The Great Gatsby – Plot Summary (OCR A-Level English Literature): Revision Notes
The Great Gatsby – Plot Summary
Introduction: Nick arrives in New York
The story begins in the summer of 1922 when Nick Carraway, a young man from Minnesota, relocates to New York to pursue a career in the bond business. He settles in West Egg, a district on Long Island characterised by newly acquired wealth. The residents of West Egg are often referred to as the "new rich" - people who have accumulated their fortunes recently and lack established social standing. They tend to display their wealth in obvious, sometimes tasteless ways.
Nick's neighbour is the enigmatic Jay Gatsby, who lives in an enormous Gothic mansion and hosts lavish parties every Saturday night. These gatherings are legendary, drawing crowds of guests, though Gatsby himself remains mysterious to most attendees.
The contrast between West Egg and East Egg serves as Fitzgerald's commentary on the rigid social hierarchy of 1920s America. Despite their wealth, the "new rich" of West Egg could never achieve the social status of East Egg's established families, no matter how extravagantly they displayed their fortunes.
Understanding the geography
The novel's setting is crucial to understanding its social commentary:
- West Egg: represents new money and social climbers who lack refined taste and established connections
- East Egg: symbolises old money, inherited wealth, and the traditional upper class with established social networks
- The valley of ashes: a desolate industrial wasteland between West Egg and New York City, representing the dark underside of 1920s prosperity
Nick differs from his West Egg neighbours because he was educated at Yale and maintains social connections in East Egg through his family background.
Meeting Daisy and Tom
One evening, Nick visits his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom in East Egg. Tom was Nick's classmate at Yale and represents the established upper class. During this dinner, Nick meets Jordan Baker, an attractive but cynical young woman. A romantic relationship develops between Nick and Jordan.
Jordan reveals a significant secret about the Buchanan marriage: Tom is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson, a woman who lives in the valley of ashes. This revelation introduces one of the novel's central themes - the moral corruption beneath the glamorous surface of wealthy society.
Jordan Baker's character embodies the cynicism and moral ambiguity of the Jazz Age. As a professional golfer who cheated to win her first tournament, she represents how dishonesty has become normalised among the wealthy elite.
The apartment party
Shortly after learning about Tom's affair, Nick accompanies Tom and Myrtle to New York City. Tom maintains a separate apartment for his extramarital relationship. At a vulgar, ostentatious gathering in this apartment, Myrtle makes the mistake of repeatedly mentioning Daisy's name, taunting Tom. His violent response - breaking Myrtle's nose - reveals his brutal nature and sense of entitlement.
Tom's violence toward Myrtle foreshadows his capacity for destruction and establishes his character as someone who uses his wealth and social position to escape consequences. Despite his brutality, he faces no repercussions for his actions.
Gatsby's party and his confession
As summer continues, Nick receives an invitation to one of Gatsby's famous parties - a rare honour, as most guests simply arrive uninvited. At the party, Nick encounters Jordan Baker again. Together, they meet Gatsby himself, who surprises Nick with his youth, affected English accent, remarkable smile, and habit of calling everyone "old sport."
The green light and lost love
Gatsby requests a private conversation with Jordan, through whom Nick later discovers crucial information about his mysterious neighbour's past. Gatsby reveals that he met and fell deeply in love with Daisy in Louisville in 1917. His obsession with her has persisted for five years. He often stands on his dock at night, gazing at the green light at the end of Daisy's dock across the bay - a powerful symbol of his unreachable dream.
The Green Light Symbolism
The green light represents multiple layers of meaning in the novel:
- Gatsby's hope and yearning for Daisy
- The unattainable nature of the American Dream
- The future and possibility that always seems just out of reach
- The illusion that drives people to pursue impossible dreams
Fitzgerald uses this simple image to encapsulate the entire tragedy of Gatsby's story.
Everything about Gatsby's lifestyle - the extravagant mansion, the wild parties, the ostentatious displays of wealth - serves a single purpose: to impress Daisy and win her back. He hopes that she might attend one of his parties and they could reconnect.
The arranged reunion
Gatsby asks Nick to help arrange a reunion with Daisy, but he fears she will refuse to see him if she knows he still loves her. Nick agrees to invite Daisy for tea at his house without mentioning Gatsby's presence. After an initially tense and awkward meeting, Gatsby and Daisy rekindle their connection. Their love reignited, they begin an affair.
The confrontation
After a brief period, Tom becomes increasingly suspicious about his wife's relationship with Gatsby. During a luncheon at the Buchanan house, Gatsby stares at Daisy with such obvious passion that Tom realises the truth - Gatsby is in love with his wife.
Despite conducting his own extramarital affair, Tom is outraged by the possibility of Daisy's infidelity. His sense of ownership over his wife is absolute. He forces everyone to drive into New York City, where he confronts Gatsby in a suite at the Plaza Hotel.
Tom's Hypocrisy
Tom's reaction to Daisy's affair reveals the double standards of the era and his character. While he freely conducts his own affair with Myrtle, he views Daisy as his property and cannot tolerate the idea of her having agency or pursuing her own happiness. This hypocrisy is central to understanding the novel's critique of the wealthy class.
The Plaza Hotel showdown
During this confrontation, Tom makes several devastating points:
- He and Daisy share a history that Gatsby could never understand or replicate
- Gatsby is a criminal whose fortune comes from bootlegging alcohol and other illegal activities
- Daisy's loyalty ultimately lies with Tom, not with Gatsby
Tom's revelations about Gatsby's criminal activities shock Daisy. She realises her allegiance must be to her husband. In a gesture of contempt, Tom sends Daisy back to East Egg with Gatsby, confident that Gatsby poses no real threat to his marriage.
Tom's strategy in this confrontation is masterful and cruel. He doesn't just attack Gatsby's character - he systematically dismantles the romantic fantasy that Gatsby has built around Daisy. By emphasising their shared history and Gatsby's questionable past, Tom forces Daisy to see reality rather than the dream Gatsby has offered her.
The tragic climax
As Nick, Jordan, and Tom drive through the valley of ashes on their way home, they make a horrifying discovery: Gatsby's car has struck and killed Myrtle Wilson, Tom's lover. The group rushes back to Long Island in shock.
The truth about the accident
Nick learns a crucial detail from Gatsby: Daisy was actually driving the car when it hit Myrtle, but Gatsby intends to take the blame to protect her. This decision demonstrates Gatsby's continued devotion to Daisy, even as she has chosen Tom over him.
Gatsby's decision to take responsibility for the accident reveals both his nobility and his fatal flaw. His willingness to sacrifice himself for Daisy shows the depth of his devotion, but it also demonstrates his inability to see that she is not worthy of such loyalty. This moment crystallises the tragedy of his character.
The next day, Tom tells Myrtle's husband, George Wilson, that Gatsby owned the car that killed his wife. George, consumed by grief and rage, jumps to the conclusion that the driver must have been Myrtle's lover. He locates Gatsby at his mansion, finds him in the swimming pool, and shoots him dead. George then turns the gun on himself.
The aftermath and Nick's reflection
Nick organises a small, poorly attended funeral for Gatsby - a stark contrast to the hundreds who attended his parties. He ends his relationship with Jordan Baker and decides to leave the East Coast, moving back to the Midwest. He feels profound disgust for the people surrounding Gatsby's life and the moral emptiness he has witnessed among the wealthy.
The contrast between Gatsby's crowded parties and his empty funeral serves as Fitzgerald's damning commentary on the superficiality of the Jazz Age social scene. The hundreds who enjoyed Gatsby's hospitality disappeared when he could no longer provide entertainment or social advantage.
The corruption of dreams
In his final reflections, Nick draws a parallel between Gatsby's personal dream and the broader American Dream. Just as Gatsby's dream of Daisy became corrupted by money and dishonesty, the American Dream of happiness and individualism has deteriorated into mere pursuit of wealth.
Nick recognises that what made Gatsby "great" was his extraordinary ability to transform his dreams into reality and his capacity for hope. However, he concludes that the era of dreaming - both Gatsby's personal dream and the American Dream itself - has ended.
The Central Tragedy
Gatsby's story illustrates the fundamental tension in the American Dream:
- He achieves the material success that the Dream promises
- Yet this success cannot buy him acceptance, love, or belonging
- His dream becomes corrupted by the very wealth he accumulates to achieve it
- The novel suggests that the American Dream itself has been transformed from a vision of individual fulfillment into mere materialism
Key themes illustrated in the plot
Social class and mobility
The plot demonstrates the rigid social barriers between old money (East Egg) and new money (West Egg). Despite his wealth, Gatsby cannot truly enter Daisy's world because he lacks the right background and connections. Tom's dismissal of Gatsby as a criminal reveals the established class's contempt for social climbers.
Fitzgerald uses the geography of the novel to literalise social divisions. The physical separation between East Egg and West Egg represents an unbridgeable social gulf. No amount of wealth can transport someone across that bay - social position depends on birth and family connections, not individual achievement.
The American Dream
Gatsby embodies both the promise and the failure of the American Dream. He transforms himself from poor James Gatz into wealthy Jay Gatsby, yet this transformation cannot buy him acceptance or happiness. The dream becomes corrupted by materialism and dishonesty.
Moral decay
The plot reveals moral corruption at every social level: Tom's brutality and affair, Daisy's cowardice in letting Gatsby take the blame, the carelessness of the wealthy who cause destruction and then retreat into their money.
Fitzgerald's most scathing critique is reserved for the wealthy elite like Tom and Daisy, whom Nick describes as "careless people" who "smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money." Their wealth insulates them from the consequences of their actions, allowing them to destroy lives without facing justice.
Key Points to Remember:
- Nick Carraway narrates the story of Jay Gatsby's doomed love for Daisy Buchanan during the summer of 1922
- The setting contrasts West Egg (new money) with East Egg (old money), highlighting social class divisions in 1920s America
- Gatsby's extravagant lifestyle and parties are designed solely to impress and win back Daisy, his lost love from five years earlier
- The green light at the end of Daisy's dock symbolises Gatsby's unreachable dream and hope for the future
- Tom Buchanan's confrontation at the Plaza Hotel exposes Gatsby's criminal activities and destroys Daisy's romantic illusions
- Myrtle Wilson's death (with Daisy driving Gatsby's car) and Gatsby's murder by George Wilson form the tragic climax
- Nick concludes that both Gatsby's personal dream and the American Dream have been corrupted by materialism and moral decay