The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)

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The Great Gatsby
1925
Summary of the Novel
Microsummary: A mysterious millionaire rekindled romance with his married former love. After she accidentally killed someone while driving his car, he took the blame and was murdered by the victim's husband.

Short Summary

Long Island, New York, 1922. A young bond trader moved next door to a mysterious millionaire who threw lavish parties every weekend.

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Nick Carraway — narrator, 30-year-old bond trader from midwest, Yale graduate, Daisy's cousin, honest and tolerant observer, initially Gatsby's neighbor and later his only true friend.
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Jay Gatsby (James Gatz) — wealthy man around 30, mysterious millionaire, former military officer, obsessed with Daisy Buchanan, self-made man from humble origins, charismatic yet lonely figure.

Nick learned that Gatsby was in love with his cousin Daisy, now married to Tom Buchanan. Five years earlier, Gatsby and Daisy had a romance, but he was too poor to marry her then. Now wealthy, Gatsby used Nick to reunite with Daisy. They began an affair, while Tom grew increasingly suspicious.

During a confrontation in a hotel, Gatsby revealed that Daisy never loved Tom. Tom exposed Gatsby's criminal connections and illegal bootlegging business. Driving back from the city, Daisy, behind the wheel of Gatsby's car, accidentally killed Tom's mistress. Gatsby took the blame to protect her.

The next day, the dead woman's husband, believing Gatsby was the driver, shot him dead and then killed himself. Only Nick attended Gatsby's funeral. Tom and Daisy left town without a trace, leaving others to clean up their mess.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther...

Disillusioned with the empty pursuit of wealth and the carelessness of the wealthy, Nick left New York. He reflected that Gatsby, despite his criminal activities and obsession, was the most hopeful person he had ever known, while Tom and Daisy were careless people who smashed things and retreated into their money.

Detailed Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

Chapter titles are editorial additions.

Chapter 1. Nick Moves to West Egg

In 1922, Nick Carraway moved from the Midwest to New York to learn the bond business. He rented a house in West Egg, Long Island, next door to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby's mansion.

Nick visited his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her wealthy husband Tom in the more fashionable East Egg. During dinner, Nick met Jordan Baker, a professional golfer, and learned about Tom's mistress when he took a phone call in front of everyone. Daisy confided in Nick about her unhappiness, cynically hoping her daughter would grow up to be a 'beautiful little fool.'

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Daisy Buchanan — Nick's cousin, Tom's wife, Gatsby's former love interest, wealthy young woman in her mid-20s, charming but careless, with an enchanting voice full of money.
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Tom Buchanan — Daisy's husband, wealthy 30-year-old man, former football star, physically powerful, arrogant and racist, unfaithful to his wife.
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Jordan Baker — professional golfer, young woman in her 20s, Daisy's friend, Nick's romantic interest, athletic, dishonest, cynical and sophisticated.

Chapter 2. The Valley of Ashes

Tom took Nick to New York through the Valley of Ashes, an industrial area watched over by the billboard eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. They stopped at a garage owned by George Wilson, where Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson, lived. Tom arranged to meet Myrtle later, and they all went to an apartment Tom kept in the city.

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George Wilson — garage owner in valley of ashes, Myrtle's husband, man in his 30s, passive and defeated in manner, pale and spiritless until driven to violence by grief.
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Myrtle Wilson — George's wife and Tom's mistress, woman in her mid-30s, vital and sensuous, ambitious to join the upper class, lives above her husband's garage.

Chapter 3. Gatsby's Lavish Parties

Nick attended one of Gatsby's extravagant parties, where hundreds of guests enjoyed lavish entertainment while speculating about their mysterious host's background. Nick finally met Gatsby, a surprisingly young man with an extraordinary smile and elegant manner. Jordan Baker revealed to Nick that Gatsby and Daisy had a romantic relationship years ago before Gatsby went to war, and that Gatsby bought his mansion specifically to be near Daisy.

If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him... some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those machines...

Chapter 4. Reunion of Gatsby and Daisy

At Gatsby's request, Nick arranged a reunion between Gatsby and Daisy at his house. The meeting was initially awkward, but they soon rekindled their connection. Gatsby showed Daisy his mansion and his extensive collection of shirts, which moved her to tears. Looking at the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, Gatsby reflected on how close he now was to his dream.

Her voice is full of money... That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it...

Chapter 5. The Truth About Gatsby

Gatsby and Daisy began meeting regularly, and he stopped throwing his lavish parties. Nick learned more about Gatsby's true background from both Gatsby himself and Tom's investigations. Gatsby was born James Gatz and had created his wealthy persona after meeting Dan Cody, a millionaire who took him under his wing. His fortune came from bootlegging and other illegal activities, facilitated by his association with Meyer Wolfsheim.

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Meyer Wolfsheim — Jewish gambler and businessman, older man, Gatsby's mentor and criminal connection, fixed World Series of 1919, wears human molars as cuff buttons.

During a confrontation at the Plaza Hotel, Tom exposed Gatsby's criminal connections and challenged him about his relationship with Daisy. When pressed to say she never loved Tom, Daisy couldn't do it, crushing Gatsby's dream of recreating the past.

Chapter 6. The Fatal Accident

Driving back from the city, Daisy, who was behind the wheel of Gatsby's car, struck and killed Myrtle Wilson, who had run out onto the road. Gatsby took the blame to protect Daisy. Tom convinced George Wilson that Gatsby was both the driver and Myrtle's lover. Meanwhile, Tom and Daisy conspired together, and Gatsby was left watching their house, still hoping to protect Daisy.

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together...

Chapter 7. Gatsby's Death

The next morning, George Wilson, deranged with grief, tracked down Gatsby at his mansion. He shot Gatsby while he was swimming in his pool, then turned the gun on himself. Nick, alone in caring about what happened to Gatsby, took responsibility for the funeral arrangements.

No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.

Chapter 8. After the Tragedy

Nick tried to arrange Gatsby's funeral but found that none of his supposed friends would attend. Even Meyer Wolfsheim, who had helped Gatsby make his fortune, refused to come. Only Gatsby's father, Henry Gatz, came from Minnesota, bringing with him a schedule book from Gatsby's youth that showed his son's early determination to improve himself.

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Henry C. Gatz — Gatsby's father, elderly man from Minnesota, proud of his son's achievements, keeps a schedule book from Gatsby's youth.
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Owl Eyes — eccentric party guest at Gatsby's, middle-aged man with enormous owl-eyed spectacles, one of few to attend Gatsby's funeral.

Chapter 9. Nick's Final Reflections

Disgusted by the events and the people of New York, Nick decided to return to the Midwest. Before leaving, he broke off his relationship with Jordan Baker and had a final confrontation with Tom Buchanan. Nick reflected on Gatsby's dream and how it represented something fundamental about the American experience.

He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him...

The novel concluded with Nick's famous reflection on how we are all boats against the current, continuously borne back into the past.

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.