High School Book Recommendation: The Great Gatsby
This report will contain…
- About the Author
- Background Information (Setting/Historical Influence)
- Plot summary
- Takeaway
- Literary terms for high school students
❗This report contains spoilers of the plot❗
About the Author
F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of the Great Gatsby was an American novelist, essayist, short story writer, and screenwriter. He was born on September 24, 1896, and died on December 21, 1940, at the age of 44.
Background Information
Historical
The Great Gatsby was written in 1925. The 1920s, which was also known as the Roaring Twenties, was a decade of prosperity and dissipation, and of jazz bands, and bathtub gin. These factors are descriptively described throughout the whole book, so I recommend you to read it carefully by focusing on these elements!
Setting / Characters
The story describes the West Egg and the East Egg, which are located in New York.
Jay Gatsby, the main character of the story, lives in the West Egg; Daisy and Tom live in the East Egg. The two towns are close enough for the people in West Egg could see the house in East Egg. (In the story, Jay Gatsby sees a house of Daisy. )
The difference between West Egg and East Egg is that East Egg is a place of residence for the people who inherited their wealth, while West Egg is a place where people who worked for their wealth lived. This also reveals the status of wealth for Tom and Gatsby.
Plot summary
To first briefly explain the characters, there are Nick, the narrator and a close neighbor of Gatsby; Gatsby, a wealthy man; Daisy, who falls in love with Gatsby; and Tom, a husband of Daisy.
The story begins with Nick, a writer, explaining what happened over the last few years.
Nick and Gatsby became close friends because they are neighbors. One day when Gatsby held a party, he meets Daisy, his ex-fiancée, and they fall in love with each other. While they are having a lovely time, Tom, the husband of Daisy, gets jealous of their relationship.
On another day, Daisy, Gatsby, Tom, Nick, Jordan (Daisy’s friend) go out to have dinner. When they were heading to the restaurant, Daisy and Gatsby road Tom’s car, and Tom, Nick, and Jordan road Gatsby’s yellow car. After dinner when they were returning to their hometown, Daisy and Gatsby road Gatsby’s yellow car, and Tom, Nick, and Jordan road Tom’s car. While heading home, Gatsby’s yellow car hits Mrs. Wilson, who is in love with Tom.
Tom is falsely accused because he was riding the yellow car before dinner. Therefore, he explains that Gatsby is the one who killed Mrs. Wilson. The ironic part is that actually, it was Daisy who was driving the car; however, Gatsby lies that he killed Mrs. Wilson because he did not want Daisy to feel guilty. At the end of the book, Mr. Wilson kills Gatsby with a gun.
Impressive words or phrases
“I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties, there isn’t any privacy.” — Jordan Baker
“Their eyes met, and they stared together at each other, alone in space.”
Takeaway
Through this book, I learned about the impossibility of recapturing and regaining the past through the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby wanted to build a great relationship with Daisy and marry her, but it did not turn out so well. Gatsby did not think realistically but just voiced and acted according to feel feelings.
I learned that rather than reminiscing about the past, I should look forward to the future and make sure that I do not have anything that I might lose.
Vocabs
I read Modern Classics book, so the page number might be slightly different.
Chapter 1
privy: (adj.)used to describe someone who has the access to a secret
“…I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men.” (Fitzgerald, 7)
Chapter 2
rakish angle: an attractive way that something is tipped to one side
“Her eyebrows had been plucked and then drawn on again at a more rakish angle, but the efforts of nature…” (Fitzgerald, 32)
Chapter 3
prodigality: (n.) an instance of spending money or resources without care or restraint
“Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word.” (Fitzgerald, 42)
Chapter 4
nonolfactory: (adj.) that does not involve or relate to the sense or organs of smell
“…with the city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of nonolfactory money” (Fitzgerald, 67)
Chapter 5
wreath: an arrangement of flowers, leaves, or stems fastened in a ring and used for decoration or for laying on a grave
“His children sold his house with the black wreath still on the door.” (Fitzgerald, 86)
Chapter 6
lethargic: characterized by laziness or lack of energy
“A massive and lethargic woman, who had been urging Daisy to play golf with her at the local club tommor…” (Fitzgerald, 102)
Chapter 7
sensuous: relating to or affecting the senses rather than the intellect
“There’s something very sensuous about it.” (Fitzgerald, 119)
Chapter 8
armistice: an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time; a truce
“After the armistice he tried frantically to get home…” (Fitzgerald, 143)
Chapter 9
reverent: feeling or showing deep and solemn respect
“He drew me into his office, remarking in a reverent voice that it was a sad time for all of us, and offered me a cigar.” (Fitzgerald, 162)