The Great Gatsby

Title: The Great Gatsby

Author: F Scott Fitzgerald

Main Characters: Nick Carraway, Jordan Baker, Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, George Wilson, Myrtle Wilson

‘The Great Gatsby’ is about how the wealthy Jay Gatsby follows his old love Daisy Buchanan, married to Tom Buchanan.

The narration is by Nick Carraway, a Yale graduate come to stay next door to Jay Gatsby in New York. He tries his hand at selling bonds, and works as a salesman. He goes, one day for lunch, to the house of his second cousin, Daisy Buchanan, whom he hadn’t been in touch with for many years. There he meets a girl named Jordan Baker, who while talking with him, mentions that she often goes to Gatsby’s great parties. Nick also finds out that there is a party almost every night at his wealthy neighbour’s place. He starts wondering if he can go to one of the parties. Then, he gets an invitation from Jay Gatsby to be part of his next party.

Nick goes happily and meets Jordan there. In that party, both of them meet Jay Gatsby himself. When he comes to know that Jordan lives with Daisy and Nick is Daisy’s cousin, he makes a very strange request to Nick. He requests Nick to call Daisy Buchanan over to tea someday so that he can meet her. Nick does not understand at first. Then Jordan enlightens him on the backstory.

Jay Gatsby and Daisy had been in love before the war, and when the war started Jay Gatsby went away on service. During that long period, Daisy had married Tom Buchanan. When Jay Gatsby came back from war and searched for his love, he found her married to another man. He learnt that the reason for her marriage was that he had no money with him, and she had to wait just too long. With a new aim, he became a very wealthy man, and got a house in town from where he could see the house of Daisy Buchanan. He had been holding extravagant parties to impress Daisy, and in the hope that she will come to one of those parties someday.

Jay Gatsby meets Daisy, when she answers the invitation of her cousin Nick. They get all sentimental about each other. Daisy invites Jay and Nick to her house for lunch some days after. Gatsby and Nick go. Gatsby, Nick, Jordan and Tom go to New York city just for fun. There, Tom and Gatsby get into a fight as to whom Daisy really loves. They fight for a long time. Then, Tom asks Daisy and Gatsby to drive home in Gatsby’s car, while he, Jordan and Nick would follow. Gatsby and Daisy leave. While following, Tom, Jordan and Nick come across an accident, and they find the victim to be Myrtle Wilson. They discover that it was Gatsby’s car that ran over and killed her. They hurry back home. There Gatsby admits to Nick alone that it was Daisy who was on the steering wheel and not himself. But he insists on taking the blame himself to save his love.

George Wilson, the husband of Myrtle, traces the car that ran over his wife. He finds it to be Gatsby’s. So, he goes over to Gatsby’s place one day and shoots both Gatsby and himself.

The story ends by Nick trying to gather people for Gatsby’s funeral. Then, he gets tired of the west, and goes back to East, where he came from.

The book was okay. It is a great Gatsby book. But it didn’t have anything other than just how the Gatsby tries to follow his OLD love! It was so tragic! :"(