F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great
Gatsby
Connection between the title and the book
The Great Gatsby refers to the character of Jay Gatsby who is considered a great and powerful
person because he has an enormous amount of money and organises grand parties.
Main Characters
Jordan Baker is a famous golf star and a good friend of Daisy, who is a child at home with her. They
have known each other since childhood and Jordan knows her deepest secrets. She loves to go to
parties at Gatsby's house and is a typical young lady in her twenties, confident, outgoing and
enjoying her youth, beauty and zest for life. She has a rather loose relationship with Nick and
discovers the shared past of Gatsby and Daisy. She falls in love with Nick because he is less
superficial than the others around her, but eventually breaks up with him because he has changed
too much and moves in with Daisy and Tom.
Tom Buchanan is Daisy's husband and a real lover of the finer things in life: booze, cigars, sports and
women. He has strong opinions and is very domineering over those around him, as he thinks
everyone should agree with him. He treats his mistress the same way: as an unimportant toy for his
entertainment. Tom can be very angry and aggressive to get what he wants; he is selfish and will not
stop until he gets what he wants - even if it means violence and deceit. In the end, he also manages
to overcome the obstacles to his happiness and move on with his trophy (Daisy).
Daisy Buchanan is Nick's cousin who welcomes him and introduces him to life on Long Island. She is
actually very shallow and simple: she conforms to her husband's wishes and almost always represses
her own feelings and desires. She can be quite childish and posturing when something doesn't suit
her, as she is sometimes uncertain about the course of events. Daisy is very kind and gentle in
character, but also quite naive and superficial: she doesn't ask questions about what is happening
and sticks to her husband's rules. When she meets her great love again, this seems to change, but in
the end her sense of duty is more important to her than her true love.
Jay Gatsby is Nick's neighbor and a mysterious person. Nobody knows him personally, but everyone
knows about his terribly extravagant parties in his gigantic house. When Nick gets to know him,
Gatsby turns out to be a man with a dubious past, who is above all very lonely: almost his entire life
is devoted to winning back his great love. He throws parties to attract her attention. Gatsby is a
rather insecure person who cares about pleasing other people and is very trusting - this is shown by
his catchphrase ‘old sport’. He has a good heart, but doesn't always do the right things because he
sometimes loses sight of his goal. In the end, his fierce love for Daisy, whom he wants to protect at
all costs and for whom he always wants to take care of, becomes fatal to him.
Nick Carraway is the narrator of the story and the main character. He fought in the First World War
and now has a job in New York. To do so, he moves to Long Island, near his cousin Daisy and her
husband Tom. They introduce him to the American Dream, the opulence of wealth and the conflicts
it brings. Nick is quite naive in character and easily impressed by people and phenomena. He is often
guided by his emotions and wants to please people, but on the other hand finds it difficult to break
away from his traditional norms and values, which are thrown into disarray by the new life and
people on Long Island. Nick has a strong sense of morality, but he tends to keep his opinions to
Gatsby
Connection between the title and the book
The Great Gatsby refers to the character of Jay Gatsby who is considered a great and powerful
person because he has an enormous amount of money and organises grand parties.
Main Characters
Jordan Baker is a famous golf star and a good friend of Daisy, who is a child at home with her. They
have known each other since childhood and Jordan knows her deepest secrets. She loves to go to
parties at Gatsby's house and is a typical young lady in her twenties, confident, outgoing and
enjoying her youth, beauty and zest for life. She has a rather loose relationship with Nick and
discovers the shared past of Gatsby and Daisy. She falls in love with Nick because he is less
superficial than the others around her, but eventually breaks up with him because he has changed
too much and moves in with Daisy and Tom.
Tom Buchanan is Daisy's husband and a real lover of the finer things in life: booze, cigars, sports and
women. He has strong opinions and is very domineering over those around him, as he thinks
everyone should agree with him. He treats his mistress the same way: as an unimportant toy for his
entertainment. Tom can be very angry and aggressive to get what he wants; he is selfish and will not
stop until he gets what he wants - even if it means violence and deceit. In the end, he also manages
to overcome the obstacles to his happiness and move on with his trophy (Daisy).
Daisy Buchanan is Nick's cousin who welcomes him and introduces him to life on Long Island. She is
actually very shallow and simple: she conforms to her husband's wishes and almost always represses
her own feelings and desires. She can be quite childish and posturing when something doesn't suit
her, as she is sometimes uncertain about the course of events. Daisy is very kind and gentle in
character, but also quite naive and superficial: she doesn't ask questions about what is happening
and sticks to her husband's rules. When she meets her great love again, this seems to change, but in
the end her sense of duty is more important to her than her true love.
Jay Gatsby is Nick's neighbor and a mysterious person. Nobody knows him personally, but everyone
knows about his terribly extravagant parties in his gigantic house. When Nick gets to know him,
Gatsby turns out to be a man with a dubious past, who is above all very lonely: almost his entire life
is devoted to winning back his great love. He throws parties to attract her attention. Gatsby is a
rather insecure person who cares about pleasing other people and is very trusting - this is shown by
his catchphrase ‘old sport’. He has a good heart, but doesn't always do the right things because he
sometimes loses sight of his goal. In the end, his fierce love for Daisy, whom he wants to protect at
all costs and for whom he always wants to take care of, becomes fatal to him.
Nick Carraway is the narrator of the story and the main character. He fought in the First World War
and now has a job in New York. To do so, he moves to Long Island, near his cousin Daisy and her
husband Tom. They introduce him to the American Dream, the opulence of wealth and the conflicts
it brings. Nick is quite naive in character and easily impressed by people and phenomena. He is often
guided by his emotions and wants to please people, but on the other hand finds it difficult to break
away from his traditional norms and values, which are thrown into disarray by the new life and
people on Long Island. Nick has a strong sense of morality, but he tends to keep his opinions to
