The Great Gatsby Review ⭐
‘The Great Gatsby’ tells a very human story of wealth, dreams, and failure. F. Scott Fitzgerald takes the reader into the heart of the Jazz Age, in New York City, and into the world of Jay Gatsby.
Article written by Emma Baldwin
B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1925 in New York City. It is considered to be Fitzgerald’s best and most famous novel. It depicts the lives of characters entangled in the New York City social scene, in dangerous love affairs, and endless wealth. Narrated by Nick Carraway, a man whose life mirrored Fitzgerald’s own, he takes the reader into the mysterious world of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, a new multi-millionaire who seemingly lives the American dream, is consumed with the desire to reclaim a lost relationship.
Key Facts about The Great Gatsby
- Title: The Great Gatsby
- When/where written: Paris and the US in 1924
- Published: 1925
- Literary Period: Modernism
- Genre: Novel
- Point-of-View: First-person
- Setting: New York City in 1922
- Climax: Gatsby and Tom fight over Daisy
- Antagonist: Tom Buchanan, Greed
F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a modernist masterpiece. But, when it was published the author had no idea of its importance or how tied it would become to his own literary legacy. Fitzgerald, like the novel’s narrator, Nick, was born in Minnesota. He moved to New York to pursue fame and fortune, like Jay Gatsby. Perhaps also seeking inspiration in his personal experiences, Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, refused to marry him unless he could support her. This mirrors Gatsby’s experience with Daisy in the novel, ending in her marrying Tom Buchanan, a cruel man but one with more than enough money for her to live the kind of life she wanted. The Fitzgeralds were wealthy, but as debt crept upon them, Fitzgerald’s health worsened, and he suffered from mental illness. He died from a heart attack in 1940, with his wife passing away a few years later. Today, scholars consider The Great Gatsby, as well as Fitzgerald’s other novels, as a means for the writer to confront his feelings about (what he coined as) “The Jazz Age.” The period after World War I is well documented in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald was initially interested in the outrageous lifestyles of the wealthy in New York City, engaging in such a lifestyle himself. But, just as Nick Carraway discovered, things weren’t quite as bright and shining as they seemed.
Books Related to The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is one of the best representatives of modernist fiction after the First World War. It was a period of emptiness and disillusionment that was for many such as the characters in this novel, filled with irrelevancies. He depicted lost people, depression, reality, and various types of corruption. As did other writers like James Joyce with his masterpiece Ulysses. Hemingway’s works are also often compared to Fitzgerald’s. These include books like The Sun Also Rises. Other books readers might find comparable to The Great Gatsby include The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Fitzgerlad’s 1922 novel, The Beautiful and the Damned. The latter was published right before The Great Gatsby and tells the story of a socialite and heir to a massive fortune. Fitzgerald explores his marriage, military service, and the couple’s troubles. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald is another novel in which readers can find themes comparable to those in The Great Gatsby. It was Fitzgerald’s first novel and follows several American youths after World War I.
The Lasting Impact of The Great Gatsby
When The Great Gatsby was published in 1925, it sold around 21,000 copies, a number far lower than Fitzgerald’s previous novels. Today, the novel has sold over 25 million copies and has been translated into numerous languages. It’s a staple of classrooms all over the world. Today, the novel is said to embody the American spirit and convey the atmosphere of an incredibly important time in the history of the country. For some, this novel is the best representative of the American spirit and Fitzgerald’s “Jazz Age.” Despite the decades that have passed, the novel is still relevant today. It features complex characters with problems school-age readers and those simply reading for pleasure can relate to.
The Great Gatsby Historical Context 🍾
‘The Great Gatsby’ is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s best-known novel. It encapsulates the Jazz Age of the United States in the 1920s.
The Great Gatsby Themes and Analysis 🍾
Within ‘The Great Gatsby,’ F. Scott Fitzgerald taps into several important themes. These include the American dream, and its decline, as well as wealth, class, and love.
The Great Gatsby Quotes 💬
Throughout ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the reader can find a wide variety of beautiful and thoughtful quotes.
The Great Gatsby Summary 🍾
‘The Great Gatsby’ is generally considered to be F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece. It represents a cultural period in the United States that’s now referred to as the Jazz Age.
The Great Gatsby Characters 🍾
‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald is filled with interesting and morally bankrupt characters, such as Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Ewing Klipspringer.
