The Great Gatsby: Notes & Critical Reading

The Great Gatsby: Notes & Critical Reading
A study and revision resource covering Gatsby's pursuit of the American Dream, its corruption, and the unreliable narration of Nick Carraway.
Gatsby's Pursuit of the American Dream
The Great Gatsby is about the American Dream, and the downfall of those who attempt to reach its illusionary goals. For Jay, the dream is that through wealth and power, one can acquire happiness.
Gatsby's Past and His Dream
Jay had a love affair with the affluent Daisy; he leaves her to amass wealth to reach her economic standards
He moves near to Daisy and throws extravagant parties, hoping by chance she might show up
He himself does not attend his parties but watches them from a distance
"Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay" (p.83)
Gatsby's Devotion and Self-Belief
Taking the Blame
At the Plaza Hotel, Jay still believes Daisy loves him — he takes the blame for Myrtle's death: "Was Daisy driving?" "Yes…but of course I'll say I was." (p.151)
Watching Over Daisy
He watches and protects Daisy as she returns home: "How long are you going to wait?" "All night if necessary." (p.152)
Defying the Past
When Nick says the past cannot be re-lived, Gatsby replies with absolute conviction: "Yes you can, old sport."
Gatsby as Symbol of the American Dream
For Jay, his American Dream is not material possessions, although it may seem that way. He only comes into riches so that he can fulfil his true American Dream — Daisy. Gatsby is a prime example of pursuing the American Dream.
Gatsby's wealth is never the end goal — it is merely the vehicle for something far more personal and elusive.
The Corruption of the American Dream
The Dream's Foundations
The foundation qualities of the Dream in the novel are perseverance and hope. The most glorified characteristic is success against all odds.
Young James Gatz's "Hopalong Cassidy" journal documents his focus on self-improvement:
"Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this." (p.182)
Gatsby's Everlasting Hope
The Green Light
He is first seen reaching out his arms toward the dark water, trembling, towards "a single green light, minute and far away, that might be the end of the dock." (p.25)
Everlasting Striving
Gatsby epitomises the purest characteristic of the American Dream: everlasting hope. He is constantly striving to reach Daisy — from that first moment to the final days of his life.
The Dream's Transformation: Purity to Materialism
1
Pure Ideal
Security, hope, and honest self-improvement
2
Entanglement
Money becomes entangled with hope and success
3
Corruption
Materialism replaces hope — illegal practices, ostentatious parties, lavish clothing
Tom and Daisy: The Void of Humanity
Opulence Without Conscience
Tom and Daisy live with no hopes and no regrets — the true foundation of their characters is their opulence.
Tom admits responsibility for Gatsby's murder and Wilson's suicide, yet claims innocence: "'That fellow had it coming to him'" (p.187)
The Defining Verdict
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money." (p.187)
"Her Voice is Full of Money"
1
The Child Crushes the Dream
Daisy's child crushes Gatsby's hopes of truly recreating the past.
2
The Revelation
When Gatsby blurts out "'Her voice is full of money,'" Nick realises all of Daisy's charm is stripped away — nothing but money underneath (p.127).
3
The Dream Unmasked
The dream Gatsby has been pursuing is ripped apart: he has been chasing not love, but cold, hard money hidden behind a human face.
The Death of the Dream
When Gatsby dies, any chance the American Dream has of surviving in the dehumanised modern world dies with him
Wilson's suicide mirrors Gatsby's death — a rich man and a poor man, both pushing towards the same impossible goal
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." (p.189)
Nasty Nick: The Unreliable Narrator
Nick Carraway is not just one character among several — it is through his eyes and ears that we form our opinions of the other characters. But Nick is very partial in his way of telling the story.
Nick's Claimed Moral Integrity
Nick establishes his credibility early, quoting his father's words about his moral 'advantages'
He claims to be 'inclined to reserve all judgements' — yet, as we learn, he neither reserves all judgements nor does his tolerance reach its limit
He admits making an exception for Gatsby, whom he admires for an 'extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness'
Nick's self-proclaimed impartiality is the first crack in his reliability as a narrator.
Nick's Double Standards
What Nick Overlooks
Nick overlooks Gatsby's bootlegging and association with Meyer Wolfsheim — rumoured to have fixed the 1919 World Series.
What Nick Condemns
Yet he is contemptuous of Jordan Baker for cheating in a mere golf game.
The Irony
He reflects that his one 'cardinal virtue' is that he is 'one of the few honest people' he has ever known — a claim undermined by his own partiality.
Nick's Retreat and Emotional Regression
1
Condemning the West
Nick had recently condemned the West for its insularity and narrow-mindedness.
2
The Summer's Events
After one summer in the East, the events surrounding Gatsby shatter his illusions.
3
Retreating Home
Nick returns home to the security of what is familiar and traditional — the very West he condemned.
4
Running from Love
He also runs away from 'a tangle back home' — a woman to whom he writes 'with love' but clearly doesn't genuinely offer.
Nick as a Fallible Storyteller
Nick is 'in love' with Gatsby's capacity to dream — this clouds his judgement and obscures our grasp on Gatsby
Fitzgerald has created a fallible storyteller: by unsettling the convention of the reliable narrator, he draws attention to the story as fiction and artifice
Ironically, this makes Nick more closely resemble an average human being, heightening the novel's realism
The unreliable narrator is not a flaw in the novel — it is the novel's most sophisticated literary device.