Literary Analysis: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Published in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is widely considered the quintessential “Great American Novel.” Set in the summer of 1922 on the fictional Long Island towns of West Egg and East Egg, the novel dissects the collapse of the American Dream in an era of unprecedented wealth, materialism, and social upheaval.

1. Major Themes

• The Corruption of the American Dream: Originally rooted in the ideals of hard work, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness, the American Dream in the Roaring Twenties degenerated into a mere pursuit of material wealth and hedonism. Gatsby’s dream of winning back Daisy Buchanan—fueled by immense wealth and reinvention—symbolizes this distortion. His noble, albeit naive, romantic idealism is corrupted by the materialistic world he navigates.
• The Illusion of Class and Social Stratification: The novel sharply divides its characters by geography and social lineage:
  • East Egg represents “old money”—established aristocracy characterized by inherited wealth, cynicism, and moral decay (represented by Tom and Daisy Buchanan).
  • West Egg represents “new money”—nouveau riche individuals who have recently acquired wealth but lack social standing and refinement (represented by Gatsby).
  • The Valley of Ashes represents the desolate underbelly of society, populated by those left behind by industrialization and the pursuit of wealth (represented by George and Myrtle Wilson).
• The Past and the Inability to Repeat It: Gatsby’s central flaw is his refusal to accept the passage of time. Believing that his newly acquired fortune can effortlessly buy back the past, he famously tells Nick Carraway, “Can’t repeat the past? … Why of course you can!” Fitzgerald illustrates that time is irreversible, and attempting to resurrect a romanticized memory leads only to tragedy.
• Hollowness of the Upper Class: Beneath the glittering facade of Gatsby’s legendary parties and the Buchanans’ opulent lifestyle lies profound moral emptiness, carelessness, and cruelty. Nick ultimately describes Tom and Daisy as “careless people” who “smash up things and creatures and then retreat back into their money.”

2. Key Symbols

• The Green Light: Situated at the end of Daisy’s dock across the water from Gatsby’s mansion, the green light represents Gatsby’s hopes, dreams, and yearning for the future. By the end of the novel, it expands into a broader symbol representing the elusive American Dream itself—something that constantly recedes into the distance.
• The Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg: Painted on a fading, giant billboard in the Valley of Ashes, these giant, bespectacled eyes gaze down indifferently over the desolate landscape. While some characters (like George Wilson) interpret them as the eyes of God watching over human moral decay, Fitzgerald ultimately presents them as meaningless: a commercial remnant overlooking a spiritually bankrupt world.
• Gatsby’s Mansion: The mansion is a monumental testament to Gatsby’s immense wealth and his desperate desire to win Daisy’s approval. Yet, despite being perpetually filled with crowds of partygoers, it remains fundamentally empty, echoing Gatsby’s profound isolation and lack of genuine human connection.
• The Weather: Fitzgerald skillfully uses weather to mirror the emotional climate of the plot. The sweltering, oppressive heat during the confrontation scene at the Plaza Hotel mirrors the rising tensions and explosive tempers of the characters just before Myrtle Wilson’s fatal accident.

3. Character Dynamics

• Nick Carraway (The Narrator): As both an insider and an outsider—hailing from the Midwest, educated at Yale, living in West Egg, and connected to East Egg through his cousin Daisy—Nick functions as the moral compass and unreliable observer of the novel. He famously describes himself as “within and without,” possessing a dual nature of simultaneous tolerance and critical judgment.
• Jay Gatsby (James Gatz): Born to impoverished North Dakota farmers, Gatsby reinvents himself through sheer willpower and criminal enterprise. He is a tragic romantic hero whose entire identity is a meticulously crafted facade designed to win over the woman he loves, ultimately making him a poignant symbol of romantic aspiration.
• Daisy Buchanan: The golden girl of Gatsby’s dreams. While Gatsby imbues her with an ethereal perfection, Daisy is ultimately revealed to be selfish, cowardly, and deeply anchored in the security of her social class.
• Tom Buchanan: Boorish, arrogant, and hypocritical, Tom represents the brutal exercise of privilege and entitlement. His casual racism and chauvinism underscore the rot at the core of the American aristocracy.

4. Literary Style and Technique

• Lyrical Prose: Fitzgerald’s writing is celebrated for its evocative imagery, metaphor, and rhythmic cadence, elevating a relatively short narrative into a poetic masterpiece.
• First-Person Point of View: Nick’s narration filters the events through a retrospective lens, allowing the reader to experience Gatsby’s grandeur while simultaneously recognizing his tragic flaws through Nick’s evolving moral awareness.