1、The Great Gatsby Contents Major Characters A Plots B Themes & Symbols C Nick Carraway ?A Yale graduate originating from the Midwest ?A World War I veteran ?At the start of the plot, a newly arrived resident of West Egg, who is aged 29 (later 30). ?He is Gatsbys next-door neighbor and a salesman. ?He
2、 is easy-going, occasionally sarcastic, and somewhat optimistic, although this latter quality fades as the novel progresses. Nick Carraway ?He also serves as the first-person narrator of the novel. ?Nick is a reliable narrator. He does not make quick judgement, and thus is able to gain access to “ma
3、ny curious natures” and become “privy” to unsought confidences. (p218) ?Nick has contact with all of the three groups in the world of Gatsby. Jay Gatsby ?A young, mysterious millionaire with shady business connections (later revealed to be a bootlegger), originally from North Dakota. ?He is obsessed
4、 with Daisy Buchanan, whom he had met when he was a young military officer stationed at the Armys Camp Taylor in Louisville during World War I. ?Idealistic and naive Daisy Fay Buchanan ?An attractive, effervescent, shallow and self-absorbed young Louisville, Kentucky debutante and socialite, identif
5、ied as a flapper . ?She is Nicks second cousin, once removed, and the wife of Tom Buchanan. ?Daisy is believed to have been inspired by Fitzgeralds own youthful romances with Ginevra King. Thomas Buchanan（Tom） ?A millionaire who lives on East Egg, and Daisys husband. ?Tom is an imposing man of muscu
6、lar build with a husky tenor voice and arrogant demeanor. He is a former football star at Yale. ?Buchanan attended Yale and is a white supremacist. Jordan Baker ? Daisy Buchanans long-time friend with autumn-leaf yellow hair, a firm athletic body, and an aloof attitude. ?She is Nick Carraways girlfr
7、iend for most of the novel and an amateur golfer with a slightly shady reputation and a penchant for untruthfulness. Others ?George B. Wilson- a mechanic and owner of a garage. He is disliked by both his wife, Myrtle Wilson, and Tom Buchanan. ?Myrtle Wilson- Georges wife, and Tom Buchanans mistress.
8、 Myrtle is desperate to find refuge from her complacent marriage, but unfortunately this leads to her tragic ending. She is accidentally killed by Gatsbys car. Others ?Meyer Wolfsheim- a Jewish friend and mentor of Gatsbys, described as a gambler who fixed the World Series. Wolfsheim appears only tw
9、ice in the novel, the second time refusing to attend Gatsbys funeral. Relationship no money; marry parties; Daisy kill shoot escape E F A B C D poor; in love bootlegging; rich meet; loss Themes ?The decline of American dream in 1920s It is ruined by the unworthiness of money and pleasure. Later crit
10、ical writings on The Great Gatsby, following the novels revival, focus in particular on Fitzgeralds disillusionment with the American Dream life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Themes ?The story deals with the limits and realities of Americas myths of social and class mobility; and the inevit
11、ably hopeless lower class aspirations to rise above the station(s) of their birth. ?Using elements of irony and tragic ending, it also delves into themes of excesses of the rich, and recklessness of youth . Symbols The green light The embodiment of Gatsbys dream for future and it beckons to him in t
12、he night like a version of fulfillment of is desires. The eyes of Doctor T.J.Eckleburg ?Eyes of justice The eyes tend to mkae observers feel as they are being scrutinized. East egg & West egg ?West egg is like Gatsby, full of garish extravangance, sybolizing the emergence of the new rich of the 1920
13、s. ?East egg is like the Buchanans, wealthy, possessing high social status and powerful, sybolizing the old uper class that continued to dominate the American social landscape. Thanks for listening. Flapper Flappers were a generation of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior.
