The Great Gatsby 1st Edition

The Great Gatsby, considered a literary classic and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, revolves around the life of wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan.

Summary Of The Book

The Great Gatsby is an intricate tale of obsession, wealth, love, madness, and tragedy. It is set in a significant era of American history - the Roaring Twenties, a time when America prospered and her people lived seemingly volatile lives. On the other hand, the demand for a ban on alcohol was gaining ground, leaving bootleggers richer than ever before.

Set during such a time, The Great Gatsby introduces the narrator, Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner who served in the US army during World War I. He moves to New York city to establish a career for himself.

The book begins in West Egg, Long Island, where Nick lives in a rented house. Nick, whose house is right next to the Gatsby mansion, becomes fascinated with the lifestyle of Jay Gatsby, his mysterious new neighbour who is known for the lavish parties he hosts.

Nick’s cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom happen to live right across town in East Egg. They meet Nick occasionally and get along quite well with him. Nick eventually learns that Jay and Daisy were in love once upon a time. He also gets to know that Tom has a mistress.

As the days progress, Nick sees the lives of all four of them getting endlessly complicated, entangled, and nearly devoid of hope. Jay and Daisy’s relationship is central to the plot. The bootlegging that was quite rampant back then also forms an important part of the story.

The Great Gatsby for first published in 1925. It was not much of a commercial success then. It was published again in 1945 and 1953, after which its popularity increased. Such has been its influence in recent times that, over the years, it has been adapted into five films, theatre, television series, opera, web comics, radio, music, computer games, and even book adaptations.

About F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American writer, considered to be one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

He wrote several short stories and novels. Some of his works include The Great Gatsby, The Last Tycoon, Babylon Revisited, Winter Dreams, Tender Is The Night, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, All The Sad Young Men, The Crack-Up, The Beautiful and Damned, and The Offshore Pirate.

His writing had a tremendous influence on the realm of American fiction. It was symbolic of the 1920s in America, a time when the arrival of jazz music brought about a significant shift in American culture. In fact, it was Fitzgerald who coined the popular term Jazz Age to represent this movement. In his own words, Fitzgerald created works of an authentic nature, and then added certain twists to increase their saleability.

Fitzgerald was born in 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. From a very young age, his keen intellect and interest in literature were clearly evident. His association with the written word began at the age of 13 when his first ever story was published in the school magazine. He served in the US army during World War I. He was married to Zelda Sayre and they had a daughter named Frances. For a huge part of his life, Fitzgerald was plagued by alcoholism, financial difficulties, marital woes, and poor health. He died of a heart attack on December 21, 1940. His life has been portrayed in films, plays, and musicals.