This is an introductory presentation on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald called ‘The Great Gatsby’

1. THE GREAT GATSBY
INTRODUCTORY PRESENTATION ON
PRESENTED BY:-
KAVITA CHAUHAN
TRUPTI NAYAK
UNNATI BAROLIYA
BHUMIBA GOHIL
Department of English MKBU
Date- 13th February 2024

2. Table of Contents
● Introduction of the Author
● Key Facts about the Novel
● Historical Background
● Characters
● Plot Summary
● Themes
● Symbols
● References

3. F. Scott Fitzgerald was a 20th-century American short-story writer, novelist and
essayist. (Hollywood to write film scripts(in 1937). He is best known for his
novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age
About the Author
He was one of the most important American writer of the
early 20th Century.
In full: Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
Born: September 24, 1896, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died: December 21, 1940, California (aged 44)
Nationality: American
Gerne(s): Novel , short shorts : fiction

4. Fitzgerald attended Princeton University but dropped out with bad grades and 1917
to join the United States army during world war I. And Assigned to camp Sheridan in
Alabama, where he met Zelda Sayre. In 1920 he married with her.
During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short
stories.
● The Beautiful and Damned (1922)
● Tales of the Jazz Age (1922)
● Tender is the Night (1934)
● The Great Gatsby (1925)
● Ambition and Loss
● Discipline vs Self-indulgence
● Love and romance
● Money and class
Notable Works Fitzgerald's Main Themes

5. Key Facts
● Full Title: The Great Gatsby
● Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
● Type of Work: Novel
● Genre: Tragedy, Modernism, Realism, Social satire
● Setting: Set in and around New York, in the 1920s
● Published : 10 April, 1925
● Publisher: Charles Scribner’s Son

6. • The Great Gatsby is set against the backdrop of the Jazz Age, a term coined to
describe the cultural, social, and artistic dynamism of the 1920s in the United States.
• This period, also known as the Roaring Twenties, followed the end of World War I
and was marked by significant changes in American society.
• Cultural dynamism, jazz music, economic prosperity, and changing social norms
characterized the era.
• Flapper fashion emerged with short hair, loose dresses, symbolizing the liberated
and independent spirit of young women.
• The Prohibition Act, banned alcohol, leading to illegal activities.
• World War I (1914-1918) had a profound impact, challenging traditional values, and
causing disillusionment among returning soldiers.
Historical Background

7. Characters
Nick Carraway the narrator of the novel. He is quite, tolerant,
open-minded and as a result others tend to talk to him and
tell their secret.
Jay Gatsby the title character around thirty years old, the qualities of
self- invention is what gives Gatsby his quality of "greatness". Later
became wealthy by organized crime, including distributing illegal
alcohol and trading in stolen securities.
Daisy and Tom Buchanan are husband and wife. Prior to their
marriage Daisy was in love with Gatsby. Tom's body is a cruel body
with enormous power and was a college athlete. He had an
extramarital affair with Myrtle Wilson.

8. Characters
Jordan Baker belongs to the upper crust of society. She
has quickly risen among the social ranks to become a
famous golfer - a sport played mainly among the wealthy.
Myrtle and George Wilson are husband and wife. Myrtle
feels imprisoned in her marriage, a downtrodden and
uninspiring man who she mistakenly believed had a
good breeding.

9. Overview
● Nick Carraway's arrival:- Nick rents a small house in West Egg, next door to Gatsby's
extravagant mansion.
● Rekindled Romance:- Nick facilitates a reunion between Gatsby and Daisy, who were young
lovers before Gatsby went to war. Gatsby's sole purpose in life seems to be winning Daisy
back, and he throws his wealth at creating an illusion of the life he believes she deserves.
● Social Divide:- Social and moral differences between the newly rich (Gatsby) and
established aristocracy (Tom Buchanan). Gatsby's past and illegal means of acquiring
Wealth become a point of connection.
● Tragedy Strikes:- Tom discovers the affair of Daisy with Gatsby.
● Unraveling the dream:- Realizes the hollowness of Gatsby's dream and the destructive
nature of American Dream itself.
● Aftermath:- Nick helps arrange Gatsby's funeral, where the emptiness of Gatsby's life is
painfully evident.

10. Themes
● Anyone, regardless of their background, can achieve success through
hard work, determination and ambition
● Decayed social and moral values and empty pursuit of pleasure
● Flawed and unattainable
The American Dream
The Hollowness of Upper Class
● Old Money vs New Money
● The East Egg and The West Egg
“They were careless people, Tom
and Daisy—they smashed up things
and . . . then retreated back into their
money . . . and let other people clean
up the mess they had made.”
Love and Marriage
● Marriage of convenience
● Illusion of love

11. Symbols
● The Green Light - Hope, Unattainable dreams, Longing for
Daisy and the failure of American dream
● The Valley of Ashes - Moral and social decay,
Consequences of the pursuit of wealth, Emptiness of
materialism and the wasteland of human desires
● Dr. T. J. Eckleburg's Eyes - Eyes of god, Moral
conscience of society and the meaninglessness of
the world
● Gatsby’s Mansion and Fortune - Materialism of the
Jazz age and corruption

12. Work Cited
● Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby: The Only Authorized Edition. United States, Scribner, 2003.
● “International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development.” The American dream in Fitzgerald's The
Great Gatsby: A boon or a bane, 2.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341284511_The_American_dream_in_Fitzgerald's_The_Great_Gatsby_A
_boon_or_a_bane
● Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www.iiste.org ISSN 2422-8435 An International Peer-reviewed
Journal Vol.45, 2018 42 Symbolism in the Great Gatsby, https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234693556.pdf.
● “Mizener, Arthur. "F. Scott Fitzgerald". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Jan. 2024,
https://www.britannica.com/biography/F-Scott-Fitzgerald. Accessed 13 February 2024.”
● “Sebastian Fälth C-essay Supervisor: Maria Proitsaki / Emma Karin Brandin.” Social Class and Status in
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, 1. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:667768/fulltext01.pdf.

13. THANK YOU!