Gatsby

Gatsby The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a specific portrait of American society during the Roaring Twenties. It tells the quintessential American story of a man rising from rags to riches only to find that his wealth cannot grant him the privileges of class and status. Although the central character of the novel is Jay Gatsby, a wealthy New Yorker known mostly for the lavish parties he throws every weekend at his mansion. The narrator, however, is Nick Carraway, a young mid-westerner from a prominent family who came to New York to enter the bond business. Even though Nick Carraway is involved in all of the events of the novel, he does not play a significant active role. Carraway’s characteristics of being responsible, honest, and fair makes him a reliable narrator. 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” (Fitzgerald 7). Carraway has this willingness to describe himself and the contours of his thoughts even when they are inconsistent or incomplete. Toward the end of the novel, his long musing makes him seem gatsby, novel, nick, green, white, story, fitzgerald, daisy, jordan, color, character, life, symbolism, represents, people, new, great, façade, everything, east, during, dream, choices, carraway, about, yet, written, wealth, way, throughout, though, things, tells, symbolizes, status, should, reality, narrator, makes, image, hide, go, future, even, end, different, colors, characters