Analysis

In the following pages, you can find an in-depth guide to an analysis of all the important aspects of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

First, we will take a look at the structure of the story, considering the way the plot evolves over time and when the most dramatic events of the story takes place. We will also consider the significance of the novel’s title in this section.

Secondly, we will provide in-depth characterizations of the most important characters of the novel, as well as brief overviews of the secondary characters. We will also discuss some of the key relationships between different characters that may be observed throughout the novel.

Thirdly, we will take a closer look at the setting of the story, focusing especially on the historical context of the US during the Jazz Age, as well as social aspects such as the various class conflicts that can be observed.

In the fourth analysis section, we will consider the narrator and point of view, describing the effects of using Nick Carraway as the first-person narrator, as well as the occasional breaks from this point of view that occur towards the second half of the novel.

Finally, we will provide in-depth analysis of the language Fitzgerald uses to present the story, noting both general aspects such as choice of words and sentence structure, and more specific aspects such as choice of literary devices.

You can read the full analysis of The Great Gatsby in the following sections!

Excerpt from the study guide:

Tom and Daisy's relationship, as a married couple, is complex. Their life is built around luxury and ease and the desire to maintain their easy life and aristocratic status. At the end of the novel, Nick characterizes the couple as both uncaring and careless, lacking real human emotion and empathy. They do not appear to care very much for each other either and their relationship is difficult at times. Tom's attitude towards women is overbearing and brutish, and he tells everyone of his affair with the lower-class Myrtle (who even calls him at his house), apparently not caring if Daisy finds out. It is also heavily suggested that Daisy is fully aware of Tom’s tendency to pursue various affairs with other women - at one point she even offers to lend him a pen to write down someone’s address (p. 102).

Nevertheless, by the end of the book their relationship seems to have strengthened, perhaps based on a mutual appreciation of each other's aristocratic and wealthy roots.