1. Characters in The Great Gatsby

2. Nick Carraway Narrator Midwesterner Ivy League WWI vet Living in NY

3. Jay Gatsby Protagonist (main character) Mysterious Nouveau Riche Lavish parties Loves Daisy before War

4. Daisy Buchanan Married to Tom Gatsby’s love interest Socialite Nick’s cousin

5. Tom Buchanan College friend of Nick’s Married to Daisy Super rich— never worked ever

6. Jordan Baker Daisy’s childhood best friend Socialite—super rich Professional golfer Nick’s love interest

7. Myrtle Wilson Married to George Member of lowest class—the working poor Lives above a gas station in Valley of Ashes

8. George Wilson Married to Myrtle Valley of Ashes— Dump between NYC and Long Island (West and East Egg)

9. F. Scott Fitzgerald Born into East Coast family, raised in the Midwest Left Princeton in 1917 to join the army First published in 1920 This Side of Paradise  Novel defined the Jazz Age  Short hair  illegal alcohol  Short Skirts  parties  jazz music Published The Great Gatsby in 1925  Considered by literary community to be a flawless masterpiece

10. F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby  Published first in 1922 as a short story called “Winter Dreams”  Commercial failure during Fitzgerald’s life—was also the beginning of the end of his marriage to Zelda; decline of his health as alcoholism took over  Themes  Novel exposed wealth as a dehumanizing force that destroys the heart  Trying to fulfill the American Dream can and will cost some people everything  People who are driven by wealth lack a moral or spiritual compass  Motifs  Social status—New Money (earned wealth) vs. Old Money (inherited wealth); Ultra Rich Values(Buchanans and Jordan) vs. Middle Class Values (Nick) vs. Lower Class Values (Wilson and to some extent, Gatsby)

11. Setting What year does the story take place during?  Summer of 1922; “…after various delays I came East, permanently, I thought, in the spring of twenty-two.” West and East Egg  East Egg: more fashionable of the two—all who live in East Egg are OLD MONEY  West Egg: newly settled by those who have recently earned their fortunes NEW MONEY  Also still has smaller homes from the time before the wealthy moved in Valley of the Ashes  Garbage dump and railroad crossing between the Eggs and NYC  This is where the Wilsons live