Resumo de The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby, a novel by esteemed American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a keen mix of a historical representation of the author?s home country during the 1920?s, woven seamlessly with a flowing fictional story of money, ethics, and love.

The novel is constructed around a central character, Jay Gatsby, who is shown through the eyes of a narrator in the first person, Nick Carroway. Both live just outside New York, in West Egg, the home of the ?nouvaeu riche?. This area is juxtaposed with East Egg, where the old money resides. These two locations, as well as their connotations, paint an incredible picture throughout the novel, comparing the older generations of wealth coming from Europe in the east, and the new money sprouting from the western coast of America.

Nick, our narrator, lives in West Egg, his modest living quarters being adjacent to the gaudy mansion of Gatsby. Having moved away from the Mid-West and his family, he finds himself working in the bond business in New York City. His neighbor, Jay Gatsby, befriends our narrator at one of the many extravagant parties that he frequently hosts at his manor. Known for their risqué nature and suggestive guests, Gatsby?s parties are always vibrant with Jazz music and expressive dancing. Most of all, what really brings in the guests and makes everyone have a good time at these parties is the overwhelming presence of alcohol. Given that this story takes place during prohibition, it is apparent that Jay Gatsby is a man of many shades, and that perhaps there are a number of secrets hidden behind the closed doors of the myriad rooms in his immense residence.

After spending some time in New York, Nick visits a cousin of his, Daisy, who lives in East Egg. Daisy and her husband, Tom Buchanan, live in the classy Long Island district. After a generally negative description of Tom, conveying him as cruel, powerful, and overbearing, Nick gives the reader insight on the character of his wife who, with metaphors and comparisons linked to flowers and other beautiful aspects of nature, is shown to be a very sweet and amicable young woman. Though on the surface her relationship with Tom seems to be under control, it is later discovered that Tom is having an affair with a woman from one of the more desolate areas of town. The plot further complicates when it is discovered that Jay Gatsby used to be involved in a relationship with Daisy a long time ago, and the he still has feelings for Nick?s already married cousin.

Although Daisy believes that Gatsby had his chance with her, and has subsequently moved on with her life, our rich and unpredictable protagonist is determined to see things otherwise. In his eyes, having to leave for the war separated him from Daisy for too long, thus forcing him to sacrifice their relationship, as he tells it in his many anecdotes that are always on the borderline of reality and illusion. Because of this, Jay Gatsby still seeks out Daisy, which ultimately triggers his own downfall, and the tragic ending to the novel.

One afternoon, where unfaithfulness, distrust, risk, and lust where all ever-present, a cross between passionate desire and mistaken identity leads to first the death of Myrtle Wilson, Tom?s mistress, followed by a second death, this time the victim being none other than the central figure of the book, Jay Gatsby himself.

The novel comes to a staggering halt as Nick Carroway finishes where he began at the very beginning of the novel, and closes with a depiction of his feelings of admiration concerning Gatsby, a man whom many claimed to know while he was living, and yet no one claimed as theirs after passing from one life to the next.

This composition, effectively intertwining romantic fiction and an infamous historical era, accurately portrays the difficulties of the early 20?s, the innovative ideas brewing in people?s minds, both literally and figuratively, as well as the temptations unveiled by these provocative years. In conclusion, Fitzgerald has delivered yet another wonderful and compelling masterpiece that falls short of nothing except the many more pages of brilliant composition, of stunning imagery, and astonishingly eloquent writing that the author could have added to this marvelous creation.

Word Count: 717

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