Set in the summer of 1922, The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, a Yale graduate and World War I veteran who moves to West Egg, Long Island, to work in the bond business. West Egg is home to the nouveau riche while neighboring East Egg houses the old-money elite. Nick rents a modest house next to a grand mansion owned by the enigmatic and wealthy Jay Gatsby, who is known for hosting extravagant parties.
Nick reconnects with his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, who lives in East Egg with her husband, Tom. Daisy is beautiful but shallow, and Tom is arrogant and unfaithful, carrying on an affair with Myrtle Wilson, the wife of George Wilson, a mechanic in the Valley of Ashes, a desolate industrial area between West Egg and New York City. Despite their apparent privilege, Daisy and Tom’s marriage is marked by dissatisfaction and infidelity.
Nick becomes intrigued by Gatsby, who is rarely seen but is often the subject of wild speculation. Gatsby eventually befriends Nick and invites him to one of his lavish parties. At the party, Nick learns that Gatsby is in love with Daisy and has been pining for her for years. Gatsby, born James Gatz, was a poor farm boy who reinvented himself to pursue his dream of wealth and success, largely to win Daisy's love. Five years earlier, Gatsby and Daisy had a romantic relationship, but she married Tom while Gatsby was away during the war.
Gatsby asks Nick to arrange a reunion with Daisy. Nick agrees, and the two meet at Nick’s house. Their reunion is initially awkward, but they soon rekindle their romance. Gatsby’s dream of a future with Daisy becomes his sole obsession, and he believes she will leave Tom for him. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wealth, gained through dubious means such as bootlegging, were all designed to impress Daisy.
As Daisy and Gatsby’s affair intensifies, tensions rise. Tom grows suspicious and confronts Gatsby during a trip to New York City. In a heated argument at the Plaza Hotel, Tom exposes Gatsby’s criminal activities and accuses him of trying to steal Daisy. Tom’s confidence in his control over Daisy is evident when she hesitates to leave him. Daisy ultimately sides with Tom despite her feelings for Gatsby.
The group returns to Long Island. On the way back, Daisy, driving Gatsby’s car, accidentally hits and kills Myrtle Wilson, who had run into the road after an argument with her husband. Gatsby takes the blame for the accident, willing to sacrifice himself for Daisy. George Wilson, devastated by Myrtle’s death, believes the owner of the yellow car is responsible. Tom misleads George, implying Gatsby was driving the car.
The next day, George tracks Gatsby to his mansion and shoots him in his swimming pool before taking his own life. Nick discovers Gatsby’s body and is devastated by the senseless tragedy. Despite Gatsby’s wealth and popularity, few people attend his funeral, revealing the emptiness of his social circle. Even Daisy and Tom leave town without acknowledging Gatsby’s death.
Nick becomes disillusioned with the East Coast’s moral decay and returns to the Midwest. Reflecting on Gatsby’s life, he admires his relentless optimism and capacity to dream, even as he recognizes the futility of his pursuit of an idealized past. Nick concludes that Gatsby’s dream, like the American Dream, is flawed and unattainable, corrupted by materialism and selfishness.
The Great Gatsby is a poignant critique of the American Dream, exposing its hollowness and the moral decay underlying the pursuit of wealth and status. Fitzgerald masterfully captures the Jazz Age’s hedonism and excess, juxtaposing it with themes of longing, disillusionment, and the inexorable passage of time. Gatsby’s relentless pursuit of Daisy symbolizes the human tendency to chase unattainable ideals, while the Buchanans embody the carelessness of privilege. The novel’s enduring power lies in its exploration of universal themes and its lyrical prose, which vividly evokes a world both dazzling and tragic.