‘The Great Gatsby’ is the most famous novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and this novel published in 1925. The novel is set in the fictional town of West Egg on long Island in the early 1920s. The novel explores themes such as the American dream, social class & inequality, love & desire, moral decay and corruption. And explores the symbols like the Green light, the Valley of Ashes, the eyes of Dr. T.J Eckleburg and Gatsby’s parties.

1. Character Analysis of “The
Great Gatsby”
PREPARED BY
RAHUL DESAI

2. Self Introduction
❑ Presented By :- Rahul Desai
❑ Roll No :- 22
❑ Semester :- 2
❑ Paper No :- 106
❑ Paper Name :- The Twentieth Century Literature: 1900 to
World War 2
❑ Presentation Topic :- Character Analysis of “The Great Gatsby”
❑ Submitted To :- Smt. S.B. Gardi, Department of English
(MKBhavnagar University)
❑ Email ID :- rahuldesai477@gmail.com

3. Index
1. Background of Novel
2. About S. Scott Fitzgerald
3. Main Characters
4. Jay Gatsby
5. Nick Carraway
6. Daisy and Tom Buchanan
7. Secondary characters
8. Themes represented by characters
9. Characters relationships
10. Symbolism in characters
11. Conclusion
12. Citations

4. Background of the novel
► ‘The Great Gatsby’ is the most famous novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and this
novel published in 1925.
► The novel is set in the fictional town of West Egg on long Island in the early 1920s.
► Jay Gatsby , the mysterious millionaire and namesake of the novel, and Nick
Carraway, the first person narrator.
► The novel explores themes such as the American dream, social class & inequality,
love & desire, moral decay and corruption. And explores the symbols like the
Green light, the Valley of Ashes, the eyes of Dr. T.J Eckleburg and Gatsby’s parties.
► Nick Carraway’s eyes readers are introduced to the contrasting worlds of West
Egg & East Egg representing new money & old money respectively.
► The protagonist Jay Gatsby is known for lavish parties and mysterious background
with rumours circulating about his wealth and past. (Martinez)

5. About F. Scott Fitzgerald
► F. Scott Fitzgerald was born on 24 September, 1986.
► He known as a American novelist and short story writer
and he best known foe his novel “The Great Gatsby”.
► Associated with the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties.
► Fitzgerald had some knowledge of Classical language
(Latin) and literature (Greek & Latin) from his school and
college training. (KUEHL)
► Fitzgerald’s unique style and technique. Fitzgerald said of
himself in a letter to his editor Maxwell Perkins, “in a small
way I was original”. With the book of “The side of
Paradise”, Fitzgerald become known as a daring writer
primarily because of his material themes rather than
because of his technical innovation. (Keshmiri,
Mahdikhani)

6. Major Works by Fitzgerald
(1920) (1922) (1925) (1934)

7. Main Characters

8. Jay Gatsby: A man shrouded in Mystery
► Jay Gatsby was established as a dreamer
who was macho, charming, gracious,
diligent, passionate, childish and a bit
mysterious.
► He believed in American Dream and green
light. (That one really could work one’s way
up through hard work, resolve, and self-
identity.)
► By being so focused on his dream of Daisy,
Gatsby moved further and further into a
fantasy world, which had become a childish
illusion.
►Jay Gatsby is driven by his desire for Daisy
Buchanan on the id level. (Ratri)
► Jay Gatsby displayed two behavior types, they
are classified as anxiety and defense
mechanism of the ego.
► The statement “I wanted somebody who
wouldn’t gossip.” Showed that Gatsby was
experiencing anxiety, where he thought that
his affair with Daisy had gone too far.
► Jay Gatsby did just about anything to avoid
pain and preserved a sense of self, and this
compulsion often resulted in him creating
psychological defenses.
► Jay Gatsby was showing three types of
defense mechanisms of the ego; theywere
repression, fixation and regression.
“If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there
was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to
the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate
machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away.”

9. Nick Carraway: The Moral Compass of
“The Great Gatsby”
► Nick Carraway, the narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, is often seen as
the moral center of the story.
► This character grappling with his own desires and disillusionment within the opulent
world of the 1920s.
► Nick arrives in West Egg with a sense of idealism and hope for a fresh start. He becomes
entangled in the lives of Gatsby and Daisy, initially drawn to their extravagant lifestyle.
► Nick acts as a moral compass for the reader, judging the careless behavior of the
wealthy characters.
► Nick’s narration shapes our understanding of the events and characters. However, his
own biases and social status limit his perspective. Nick might judge Gatsby harshly while
overlooking Daisy’s flaws.
► Through Nick’s narration, Fitzgerald critiques the emptiness and destructive nature of
the American Dream as embodied by the upper class.
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some
advise that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you
feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people
in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’”

10. Tom Buchanan & Daisy Buchanan
Tom Buchanan
► Nick describes Tom as a “hulking physical
specimen” and a person with “two shining
arrogant eyes”.
► Tom Buchanan is known for his old money
status and his unpleasant characterization.
► Tom has the idea of social Darwinism, a term
used in the late 19th century to describe the
idea of ‘survival of the fittest’.
► Tom is scared of losing Daisy because she is
like a possession to Gatsby, and she is part of
Tom’s American Dream.
Daisy Buchanan: A
Beautiful Enigma
► Daisy is ultimately more interested in wealth
and social status than true love.
► Daisy’s carelessness and recklessness have
devastating consequences.
► Daisy can be seen as both a victim of
circumstance and a villain who perpetuates
social inequality.
► Daisy’s feelings for Gatsby are fueled by
nostalgia and a desire for a more exciting
life.
► Some interpretations view Daisy as a tragic
heroine, trapped in a loveless marriage and
yearning for a love that may never have
existed.

11. Myrtle Wilson & George Wilson
Myrtle Wilson
► Myrtle aims are too high.
► Myrtle overestimates her value to Tom.
► Myrtle’s complete misunderstanding of
Tom, as well as her violent death, fit
the overall cynical message in the
book that the American Dream is a
false promise to those born outside of
the wealthy class in America.
► Myrtle’s home with George is a dark,
hopeless image of working class life in
America.
George Wilson
► George is also super invested in
doing business with Tom.
► At the end of the novel George
kills himself.

12. Themes
• The American Dream :-
American dream had its fulfillment in the
"orgiastic" post World War I period known
as "the Roaring Twenties. (Pearson)
• Love :-
Quest for love between Daisy, Gatsby,
and Tom Buchanan.
• Money and Materialism
• Desire and relationship

13. Citations
► KUEHL, JOHN. “Scott Fitzgerald’s Reading.” The Princeton University Library
Chronicle, vol. 22, no. 2, 1961, pp. 58–89. JSTOR, https://doi.
org/10.2307/26409872. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.
► Keshmiri, Fahimeh, and Mina Mahdikhani. “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Unique
Literary and Writing Style.” English Language and Literature Studies, 31 May
2015, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279169440. Accessed 22
Mar. 2024.
► Martinez, Julia. "The Great Gatsby". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Mar. 2024,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Great-Gatsby. Accessed 5 April 2024.
► Owens, S. (2019, June 17). Daisy Buchanan: Character Analysis. [Essay]
► Pearson, Roger L. “Gatsby: False Prophet of the American Dream.” The
English Journal, vol. 59, no. 5, 1970, pp. 638–45. JSTOR,
https://doi.org/10.2307/813939. Accessed 22 March, 2024.
► Ratri, Mulyawan, Aryani, Nindita, I Wayan, I Gusti. “(PDF) The Structure of Jay
Gatsby’s Personality in the Great Gatsby Novel.” The Structure of Jay
Gatsby’s Personality in The Great Gatsby Novel, Feb. 2019,
www.researchgate.net/publication/331551370_

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