The Great Gatsby Study Guide: Themes, Plot, Characters

Last updated on March 10, 2021 by

The Great Gatsby is a 1922 novel by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was set during the Great Depression and tells the story of Nick Carraway and his pursuit of wealth in New York. The story tells about Nick’s interactions during his stay with his neighbors and colleagues, and what he learns throughout his stay. The book is considered an American classic because it clearly and realistically details life back in the 1920s. During widespread job layoffs and people establishing themselves among the elites overnight, The Great Gatsby greatly explains it all. To learn more things about this book, refer to the guides below.

The Great Gatsby Summary and Analysis

The Great Gatsby Characters

the great gatsby
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Characters are one of the most important aspect of a good novel. On that note, this The Great Gatsby character map lists down each character that appeared in the story. We provided simple descriptions to get to know them well, and how they affected the life of the protagonist, Nick Carraway. The chart below maps out the characters of the novel for a clearer view of their relationships.

Plot Summary of Chapters

plot chapters
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This Great Gatsby summary follows the story of Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota who moved to New York. His goal was to make it big in “the city that never sleeps” by selling bonds. Carraway stays at a house that he rents in West Egg, where he meets his neighbor and would be millionaire friend Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is well-known in the neighborhood as someone who party day and night. Once Nick knew about this, he started befriending Jay in the hopes of getting invited to one of his parties. He initially planned to build connections to the elites of New York thru Gatsby’s party. Little did he know that there is a connection between Gatsby and his cousin Daisy Buchanan.

The two were lovers in the past, but Jay hasn’t moved on from Daisy and wants to get back together, even though the latter is already married to Tom. Nick and Jay hash a plan to invite Daisy over and give them time to talk, which eventually leads to an affair between the two. Tom finds out about it and kills Jay in a fit of rage. Nick, terrified by the experience, decides to move back to Minnesota and decides to follow a different path. This is the plot of the entire The Great Gatsby book, but there are some details that were not included to avoid spoiling those who haven’t read the book yet. For more information, refer to the chapter summary chart below.

The Great Gatsby Book Analysis

the great gatsby analysis
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It is undeniable that The Great Gatsby is a remarkable piece of work. This is because of its pessimistic portrayal of the great American dream. In an era where the economy is struggling, it gave a sense of hope in the beginning which is the classic rags to riches story, as portrayed by Jay Gatsby. However, things take a tragic turn resulting in the death of the latter. It also shows a great contrast between those who succeeded on their own, and traditional wealthy elites. Fitzgerald clearly expressed his intentions of highlighting the gap between those with and without connections, as shown by the events between Gatsby and Tom.

In-terms of writing style, this is not your typical happy ending, which breathes a sense of reality to its readers. Personally, we think that The Great Gatsby character map above shows the importance of having a diverse set of characters, which gives depth to the entire plot.

Book Summary with Mind Map

If you wonder how to make attractive book summaries like the ones above, then you are on the right place. The charts above are called mind maps, and they have various applications. Although they are very effective in sharing information like the ones for The Great Gatsby. If you want to learn how to make a The Great Gatsby character map or chapter summary, then you can find the steps below.

  • Open GitMind from a web-browser and then click the “Get Started” button from the landing page. After that, click the “New Mindmap” button. Alternatively, you can also choose from the sets of available templates within its library.
  • Next, start editing the book summary map from the editing panel. Add the necessary information like title, chapter summaries and character information to each nodes. You can also alter the design of the map by changing the node colors and shape.
edit the mindmap
  • Finally, to save the The Great Gatsby summary or character map, click the “Save” button. Additionally, you can download the map on your PC by clicking the “Export” button.
save the chart

Conclusion

The Great Gatsby is a great novel. No wonder it has been considered one of the best in American literature, and was even made into a movie which starred Leonardo DiCaprio. There are many other books that you can read like this one, however, if you want to read The Great Gatsby, then try reading out summary above. The Great Gatsby summary above will surely give you a clear glimpse of what you can expect from the book itself.

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Posted by: on to Tips and Resources. Last updated on March 10, 2021

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  • For someone who watched the movie and eventually read the book, I can say that the mind maps are all accurate! Thanks for sharing this to the world.
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