years despite their separation and her marriage. When the prospect of reunion is near, his demand is that she should say to her husband, 'I never loved you', no less” (Parker). Gatsby’s love to Daisy was so deep and strong that he would do anything for Daisy in order to win Daisy’s love. A part of the

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American dream is to do anything a person can do to achieve his or her dream, just like Gatsby did. When he came back from the war and found out Daisy had married Tom, Gatsby did not care about what the consequence was if he took Daisy from Tom. His only dream at that time was to get Daisy’s love back with his wealth.

Although the environment had changed after Gatsby came back from the war, he

remained steadfast to his dream of Daisy’s love. After he came back from the war, he knew that Daisy had married, but he did not give up. He even asked Nick to invite Daisy to his house in order to come close to Daisy again. When Daisy met with Gatsby, “he hadn't once ceased looking at Daisy, and [Nick thought] he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (Fitzgerald 67). Gatsby stared at Daisy as if the whole world disappeared, and only the two of them existed, prancing through fields and ignoring the imminent destruction of the universe. His love to Daisy was so deep that even though the environment had changed, and the people around him had changed, his love still remained as strong as before. In Chapter XII, Daisy's carelessness and stupidity eventually lead to the death of Myrtle Wilson, and Gatsby was forced to leave the scene of the accident and hide the fatal car simply to protect Daisy's fragile nerves. His decision to take responsibility for Myrtle's death revealed that Gatsby’s love for Daisy was very strong and would never change even if it meant risking his life. He remained true to his dream of Daisy’s love although Daisy was a criminal. His steadfastness can be identified with the American dream because even though the environment had changed, his dream never changed.

The ideal of the American Dream is based on the fantasy that an individual can achieve success regardless of family history, race, or religion simply by working hard enough.

Frequently, “success” is equated with the idea that the independent, self-reliant individual can

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win. Although Gatsby’s dream failed in the end, he could still be identified with the American dream because of his hard work, strong love and steadfastness.

Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. The Great Gatsby. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2003. Print.

Parker, David. "The Great Gatsby: Two Versions of the Hero." Quoted as "The Great Gatsby: Two Versions of the Hero" in Bloom, Harold, ed. The Great Gatsby, Bloom's Modern Critical

Interpretations. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2003 Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 24 Dec. 2014.

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The Great Gatsby, Jack Clayton, David Merrick, Francis Ford Coppola, Newton Productions, 1974, Film. 24 Dec. 2014.

Warlock, Abby H. P., ed. "The Great Gatsby." The Facts On File Companion to the American Novel. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 24

Dec. 2014 .

 

第二篇：on the great gatsby

my questions:

who is the real gatsby? (what did he do in life and how did he get to where he is today?)

who is responsible for gastby's death?

why does the narrator say about gatsby? why did he like gatsby?

----- times in the movie that talks about this. the dialogue.

Who is Gatsby?

26:30 other people

1:40 Tom

36:30 Gatsby talks about himself

1:08 real story

What does Gatsby think about the past?

1:20:20 saying no to the past

1:21:40 Jay and Daisy's Past

What is Gatsby giving up when he kisses Daisy?

1:21:40

The great Gatsby

you have a machine in which you could go to any point in the book and you are allowed to interact with one character but no one and nothing else? how you save Gatsby life?

why does nick admire Gatsby so much more than the rest?

What is Gatsby giving up when he kisses her? Why?

how can George wilson be said to symbolize the american dream?

Suggested Essay Questions

Analyze Fitzgerald's conception of the American Dream. Does he view it as totally dead, or is it possible to revive it?

Is Nick a reliable narrator? How does his point of view color the reality of the novel, and what facts or occurences would he have a vested interest in obscuring?

Trace the use of the color white in the novel. When does it falsify a sense of innocence? When does it symbolize true innocence?

Do a close reading of the description of the "valley of ashes." How does Fitzgerald use religious imagery in this section of the novel?

What does the green light symbolize to Gatsby? To Nick?

How does Fitzgerald juxtapose the different regions of America? Does he write more positively about the East or the Midwest?

What is the distinction between East and West Egg? How does one bridge the gap between the two?

In what ways are Wilson and Gatsby similar? Disimilar? Who is Nick more sympathetic to?

How does Fitzgerald treat New York City? What is permissible in the urban space that is taboo on the Eggs?

Is Tom most responsible for Gatsby's death? Daisy? Myrtle? Gatsby himself? Give reasons why or why not each character is implicated in the murder.

The Great Gatsby Summary

While The Great Gatsby is a highly specific portrait of American society during the Roaring Twenties, its story is also one that has been told hundreds of times, and is perhaps as old as America itself: a man claws his way from rags to riches, only to find that his wealth cannot afford him the privileges enjoyed by those born into the upper class. The central character is Jay Gatsby, a wealthy New Yorker of indeterminate occupation. Gatsby is primarily known for the lavish parties he throws each weekend at his ostentatious Gothic mansion in West Egg. He is suspected of being involved in illegal bootlegging and other underworld activities.

The narrator, Nick Carraway, is Gatsby's neighbor in West Egg. Nick is a young man from a prominent Midwestern family. Educated at Yale, he has come to New York to enter the bond business. In some sense, the novel is Nick's memoir, his unique view of the events of the summer of 1922; as such, his impressions and observations necessarily color the narrative as a whole. For the most part, he plays only a peripheral role in the events of the novel; he prefers to remain a passive observer.

Upon arriving in New York, Nick visits his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom. The Buchanans live in the posh Long Island district of East Egg; Nick, like Gatsby, resides in nearby West Egg, a less fashionable area looked down upon by those who live in East Egg. West Egg is home to the nouveau riche, people who lack established social connections, and who tend to

vulgarly flaunt their wealth. Like Nick, Tom Buchanan graduated from Yale, and comes from a privileged Midwestern family. Tom is a former football player, a brutal bully obsessed with the preservation of class boundaries. Daisy, by contrast, is an almost ghostlike young woman who affects an air of

sophisticated boredom. At the Buchanans's, Nick meets Jordan Baker, a beautiful young woman with a cold, cynical manner. The two later become romantically involved.

Jordan tells Nick that Tom has been having an affair with Myrtle Wilson, a

woman who lives in the valley of ashes, an industrial wasteland outside of New York City. After visiting Tom and Daisy, Nick goes home to West Egg; there, he sees Gatsby gazing at a mysterious green light across the bay. Gatsby stretches his arms out toward the light, as though to catch and hold it. Tom Buchanan takes Nick into New York, and on the way they stop at the garage owned by George Wilson. Wilson is the husband of Myrtle, with whom Tom has been having an affair. Tom tells Myrtle to join them later in the city. Nearby, on an enormous billboard, a pair of bespectacled blue eyes stares down at the barren landscape. These eyes once served as an advertisement; now, they brood over all that occurs in the valley of ashes.

In the city, Tom takes Nick and Myrtle to the apartment in Morningside Heights at which he maintains his affair. There, they have a lurid party with Myrtle's sister, Catherine, and an abrasive couple named McKee. They gossip about Gatsby; Catherine says that he is somehow related to Kaiser Wilhelm, the much-despised ruler of Germany during World War I. The more she drinks, the more aggressive Myrtle becomes; she begins taunting Tom about Daisy, and he reacts by breaking her nose. The party, unsurprisingly, comes to an abrupt end.

Nick Carraway attends a party at Gatsby's mansion, where he runs into Jordan Baker. At the party, few of the attendees know Gatsby; even fewer were

formally invited. Before the party, Nick himself had never met Gatsby: he is a strikingly handsome, slightly dandified young man who affects an English

accent. Gatsby asks to speak to Jordan Baker alone; after talking with Gatsby for quite a long time, she tells Nick that she has learned some remarkable news. She cannot yet share it with him, however.

Some time later, Gatsby visits Nick's home and invites him to lunch. At this point in the novel, Gatsby's origins are unclear. He claims to come from a wealthy San Francisco family, and says that he was educated at Oxford after serving in the Great War (during which he received a number of decorations). At lunch, Gatsby introduces Nick to his business associate, Meyer Wolfsheim. Wolfhsheim is a notorious criminal; many believe that he is responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series.

Gatsby mysteriously avoids the Buchanans. Later, Jordan Baker explains the reason for Gatsby's anxiety: he had been in love with Daisy Buchanan when they met in Louisville before the war. Jordan subtly intimates that he is still in love with her, and she with him.

Gatsby asks Nick to arrange a meeting between himself and Daisy. Gatsby has meticulously planned their meeting: he gives Daisy a carefully rehearsed tour of his mansion, and is desperate to exhibit his wealth and possessions. Gatsby is wooden and mannered during this initial meeting; his dearest dreams have been of this moment, and so the actual reunion is bound to disappoint. Despite this, the love between Gatsby and Daisy is revived, and

the two begin an affair.

Eventually, Nick learns the true story of Gatsby's past. He was born James Gatz in North Dakota, but had his name legally changed at the age of seventeen. The gold baron Dan Cody served as Gatsby's mentor until his

death. Though Gatsby inherited nothing of Cody's fortune, it was from him that Gatsby was first introduced to world of wealth, power, and privilege.

While out horseback riding, Tom Buchanan happens upon Gatsby's mansion. There he meets both Nick and Gatsby, to whom he takes an immediate dislike. To Tom, Gatsby is part of the "new rich," and thus poses a danger to the old order that Tom holds dear. Despite this, he accompanies Daisy to Gatsby's next party; there, he is exceedingly rude and condescending toward Gatsby. Nick realizes that Gatsby wants Daisy to renounce her husband and her

marriage; in this way, they can recover the years they have lost since they first parted. Gatsby's great flaw is that his great love of Daisy is a kind of worship, and that he fails to see her flaws. He believes that he can undo the past, and forgets that Daisy's essentially small-minded and cowardly nature was what initially caused their separation.

After his reunion with Daisy, Gatsby ceases to throw his elaborate parties. The only reason he threw such parties was the chance that Daisy (or someone who knew her) might attend. Daisy invites Gatsby, Nick and Jordan to lunch at her house. In an attempt to make Tom jealous, and to exact revenge for his affair, Daisy is highly indiscreet about her relationship with Gatsby. She even tells Gatsby that she loves him while Tom is in earshot.

Although Tom is himself having an affair, he is furious at the thought that his wife could be unfaithful to him. He forces the group to drive into the city: there, in a suite at the Plaza Hotel, Tom and Gatsby have a bitter confrontation. Tom denounces Gatsby for his low birth, and reveals to Daisy that Gatsby's fortune has been made through illegal activities. Daisy's real allegiance is to Tom: when Gatsby begs her to say that she does not love her husband, she refuses him. Tom permits Gatsby to drive Daisy back to East Egg; in this way, he displays his contempt for Gatsby, as well as his faith in his wife's complete subjection.

On the trip back to East Egg, Gatsby allows Daisy to drive in order to calm her ragged nerves. Passing Wilson's garage, Daisy swerves to avoid another car and ends up hitting Myrtle; she is killed instantly. Nick advises Gatsby to leave town until the situation calms. Gatsby, however, refuses to leave: he remains in order to ensure that Daisy is safe. George Wilson, driven nearly mad by the death of his wife, is desperate to find her killer. Tom Buchanan tells him that Gatsby was the driver of the fatal car. Wilson, who has decided that the driver of the car must also have been Myrtle's lover, shoots Gatsby before committing suicide himself.

After the murder, the Buchanans leave town to distance themselves from the violence for which they are responsible. Nick is left to organize Gatsby's funeral, but finds that few people cared for Gatsby. Only Meyer Wolfsheim shows a modicum of grief, and few people attend the funeral. Nick seeks out Gatsby's father, Henry Gatz, and brings him to New York for the funeral. From Henry, Nick learns the full scope of Gatsby's visions of greatness and his dreams of self-improvement.

Thoroughly disgusted with life in New York, Nick decides to return to the

Midwest. Before his departure, Nick sees Tom Buchanan once more. Tom tries to elicit Nick's sympathy; he believes that all of his actions were thoroughly justified, and he wants Nick to agree.

Nick muses that Gatsby, alone among the people of his acquaintance, strove to transform his dreams into reality; it is this that makes him "great." Nick also believes, however, that the time for such grand aspirations is over: greed and dishonesty have irrevocably corrupted both the American Dream and the dreams of individual Americans.

Major Themes

Honesty

Honesty is does not seem to determine which characters are sympathetic and which are not in this novel in quite the same way that it does in others. Nick is able to admire Gatsby despite his knowledge of the man's illegal dealings and bootlegging. Ironically, it is the corrupt Daisy who takes pause at Gatsby's sordid past. Her indignation at his "dishonesty," however, is less moral than class-based. Her sense of why Gatsby should not behave in an immoral

manner is based on what she expects from members of her milieu, rather than what she believes to be intrinsically right. The standards for honesty and morality seem to be dependent on class and gender in this novel. Tom finds his wife's infidelity intolerable, however, he does not hesitate to lie to her about his own affair.

Decay

Decay is a word that constantly comes up in The Great Gatsby, which is

appropriate in a novel which centers around the death of the American Dream. Decay is most evident in the so-called "valley of ashes." With great virtuosity, Fitzgerald describes a barren wasteland which probably has little to do with the New York landscape and instead serves to comment on the downfall of American society. It seems that the American dream has been perverted, reversed. Gatsby lives in West Egg and Daisy in East Egg; therefore, Gatsby looks East with yearning, rather than West, the traditional direction of

American frontier ambitions. Fitzgerald portrays the chauvinistic and racist Tom in a very negative light, clearly scoffing at his apocalyptic vision of the races intermarrying. Fitzgerald's implication seems to be that society has already decayed enough and requires no new twist.

Gender Roles

In some respects, Fitzgerald writes about gender roles in a quite conservative manner. In his novel, men work to earn money for the maintenance of the women. Men are dominant over women, especially in the case of Tom, who asserts his physical strength to subdue them. The only hint of a role reversal is in the pair of Nick and Jordan. Jordan's androgynous name and cool, collected style masculinize her more than any other female character. However, in the end, Nick does exert his dominance over her by ending the relationship. The women in the novel are an interesting group, because they do not divide into the traditional groups of Mary Magdalene and Madonna figures, instead, none of them are pure. Myrtle is the most obviously sensual, but the fact that Jordan and Daisy wear white dresses only highlights their corruption.

Violence

Violence is a key theme in The Great Gatsby, and is most embodied by the

character of Tom. An ex-football player, he uses his immense physical

strength to intimidate those around him. When Myrtle taunts him with his wife's name, he strikes her across the face. The other source of violence in the novel besides Tom are cars. A new commodity at the time that The Great Gatsby was published, Fitzgerald uses cars to symbolize the dangers of modernity and the dangers of wealth. The climax of the novel, the accident that kills Myrtle, is foreshadowed by the conversation between Nick and Jordan about how bad driving can cause explosive violence. The end of the novel, of course, consists of violence against Gatsby. The choice of handgun as a weapon

suggests Gatsby's shady past, but it is symbolic that it is his love affair, not his business life, that kills Gatsby in the end.

Class

Class is an unusual theme for an American novel. It is more common to find references to it in European, especially British novels. However, the societies of East and West Egg are deeply divided by the difference between the

noveau riche and the older moneyed families. Gatsby is aware of the existence of a class structure in America, because a true meritocracy would put him in touch with some of the finest people, but, as things stand, he is held at arm's length. Gatsby tries desperately to fake status, even buying British shirts and claiming to have attended Oxford in an attempt to justify his position in society. Ultimately, however, it is a class gulf that seperates Gatsby and Daisy, and cements the latter in her relationship to her husbad, who is from the same class as she is.

Religion

It is interesting that Fitzgerald chooses to use some religious tropes in a novel that focuses on the American Dream, a concept which leaves no room for

religion save for the doctrine of individualism. The most obvious is the image of the "valley of ashes," which exemplifies America's moral state during the "Roaring Twenties." This wasteland is presided over by the empty eyes of an advertisement. Fitzgerald strongly implies that these are the eyes of God. This equation of religion with advertising and material gain are made even more terrifying by the fact that the eyes see nothing and can help no one (for example, this "God" can do nothing to prevent Myrtle or Gatsby's deaths). World War I

Because The Great Gatsby is set in the Roaring Twenties, the topic of the Great War is unavoidable. The war was crucial to Gatsby's development, providing a brief period of social mobility which, Fitzgerald claims, quickly closed after the war. Gatsby only came into contact with a classy young debutante like Daisy as a result of the fact that he was a soldier and that no one could vouch for whether he was upper-class or not. The war provided him with further opportunities to see the world, and make some money in the service of a millionaire. Gatsby's opportunities closed up after the end of the war, however, when he found upon returning to America that the social

structure there was every bit as rigid as it was in Europe. Unable to convince anyone that he is truly upper-class (although his participation in the war gave him some leeway about lying), Gatsby finds himself unable to break into East Egg society.

1. Discuss Gatsby’s character as Nick perceives him throughout the novel. What makes Gatsby ―great‖?

In one sense, the title of the novel is ironic; the title character is neither ―great‖ nor named Gatsby. He is a criminal whose real name is James Gatz, and the life he has created for himself is an illusion. By the same token, the title of the novel refers to the theatrical skill with which Gatsby makes this illusion seem real: the moniker ―the Great Gatsby‖ suggests the sort of vaudeville billing that would have been given to an acrobat, an escape artist, or a magician. Nick is particularly taken with Gatsby and considers him a great figure. He sees both the extraordinary quality of hope that Gatsby possesses and his idealistic dream of loving Daisy in a perfect world. Though Nick recognizes Gatsby’s flaws the first time he meets him, he cannot help but admire Gatsby’s brilliant smile, his romantic idealization of Daisy, and his yearning for the future. The private Gatsby who stretches his arms out toward the green light on Daisy’s dock seems somehow more real than the vulgar, social Gatsby who wears a pink suit to his party and calls everyone ―old sport.‖ Nick alone among the novel’s characters recognizes that Gatsby’s love for Daisy has less to do with Daisy’s inner qualities than with Gatsby’s own. That is, Gatsby makes Daisy his dream because his heart demands a dream, not because Daisy truly deserves the passion that Gatsby feels for her. Further, Gatsby impresses Nick with his power to make his dreams come true—as a child he dreamed of wealth and luxury, and he has attained them, albeit through criminal means. As a man, he dreams of Daisy, and for a while he wins her, too. In a world without a moral center, in which attempting to fulfill one’s dreams is like rowing a boat against the current, Gatsby’s power to dream lifts him above the

meaningless and amoral pleasure-seeking of New York society. In Nick’s view, Gatsby’s capacity to dream makes him ―great‖ despite his flaws and eventual undoing.

2. What is Nick like as a narrator? Is he a reliable storyteller, or does his

version of events seem suspect? How do his qualities as a character affect his narration?

Nick’s description of himself in the opening chapter holds true throughout the novel: he is tolerant and slow to judge, someone with whom people feel

comfortable sharing their secrets. His willingness to describe himself and the contours of his thoughts even when they are inconsistent or incomplete—his conflicted feelings about Gatsby, for instance, or the long musing at the end of the novel—makes him seem trustworthy and thoughtful. His position in relation to the other characters gives him a perfect vantage point from which to tell the story—he is Daisy’s cousin, Tom’s old college friend, and Gatsby’s neighbor, and all three trust and rely on him. Though Nick participates in this story and its events certainly affect him, The Great Gatsby is not really his story in the sense of being about him. However, it is his story in the sense that it is of

crucial importance to him: he defines himself in the process of writing it. Indeed, he struggles with the story’s meaning even as he tells it. Though Nick

professes to admire Gatsby’s passion as a lover and a dreamer, Nick’s own actions in his relationship with Jordan Baker cast an ironic pall over his

admiration: with Jordan, Nick is guarded, cautious, and skeptical. Overall, Nick suggests that Gatsby is an exception to his usual ways of understanding and judging the world, and that his attraction to Gatsby creates a conflict within

himself.

3.

What are some of The Great Gatsby’s most important symbols? What does the novel have to say about the role of symbols in life?

Apart from geographic locations, the two most important symbols in the novel are the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock and the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. The first is a perfect example of the manner in which characters in The Great Gatsby infuse symbols with meaning—the green light is only a green light, but to Gatsby it becomes the embodiment of his dream for the future, and it beckons to him in the night like a vision of the fulfillment of his desires. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg work in the same fashion, although their meaning is less fixed. Until George Wilson decides that they are the eyes of God, representing a moral imperative on which he must act, the eyes are simply an unsettling, unexplained image, as they stare down over the valley of ashes. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg thus emphasize the lack of a fixed relationship between symbols and what they symbolize: the eyes could mean anything to any observer, but they tend to make observers feel as though they are the ones being scrutinized. They seem to stare down at the world blankly, without the need for meaning that drives the human characters of the novel.

In general, symbols in the novel are intimately connected to dreams: Gatsby’s dream of Daisy causes him to associate her image with everything he values, just as he associates the green light with his dream for the future. In reading and interpreting The Great Gatsby, it is at least as important to consider how characters think about symbols as it is to consider the qualities of the symbols themselves.

4.

How does the geography of the novel dictate its themes and characters? What role does setting play in The Great Gatsby?

Each of the four important geographical locations in the novel—West Egg, East Egg, the valley of ashes, and New York City—corresponds to a particular theme or type of character encountered in the story. West Egg is like Gatsby, full of garish extravagance, symbolizing the emergence of the new rich alongside the established aristocracy of the 1920s. East Egg is like the

Buchanans, wealthy, possessing high social status, and powerful, symbolizing the old upper class that continued to dominate the American social landscape. The valley of ashes is like George Wilson, desolate, desperate, and utterly without hope, symbolizing the moral decay of American society hidden by the glittering surface of upper-class extravagance. New York City is simply chaos, an abundant swell of variety and life, associated with the ―quality of distortion‖ that Nick perceives in the East.

Setting is extremely important to The Great Gatsby, as it reinforces the themes and character traits that drive the novel’s critical events. Even the weather matches the flow of the plot. Gatsby’s reunion with Daisy begins in a ferocious thunderstorm and reaches its happiest moment just as the sun comes out. Tom’s confrontation with Gatsby occurs on the hottest day of the summer.

Finally, Gatsby’s death occurs just as autumn creeps into the air. The specificity of the settings in The Great Gatsby contributes greatly to the

creation of distinct zones in which the conflicting values of various characters are forced to confront each other.

Suggested Essay Topics

1. In what sense is The Great Gatsby an autobiographical novel? Does

Fitzgerald write more of himself into the character of Nick or the character of Gatsby, or are the author’s qualities found in both characters?

2. How does Gatsby represent the American dream? What does the novel have to say about the condition of the American dream in the 1920s? In what ways do the themes of dreams, wealth, and time relate to each other in the novel’s exploration of the idea of America?

3. Compare and contrast Gatsby and Tom. How are they alike? How are they different? Given the extremely negative light in which Tom is portrayed

throughout the novel, why might Daisy choose to remain with him instead of leaving him for Gatsby?

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel written by American author F. Scott

Fitzgerald that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream.[1][2]

Fitzgerald, inspired by the parties he had attended while visiting Long Island's north shore, began planning the novel in 1923 desiring to produce, in his words, "something new—something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and

intricately patterned."[3] Progress was slow with Fitzgerald completing his first draft following a move to the French Riviera in 1924. His editor, Maxwell

Perkins, felt the book was too vague and convinced the author to revise over the next winter. Fitzgerald was ambivalent about the book's title, at various times wishing to re-title the novel Trimalchio in West Egg.

First published by Scribner's in April 1925, The Great Gatsby received mixed reviews and sold poorly; in its first year, the book sold only 20,000 copies.

Fitzgerald died in 1940, believing himself to be a failure and his work forgotten.

His work, spearheaded by The Great Gatsby, experienced a revival during World War II, and the novel became a part of American high school curricula in the following decades. The book has remained popular since, leading to

numerous stage and film adaptations. The Great Gatsby is widely considered to be a literary classic and a contender for the title "Great American Novel". The book is consistently ranked among the greatest works of American literature.

Contents [hide]

1 Historical context

2 Plot summary

2.1 Major characters

3 Writing and production

4 Cover art

5 Title

6 Themes

7 Reception

8 Legacy and modern analysis

9 Adaptations

10 See also

11 Notes

12 References

12.1 Bibliography

13 External links

Historical context[edit]

Set in the prosperous Long Island of 1922, The Great Gatsby provides a critical social history of America during the Roaring Twenties within its narrative. That era, known for unprecedented economic prosperity, the evolution of jazz music, flapper culture, and bootlegging and other criminal activity, is plausibly depicted in Fitzgerald's novel. Fitzgerald utilizes these societal developments of the 1920s to build Gatsby's stories from simple details like automobiles to broader themes like Fitzgerald's discreet allusions to the organized crime culture which was the source of Gatsby's fortune.[4] Fitzgerald educates his readers about the garish society of the Roaring

Twenties by placing a timeless, relatable plotline within the historical context of the era.[5]

Fitzgerald's visits to Long Island's north shore and his experience attending parties at mansions inspired The Great Gatsby's setting. Today there are a number of theories as to which mansion was the inspiration for the book. One possibility is Land's End, a notable Gold Coast Mansion where Fitzgerald may have attended a party.[6] Many of the events in Fitzgerald's early life are reflected throughout The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald was a young man from Minnesota, and like Nick, he was educated at an Ivy League school (in Nick's case Yale.) Fitzgerald is also similar to Jay Gatsby, as he fell in love while stationed in the military and fell into a life of decadence trying to prove himself to the girl he loves. Fitzgerald became a second lieutenant, and was stationed at Camp Sheridan, in Montgomery, Alabama. There he met and fell in love with a wild seventeen-year-old beauty named Zelda Sayre. Zelda finally agreed to

marry him, but her overpowering desire for wealth, fun, and leisure led her to delay their wedding until he could prove a success.[7] Like Nick in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald found this new lifestyle seductive and exciting, and, like Gatsby, he had always idolized the very rich.[7] In many ways, The Great Gatsby represents Fitzgerald’s attempt to confront his conflicting feelings about the Jazz Age. Like Gatsby, Fitzgerald was driven by his love for a woman who symbolized everything he wanted, even as she led him toward everything he despised.[7]

Plot summary[edit]

The main events of the novel take place in the summer of 1922. Nick Carraway, a Yale graduate and World War I veteran from the Midwest – who serves as the novel's narrator – takes a job in New York as a bond salesman. He rents a small house on Long Island, in the (fictional) village of West Egg, next door to the lavish mansion of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who holds

extravagant parties but does not participate in them. Nick drives around the bay to East Egg for dinner at the home of his cousin, Daisy Fay Buchanan, and her husband, Tom, a college acquaintance of Nick's. They introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, an attractive, cynical young golfer with whom Nick begins a romantic relationship. She reveals to Nick that Tom has a mistress, Myrtle Wilson, who lives in the "valley of ashes": an industrial dumping ground between West Egg and New York City. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with Tom and Myrtle to an apartment they keep for their affair. At the apartment, a vulgar and bizarre party takes place. It ends with Tom breaking Myrtle's nose after she annoys him by saying Daisy's name several times.

The Plaza Hotel in the early 1920s

As the summer progresses, Nick eventually receives an invitation to one of Gatsby's parties. Nick encounters Jordan Baker at the party, and they meet Gatsby himself, an aloof and surprisingly young man who recognizes Nick from their same division in the war. Through Jordan, Nick later learns that Gatsby knew Daisy from a romantic encounter in 1917 and is deeply in love with her. He spends many nights staring at the green light at the end of her dock, across the bay from his mansion, hoping to one day rekindle their lost romance. Gatsby's extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are an attempt to impress Daisy in the hopes that she will one day appear again at Gatsby's doorstep. Gatsby now wants Nick to arrange a reunion between himself and Daisy. Nick invites Daisy to have tea at his house, without telling her that

Gatsby will also be there. After an initially awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy reestablish their connection. They begin an affair and, after a short time, Tom grows increasingly suspicious of his wife's relationship with Gatsby. At a luncheon at the Buchanans' house, Daisy speaks to Gatsby with such undisguised intimacy that Tom realizes she is in love with Gatsby. Though Tom is himself involved in an extramarital affair, he is outraged by his wife's infidelity. He forces the group to drive into New York City and confronts Gatsby in a suite at the Plaza Hotel, asserting that he and Daisy have a history that

Gatsby could never understand. In addition to that, he announces to his wife that Gatsby is a criminal whose fortune comes from bootlegging alcohol and other illegal activities. Daisy realizes that her allegiance is to Tom, and Tom contemptuously sends her back to East Egg with Gatsby, attempting to prove that Gatsby cannot hurt him.

When Nick, Jordan, and Tom drive through the valley of ashes on their way home, they discover that Gatsby's car has struck and killed Tom's mistress, Myrtle. Nick later learns from Gatsby that Daisy, not Gatsby himself, was

driving the car at the time of the accident but Gatsby intends to take the blame anyway. Myrtle's husband, George, falsely concludes that the driver of the yellow car is the secret lover he recently began suspecting she has, and sets out on foot to locate its owner. After finding out the yellow car is Gatsby's, he arrives at Gatsby's mansion where he fatally shoots both Gatsby and then himself. Nick stages an unsettlingly small funeral for Gatsby, ends his

relationship with Jordan, and moves back to the Midwest disillusioned with the Eastern lifestyle.

Major characters[edit]

Nick Carraway – a Yale graduate originating from the Midwest, a World War I veteran, and, at the start of the plot, a newly arrived resident of West Egg, who is aged 29 (later 30). He also serves as the first-person narrator of the novel. He is Gatsby's next-door neighbor and a bond salesman. He is easy-going, occasionally sarcastic, and somewhat optimistic, although this latter quality fades as the novel progresses.

Jay Gatsby (originally James "Jimmy" Gatz) – a young, mysterious millionaire with shady business connections (later revealed to be a bootlegger), originally from North Dakota. He is obsessed with Daisy Buchanan, whom he had met when he was a young officer stationed in the South during World War I. The character is based on the bootlegger and former World War I officer Max Gerlach, according to Some Sort of Epic Grandeur, Matthew J. Bruccoli's

biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gatsby is said to have briefly studied at Trinity College, Oxford in England after the end of World War I.[8]

Daisy Fay Buchanan – an attractive and effervescent, if shallow and

self-absorbed, young woman, identified as a flapper.[9] She is Nick's second cousin, once removed; and the wife of Tom Buchanan. Daisy is believed to have been inspired by Fitzgerald's own youthful romances with Ginevra King. Daisy once had a romantic relationship with Gatsby, before she married Tom. Her choice between Gatsby and Tom is one of the central conflicts in the novel. Thomas "Tom" Buchanan – a millionaire who lives on East Egg, and Daisy's husband. Tom is an imposing man of muscular build with a "husky tenor" voice and arrogant demeanor, a former football star at Yale. Buchanan has parallels with William Mitchell, the Chicagoan who married Ginevra King. Buchanan and Mitchell were both Chicagoans with an interest in polo. Like Ginevra's father, whom Fitzgerald resented, Buchanan attended Yale and is a white

supremacist.[10]

Jordan Baker – Daisy Buchanan's long-time friend with "autumn-leaf yellow" hair, a firm athletic body, and an aloof attitude. She is Nick Carraway's girlfriend for most of the novel and an amateur golfer with a slightly shady reputation and a penchant for untruthfulness. Fitzgerald told Maxwell Perkins

that Jordan was based on the golfer Edith Cummings, a friend of Ginevra King.[10] Her name is a play on the two then-popular automobile brands, the Jordan Motor Car Company and the Baker Motor Vehicle, alluding to Jordan's "fast" reputation and the freedom now presented to Americans, especially women, in the 1920s.[11][12][13]

George B. Wilson – a mechanic and owner of a garage. He is disliked by both Tom Buchanan and his own wife, Myrtle Wilson, who describes him as "so dumb he doesn't know he's alive." When he learns of the death of his wife, he shoots and kills Gatsby, wrongly believing he had been driving the car that killed Myrtle, and then kills himself.

Myrtle Wilson – George's wife, and Tom Buchanan's mistress. Myrtle, who possesses a fierce vitality, is desperate to find refuge from her complacent marriage, but unfortunately this leads to her tragic ending. She is accidentally killed after being hit by Gatsby's car (driven by Daisy, though Gatsby takes the blame for it).

Meyer Wolfshiem[note 1] – a Jewish friend and mentor of Gatsby's, described as a gambler who fixed the World Series. Wolfshiem appears only twice in the novel, the second time refusing to attend Gatsby's funeral. He is a clear allusion to Arnold Rothstein, a New York crime kingpin who was notoriously blamed for the Black Sox Scandal which tainted the 1919 World Series.[16] Writing and production[edit]

Beacon Towers

The now-demolished Beacon Towers served as an inspiration for Gatsby's home

Oheka Castle

Oheka Castle was another North Shore inspiration for the novel's setting

Fitzgerald began planning his third novel in June 1922,[4] but it was interrupted by production of his play, The Vegetable, in the summer and fall.[17] The play failed miserably, and Fitzgerald worked that winter on magazine stories

struggling to pay his debt caused by the production.[18][19] The stories were, in his words, "all trash and it nearly broke my heart,"[19] although included among those stories was "Winter Dreams", which Fitzgerald later described as "a sort of first draft of the Gatsby idea".[20]

After the birth of their child, the Fitzgeralds moved to Great Neck, New York, on Long Island, in October 1922; the town was used as the scene for The Great Gatsby.[21] Fitzgerald's neighbors in Great Neck included such

prominent and newly wealthy New Yorkers as writer Ring Lardner, actor Lew Fields, and comedian Ed Wynn.[4] These figures were all considered to be "new money", unlike those who came from Manhasset Neck or Cow Neck Peninsula, places which were home to many of New York's wealthiest established families, and which sat across a bay from Great Neck. This

real-life juxtaposition gave Fitzgerald his idea for "West Egg" and "East Egg". In this novel, Great Neck (King's Point) became the new-money peninsula of "West Egg" and Port Washington (Sands Point) the old-money "East Egg".[22] Several mansions in the area served as inspiration for Gatsby's home, such as Oheka Castle[23] and the now-demolished Beacon Towers.[24]

By mid-1923, Fitzgerald had written 18,000 words for his novel[25] but

discarded most of his new story as a false start, some of which resurfaced in the 1924 short story "Absolution".[4][26]

Work on The Great Gatsby began in earnest in April 1924; Fitzgerald wrote in his ledger, "Out of woods at last and starting novel."[19] He decided to make a departure from the writing process of his previous novels and told Perkins that the novel was to be a "consciously artistic achievement"[27] and a "purely creative work — not trashy imaginings as in my stories but the sustained imagination of a sincere and yet radiant world."[28] He added later, during editing, that he felt "an enormous power in me now, more than I've ever

had."[29] Soon after this burst of inspiration, work slowed while the Fitzgeralds made a move to the French Riviera where a serious crisis in their personal relationship soon developed.[19] By August, however, Fitzgerald was hard at work and completed what he believed to be his final manuscript in October, sending the book to his editor, Maxwell Perkins, and agent, Harold Ober, on October 30.[19] The Fitzgeralds then moved to Rome for the winter.[30] Fitzgerald made revisions through the winter after Perkins informed him in a November letter that the character of Gatsby was "somewhat vague" and Gatsby's wealth and business, respectively, needed "the suggestion of an explanation" and should be "adumbrated".[31]

Content after a few rounds of revision, Fitzgerald returned the final batch of revised galleys in the middle of February 1925.[32] Fitzgerald's revisions included an extensive rewriting of Chapter VI and VIII.[19] Despite this, he refused an offer of $10,000 for the serial rights in order not to delay the book's publication.[19] He had received a $3939 advance in 1923[33] and $1981.25 upon publication.[34]

Cover art[edit]

The cover of the first printing of The Great Gatsby is among the most

celebrated pieces of art in American literature.[35] It depicts disembodied eyes and a mouth over a blue skyline, with images of naked women reflected in the irises. A little-known artist named Francis Cugat was commissioned to

illustrate the book while Fitzgerald was in the midst of writing it.[35] The cover was completed before the novel; Fitzgerald was so enamored with it that he told his publisher he had "written it into" the novel.[35] Fitzgerald's remarks about incorporating the painting into the novel led to the interpretation that the eyes are reminiscent of those of fictional optometrist Dr. T. J. Eckleburg[36] (depicted on a faded commercial billboard near George Wilson's auto repair shop) which Fitzgerald described as "blue and gigantic – their retinas[note 2] are one yard high. They look out of no face, but instead, from a pair of

enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose." Although this passage has some resemblance to the painting, a closer explanation can be found in the description of Daisy Buchanan as the "girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs."[35] Ernest

Hemingway wrote in A Moveable Feast that when Fitzgerald lent him a copy of The Great Gatsby to read, he immediately disliked the cover, but "Scott told me not to be put off by it, that it had to do with a billboard along a highway in Long Island that was important in the story. He said he had liked the jacket and

now he didn't like it."[37]

Title[edit]

Fitzgerald had difficulty choosing a title for his novel and entertained many choices before reluctantly choosing The Great Gatsby,[38] a title inspired by Alain-Fournier's Le Grand Meaulnes.[39] Prior, Fitzgerald shifted between Gatsby; Among Ash-Heaps and Millionaires; Trimalchio;[38] Trimalchio in West Egg;[40] On the Road to West Egg;[40] Under the Red, White, and Blue;[38] Gold-Hatted Gatsby;[38][40] and The High-Bouncing Lover.[38][40] He initially preferred titles referencing Trimalchio, the crude parvenu in Petronius's Satyricon, and even refers to Gatsby as Trimalchio once in the novel: "It was when curiosity about Gatsby was at its highest that the lights in his house failed to go on one Saturday night—and, as obscurely as it had begun, his career as Trimalchio was over."[41] Unlike Gatsby's spectacular parties, Trimalchio participated in the audacious and libidinous orgies he hosted but, according to Tony Tanner's introduction to the Penguin edition, there are subtle similarities between the two.[42]

In November 1924, Fitzgerald wrote to Perkins that "I have now decided to stick to the title I put on the book ... Trimalchio in West Egg"[43] but was eventually persuaded that the reference was too obscure and that people would not be able to pronounce it.[44] His wife, Zelda, and Perkins both expressed their preference for The Great Gatsby and the next month

Fitzgerald agreed.[45] A month before publication, after a final review of the proofs, he asked if it would be possible to re-title it Trimalchio or Gold-Hatted Gatsby but Perkins advised against it. On March 19, 1925,[46] Fitzgerald

asked if the book could be renamed Under the Red, White and Blue but it was at that stage too late to change.[47][48] The Great Gatsby was published on April 10, 1925.[49] Fitzgerald remarked that "the title is only fair, rather bad than good."[50]

Early drafts of the novel entitled Trimalchio: An Early Version of The Great Gatsby have been published.[51][52] A notable difference between the

Trimalchio draft and The Great Gatsby is a less complete failure of Gatsby's dream in Trimalchio. Another difference is that the argument between Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby is more even,[53] although Daisy still returns to Tom.

Themes[edit]

Sarah Churchwell sees The Great Gatsby as a "cautionary tale of the decadent downside of the American dream." The story deals with human

aspiration to start over again, social politics and its brutality and also betrayal, of one's own ideals and of people. Using elements of irony and tragic ending, it also delves into themes of excesses of the rich, and recklessness of youth.[54][55]

Others, like journalist Nick Gillespie, see The Great Gatsby as a story "about the breakdown of class differences in the face of a modern economy based not

on status and inherited position but on innovation and an ability to meet

ever-changing consumer needs."[56] This interpretation asserts that The Great Gatsby captures the American experience because it is a story about change and those who resist it; whether the change comes in the form of a new wave of immigrants (Southern Europeans in the early 20th century, Latin Americans today), the nouveau riche, or successful minorities, Americans from the 1920s to modern day have plenty of experience with changing economic and social circumstances. As Gillespie states, "While the specific terms of the equation are always changing, it's easy to see echoes of Gatsby's basic conflict

between established sources of economic and cultural power and upstarts in virtually all aspects of American society."[56] Because this concept is

particularly American and can be seen throughout American history, readers are able to relate to The Great Gatsby (which has lent the novel an enduring popularity).[56]

Reception[edit]

The Great Gatsby was published by Charles Scribner's Sons on April 10, 1925. Fitzgerald called Perkins on the day of publication to monitor reviews: "Any news?"[19] "Sales situation doubtful," read a wire from Perkins on April 20, "[but] excellent reviews." Fitzgerald responded on April 24, saying the cable "depressed" him, closing the letter with "Yours in great depression."[57]

Fitzgerald had hoped the novel would be a great commercial success, perhaps selling as many as 75,000 copies.[57] By October, when the original sale had run its course, the book had sold fewer than 20,000 copies.[19][55][57] Despite this, Scribner's continually kept the book in print; they carried the original

edition on their trade list until 1946, by which time Gatsby was in print in three other forms and the original edition was no longer needed.[19] Fitzgerald received letters of praise from contemporaries T. S. Eliot, Edith Wharton, and Willa Cather regarding the novel; however, this was private opinion, and Fitzgerald feverishly demanded the public recognition of reviewers and readers.[19]

The Great Gatsby received mixed reviews from literary critics of the day. Generally the most effusive of the positive reviews was Edwin Clark of The New York Times, who felt the novel was "A curious book, a mystical,

glamourous story of today."[58] Similarly, Lillian C. Ford of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "[the novel] leaves the reader in a mood of chastened wonder," calling the book "a revelation of life" and "a work of art."[59] The New York Post called the book "fascinating … His style fairly scintillates, and with a genuine brilliance; he writes surely and soundly."[60] The New York Herald Tribune was unimpressed, but referred to The Great Gatsby as "purely ephemeral phenomenon, but it contains some of the nicest little touches of contemporary observation you could imagine-so light, so delicate, so sharp …. a literary lemon meringue."[61] In The Chicago Daily Tribune, H.L. Mencken called the book "in form no more than a glorified anecdote, and not too probable at that," while praising the book's "careful and brilliant finish."[62]

Several writers felt that the novel left much to be desired following Fitzgerald's previous works and promptly criticized him. Harvey Eagleton of The Dallas

Morning News believed the novel signaled the end of Fitzgerald's success: "One finishes Great Gatsby with a feeling of regret, not for the fate of the people in the book, but for Mr. Fitzgerald."[63] John McClure of the The Times-Picayune opined that the book was unconvincing, writing, "Even in conception and construction, The Great Gatsby seems a little raw."[64] Ralph Coghlan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch felt the book lacked what made Fitzgerald's earlier novels endearing and called the book "a minor

performance … At the moment, its author seems a bit bored and tired and cynical."[65] Ruth Snyder of New York Evening World called the book's style "painfully forced", noting that the editors of the paper were "quite convinced after reading The Great Gatsby that Mr. Fitzgerald is not one of the great American writers of to-day."[66] The reviews struck Fitzgerald as completely missing the point: "All the reviews, even the most enthusiastic, not one had the slightest idea what the book was about."[19]

Fitzgerald's goal was to produce a literary work which would truly prove himself as a writer,[67] and Gatsby did not have the commercial success of his two previous novels, This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and Damned. Although the novel went through two initial printings, some of these copies remained unsold years later.[68] Fitzgerald himself blamed poor sales on the fact that women tended to be the main audience for novels during this time, and Gatsby did not contain an admirable female character.[68] According to his own ledger, now made available online by University of South Carolina's Thomas Cooper library, he earned only $2,000 from the book.[69] Although 1926 brought Owen Davis's stage adaption and the Paramount-issued silent film version, both of which brought in money for the author, Fitzgerald still felt the novel fell short of the recognition he hoped for and, most importantly, would not propel him to becoming a serious novelist in the public eye.[19] For several years afterward, the general public believed The Great Gatsby to be nothing more than a nostalgic period piece.[19]

Legacy and modern analysis[edit]

In 1940, Fitzgerald suffered a third and final heart attack, and died believing his work forgotten. In the last year of his life, he wrote his daughter, "I wish now I'd never relaxed or looked back—but said at the end of The Great Gatsby: I've found my line—from now on this comes first. This is my immediate duty -

without this I am nothing."[19] By his own admission, Fitzgerald viewed himself as a failure, and only 25,000 copies were sold at the time of his death.[70] His obituary in The New York Times mentioned Gatsby as evidence of great potential that was never reached.[71] However, a strong appreciation for the book had developed in underground circles; future writers Edward Newhouse and Budd Schulberg were deeply affected by it and John O'Hara showed the book's influence.[72] The republication of Gatsby in Edmund Wilson's edition of The Last Tycoon in 1941 produced an outburst of comment, with the general consensus expressing the sentiment that the book was an enduring work of fiction.[19]

In 1942, a group of publishing executives created the Council on Books in Wartime. The purpose of the Council was to distribute paperback books to

soldiers fighting in the Second World War. The Great Gatsby was one of these books. The books proved to be "as popular as pin-up girls" among the soldiers, according to the Saturday Evening Post's contemporary report.[73] 155,000 copies of Gatsby were distributed to soldiers overseas,[74] and it is believed that this publicity ultimately boosted the novel's popularity and sales.[75]

By 1944, full-length articles on Fitzgerald's works were being published, and the following year, "the opinion that Gatsby was merely a period piece had

almost entirely disappeared."[19] During a revival of Fitzgerald's works in 1945, Gatsby gained readers when Armed Services Editions gave away 150,000 copies of it to military personnel in World War II.[76] During the 1950s, the book gradually became part of standard high school curriculum required

reading in the United States.[55] This revival was paved by interest shown by literary critic Edmund Wilson, who was Fitzgerald's friend.[77] In 1951, Arthur Mizener published The Far Side of Paradise, a biography of Fitzgerald.[76] He emphasized the book's positive reception by literary critics, which may have influenced public opinion, and renewed interest in it.[78]

By 1960, the book was steadily selling 50,000 copies per year, and renewed interest led New York Times editorialist Arthur Mizener to proclaim the novel "a classic of twentieth-century American fiction."[19] The Great Gatsby has sold over 25 million copies worldwide.[70] The book annually sells 500,000 copies and is Scribner's most popular title; in 2013, the e-book alone sold 185,000 copies.[70]

Adaptations[edit]

Film

The Great Gatsby has resulted in a number of film adaptations:

The Great Gatsby, in 1926, by Herbert Brenon – a silent movie of a stage adaptation, starring Warner Baxter, Lois Wilson, and William Powell. It is a famous example of a lost film. Reviews suggest that it may have been the most faithful adaptation of the novel, but a trailer of the film at the National Archives is all that is known to exist.[79]

The Great Gatsby, in 1949, by Elliott Nugent – starring Alan Ladd, Betty Field, and Shelley Winters; for copyright reasons, this film is not readily available.[79] The Great Gatsby, in 1974, by Jack Clayton – starring Sam Waterston, Mia Farrow, and Robert Redford, with a script by Francis Ford Coppola.[79] The Great Gatsby, in 2000, by Robert Markowitz – a made-for-TV movie starring Toby Stephens, Paul Rudd, and Mira Sorvino.

G, in 2002, by Christopher Scott Cherot – a loose hip-hop adaptation set in the Hamptons.

The Great Gatsby, in 2013, by Baz Luhrmann – starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, and Joel Edgerton.