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Essays on The Great Gatsby

The great gatsby essay topic examples.

Whether you want to analyze the American Dream, compare and contrast characters, vividly describe settings and characters, persuade readers with your viewpoints, or share personal experiences related to the story, these essay ideas provide a diverse perspective on the themes and complexities within the book.

Argumentative Essays

Argumentative essays require you to analyze and present arguments related to the novel. Here are some topic examples:

  • 1. Argue whether the American Dream is achievable or illusory, as depicted in The Great Gatsby .
  • 2. Analyze the moral ambiguity of Jay Gatsby and the consequences of his relentless pursuit of the American Dream.

Example Introduction Paragraph for an Argumentative Essay: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a tale of ambition, decadence, and the elusive American Dream. This essay delves into the complex theme of the American Dream, exploring whether it remains attainable or has transformed into a tantalizing illusion, luring individuals like Jay Gatsby into its enigmatic embrace.

Example Conclusion Paragraph for an Argumentative Essay: In conclusion, the analysis of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby invites us to reevaluate our perceptions of success and fulfillment. As we contemplate the fate of Jay Gatsby and the characters entangled in his world, we are challenged to define our own version of the American Dream and the sacrifices it may entail.

Compare and Contrast Essays

Compare and contrast essays enable you to examine similarities and differences within the novel or between it and other literary works. Consider these topics:

  • 1. Compare and contrast the characters of Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, exploring their contrasting worldviews and motivations.
  • 2. Analyze the similarities and differences between the portrayal of the Jazz Age in The Great Gatsby and Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises .

Example Introduction Paragraph for a Compare and Contrast Essay: The characters and settings in The Great Gatsby and other literary works offer a rich tapestry for comparison and contrast. This essay embarks on a journey to compare and contrast the enigmatic Jay Gatsby and the brash Tom Buchanan, delving into their contrasting values, aspirations, and roles within the novel.

Example Conclusion Paragraph for a Compare and Contrast Essay: In conclusion, the comparison and contrast of Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan illuminate the divergent paths individuals can take in pursuit of their desires. As we consider the consequences of their choices, we are prompted to reflect on the complexities of ambition and morality.

Descriptive Essays

Descriptive essays allow you to vividly depict settings, characters, or events within the novel. Here are some topic ideas:

  • 1. Describe the opulent parties at Gatsby's mansion, emphasizing the decadence and extravagance of the Jazz Age.
  • 2. Paint a detailed portrait of Daisy Buchanan, focusing on her beauty, charm, and the allure she holds for Gatsby.

Example Introduction Paragraph for a Descriptive Essay: The Great Gatsby immerses readers in the lavish world of the Roaring Twenties. This essay embarks on a descriptive exploration of the extravagant parties at Gatsby's mansion, capturing the opulence and hedonism of the era, as well as the illusions they create.

Example Conclusion Paragraph for a Descriptive Essay: In conclusion, the descriptive portrayal of Gatsby's parties serves as a vivid snapshot of the Jazz Age's excesses and the fleeting nature of indulgence. Through this exploration, we are reminded of the allure and transience of the materialistic pursuits that captivated the characters of the novel.

Persuasive Essays

Persuasive essays involve arguing a point of view related to the novel. Consider these persuasive topics:

  • 1. Persuade your readers that Nick Carraway is the moral compass of the story, serving as the voice of reason and morality.
  • 2. Argue for or against the idea that Gatsby's love for Daisy is genuine and selfless, despite his questionable methods.

Example Introduction Paragraph for a Persuasive Essay: The Great Gatsby presents a tapestry of characters with complex moral dilemmas. This persuasive essay asserts that Nick Carraway emerges as the moral compass of the story, guiding readers through the labyrinth of decadence and disillusionment in the Jazz Age.

Example Conclusion Paragraph for a Persuasive Essay: In conclusion, the persuasive argument regarding Nick Carraway's role as the moral compass underscores the importance of ethical navigation in a world characterized by excess and moral ambiguity. As we reflect on his influence, we are compelled to consider the enduring value of integrity and virtue.

Narrative Essays

Narrative essays offer you the opportunity to tell a story or share personal experiences related to the themes of the novel. Explore these narrative essay topics:

  • 1. Narrate a personal experience where you encountered the allure of materialism and extravagance, similar to the characters in The Great Gatsby .
  • 2. Imagine yourself as a character in the Jazz Age and recount your interactions with Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan.

Example Introduction Paragraph for a Narrative Essay: The themes of The Great Gatsby resonate with the allure of a bygone era. This narrative essay delves into a personal encounter with the seductive pull of materialism and extravagance, drawing parallels to the characters' experiences in the novel.

Example Conclusion Paragraph for a Narrative Essay: In conclusion, the narrative of my personal encounter with the allure of materialism reminds us of the timeless nature of the themes in The Great Gatsby . As we navigate our own desires and ambitions, we are encouraged to contemplate the balance between aspiration and morality.

Nicks Personality in The Great Gatsby

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The Portrayal of Female Characters in F.s. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

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April 10, 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Novel; Fiction, Tragedy

Jay Gatsby , Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, Jordan Baker, Meyer Wolfsheim, George B. Wilson, Trimalchio, Mr. Gatz

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote "The Great Gatsby" with multiple motivations in mind. Firstly, he sought to critique the materialistic excesses and moral decay of the Roaring Twenties, a period of post-World War I prosperity. Fitzgerald aimed to expose the disillusionment and hollowness behind the glittering facade of the American Dream. Additionally, he drew inspiration from his own experiences and observations of the wealthy elite and their decadent lifestyles. Through the character of Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald explored themes of unrequited love, longing, and the pursuit of an unattainable ideal. Ultimately, Fitzgerald's intent was to capture the essence of an era and offer a profound commentary on the human condition.

The story revolves around Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a married woman with whom he had a romantic past. Narrated by Nick Carraway, a young man from the Midwest, the novel delves into the opulent and extravagant lives of the wealthy elite in Long Island. As Gatsby throws lavish parties in the hope of rekindling his relationship with Daisy, the narrative explores themes of love, wealth, illusion, and the disillusionment that comes with the pursuit of the American Dream.

The American Dream , decadence, idealism, resistance to changes, social excess, caution.

The influence of "The Great Gatsby" extends far beyond its initial publication in 1925. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel has become a literary classic, revered for its exploration of themes such as wealth, love, and the elusive American Dream. It remains relevant due to its timeless portrayal of human desires, societal decadence, and the consequences of relentless pursuit. The book's vivid characters and atmospheric prose have inspired countless writers and artists, shaping the landscape of American literature. With its commentary on the dark underbelly of the Jazz Age, "The Great Gatsby" continues to captivate readers, serving as a cautionary tale and a poignant reflection of the human condition.

1. During F. Scott Fitzgerald's lifetime, approximately 25,000 copies of the book were sold. However, since then, it has gained immense popularity, selling over 25 million copies and establishing itself as one of the most renowned American novels. 2. The Great Gatsby did not have its original title as the author considered various options, ranging from "Under the Red, White and Blue" to "The High-Bouncing Lover." These alternative titles were potentially revealing too much about the content prematurely. 3. In 1926, just a year after its publication, the book was adapted into a film, demonstrating its quick transition from page to screen. 4. Fitzgerald's cause of death is believed to have been tuberculosis rather than a heart attack. Sadly, he passed away at the age of 44. 5. The price of this famous novel at the time of its publication in 1925 was $2, representing its value in that era. 6. The Great Gatsby did not immediately receive critical acclaim upon release. However, it has since garnered recognition and praise, becoming a significant literary work.

"The Great Gatsby" has made a significant impact on various forms of media, captivating audiences across generations. The novel has been adapted into several films, with notable versions including the 1974 adaptation starring Robert Redford and the 2013 adaptation featuring Leonardo DiCaprio. These cinematic interpretations have brought the story to life visually, further immersing audiences in the opulent world of Jay Gatsby. Additionally, the novel has been referenced and alluded to in countless songs, television shows, and even video games, solidifying its cultural significance. Its themes of love, wealth, and the pursuit of the American Dream continue to resonate and inspire creative works in popular culture.

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.’” “I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” “Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.” “So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight.” “I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

Studying "The Great Gatsby" holds great importance due to its enduring relevance and literary significance. The novel offers profound insights into themes such as wealth, love, social class, and the corruption of the American Dream. Its exploration of the Jazz Age exposes the allure and emptiness of a materialistic society, making it a compelling study of human desires and societal decay. F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterful prose and symbolic imagery provide rich material for analyzing character development, narrative techniques, and social commentary. Moreover, delving into the novel's historical context allows for a deeper understanding of the cultural and societal shifts of the 1920s.

The inclusion of "The Great Gatsby" as an essay topic for college students stems from its exploration of themes like the American Dream, the juxtaposition of poverty and wealth, and the destructive allure of corruption. The character of Gatsby embodies the American spirit and can be paralleled to contemporary individuals fixated on materialism and fame as measures of romantic success. Furthermore, this literary masterpiece holds a significant place in American literature, as F. Scott Fitzgerald skillfully weaves socio-cultural elements into each sentence, providing a timeless portrayal of American life that resonates across generations. The choice to analyze and write about "The Great Gatsby" allows students to delve into these thought-provoking themes and examine their relevance to society.

1. Stallman, R. W. (1955). Conrad and The Great Gatsby. Twentieth Century Literature, 1(1), 5–12. (https://doi.org/10.2307/441023) 2. John Jerrim, Lindsey Macmillan, (2015). Income Inequality, Intergenerational Mobility, and the Great Gatsby Curve: Is Education the Key?, Social Forces, Volume 94, Issue 2. (https://academic.oup.com/sf/article/94/2/505/2583794) 3. Robert C. Hauhart (2013) Religious Language and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby’s Valley of Ashes, ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews, 26:3 (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0895769X.2013.798233) 4. Burnam, T. (1952). The Eyes of Dr. Eckleburg: A Re-Examination of “The Great Gatsby.” College English, 14(1), 7–12. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/371821) 5. Tom Phillips (2018) Passing for White in THE GREAT GATSBY: A Spectroscopic Analysis of Jordan Baker, The Explicator, 76:3. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00144940.2018.1489769?scroll=top&needAccess=true&role=tab) 6. Matterson, S. (1990). The Great Gatsby and Social Class. In: The Great Gatsby. The Critics Debate. Palgrave, London. (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-20768-8_9) 7. Licence, A. (2008). Jay Gatsby: martyr of a materialistic society: Amy Licence considers religious elements in The Great Gatsby. The English Review, 18(3), 24+. (https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA173676222&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=09558950&p=LitRC&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E5a84816e) 8. Khodamoradpour, Marjan and Anushiravani, Alireza, (2017) Playing the Old Tunes: A Fiskean Analysis of Baz Luhrmann's 2013 Cinematic Adaptation of the Great Gatsby. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, Volume 71. (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3020752) 9. Anderson, H. (1968). THE RICH BUNCH IN" THE GREAT GATSBY". Southern Quarterly, 6(2), 163. (https://www.proquest.com/openview/6a9e704a476d873aada2d2529821b95a/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2029886)

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higher english the great gatsby example essay

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Richard Marriott English

English Lecturing and Tutoring

The Great Gatsby Sample Essay

higher english the great gatsby example essay

This sample essay demonstrates the full range of A-level skills needed to meet the assessment objectives at the highest level.

“They’re a rotten crowd.” I shouted across the lawn. “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” How does Fitzgerald convey a “rotten crowd” in The Great Gatsby and to what effect?

“Rotten” describes a state of putrefaction. It is a word we apply to decomposing fruit, fruit that is over-ripe, decaying and which, close-up, stinks. What a brilliant word to convey the decaying civilisation of post-war Europe and America that surrounds Gatsby – and repulses his friend, Nick – shocking him into moral awareness.

It is primarily through the moral judgements of his narrator, Nick Carraway, – the character that goes East to make money only to retreat revolted by the moral, cultural and social rottenness that he finds among the moneyed classes he wished to join – that Fitzgerald presents his “rotten crowd.” Through Nick, Fitzgerald exercises his narrative art with extraordinary compression: cultural allusion and symbolic names and images are central to his method – underpinning the actions of his characters – so too a poet’s feel for the sound and connotations of words.

Fitzgerald’s allusive method brilliantly conveys the rottenness of Gatsby’s crowd. Names, and names of books allude to a rotten world. Relationships in the East are rotten and infect the outlying members of the great Carraway dynasty: Nick’s second cousin twice removed is married to a philanderer; already unfaithful on honeymoon, we find him in the second chapter introducing Nick to his mistress. Now, the great Gatsby himself has been no monk (he ‘knew women early’ (82) Nick tells us, momentarily picturing a proud and promiscuous young Gatsby), but in pursuing Daisy, he pursues more than sex: he wishes to attain a higher state of being – to ‘romp with the mind of God,’ to ‘gulp down the milk of wonder.’ Romping and gulping suggests a child’s wide-eyed amoral appetite for unbounded satisfaction. Tom’s rottenness, his sexual corruption, then is apparent by contrast with the sublime, high-minded aspirations of the man who would cuckold him. Taking then, Nick, to the apartment where he conducts his affair, Tom leaves Nick while he and Myrtle both disappear – presumably to the bedroom – before reappearing after Nick has had time to ‘read a chapter’ of Simon Called Peter . A chapter-read is an innovative way to measure the length of a human coupling and perhaps degrades (reveals the rottenness of) Tom’s relationship in its brevity (or in its longevity, reveals the rotter luxuriating in his sin) – but more importantly, it is through the title of the book that Fitzgerald reveals the rottenness of this crowd. Robert Keable’s 1922 best-seller records the career of an earnest young clergyman, Peter Graham who volunteers as an army chaplain in the First World War. His faith fails to sustain him on the path of righteousness and he abandons his nice middle class fiancée, Hilda, for the generous charms of a prostitute and a generation of young women whose sexual freedom is more aligned to the Myrtles of Gatsby than the prim propriety of Hilda and the Edwardian England Peter has left behind. However, Peter is not simply a lost cause to the church, he is disillusioned with its teachings and with human nature, the sexual freedoms and easy pleasures of the war generations seem to him more real, more essentially human than the morality he preached from the bible. The novel, condemned in his review as ‘immoral’ by Fitzgerald, is seriously concerned with what war reveals of essential human nature: its immorality, its pessimism lies in its disillusion with love. Fitzgerald’s Gatsby holds on to his aspirations, his faith in the possibility of transcendence through love, despite the hardships of his (quickly overcome!) poverty. It is perhaps only through the contrast with Keable’s response to war that we can appreciate the extraordinary hope implicit in Fitzgerald’s, in his faith in the higher callings and aspirations of the human heart. It would be interesting to know if Fitzgerald had a particular chapter in mind that “didn’t make any sense to [Nick].”

Thus, almost passing reference to a contemporary novel, is fraught with much meaning. The use of a character’s reading material to shape and create meaning is a familiar part of the novelist’s art: think Austen’s Catherine Morland, gently mocked by her author for her indulgence in The Mysteries of Udolfo and the power it has over her imagination. This allusive method is not surprising in Fitzgerald: it is the foundation of Eliot’s “The Waste Land” –a poem Fitzgerald knew by heart, written in the year he sets his Gatsby . In it, the morality, the spiritual condition, of one generation is measured against representative cultural fragments from earlier civilisations.

Fitzgerald is similarly wide-ranging in his frame of reference to convey his “rotten crowd,” alluding to contemporary novels and events as well as ancient texts. Take the casual naming of just one party-goer for example: Ismay. Ismay is collected up as part of a group: “the Ismays and the Christies.” Perhaps Fitzgerald has in mind Bruce Ismay, Managing Director, of the White Star Line and held to blame for the greatest shipping disaster of all time: the loss of the Titanic in 1912; he was J Brute Ismay to the press at the time. He was rumoured to have put pressure on the Chief Engineer to drive the ship faster for a record time for the Atlantic Crossing and was himself a survivor. Newspaper cartoons showed him watching the ship sink from the safety of a lifeboat whilst the true “women and children first” heroes stood facing death on the doomed ship. So, Ismay comes to represent the selfish, self-serving rottenness of Fitzgerald’s contemporary society and the inversion of its moral values.

Ismay is among the first of the East Eggers on Nick’s famous list that helpfully divides the party guests into two according to the Egg whence they arrive: East Egg is the old money (Jesmond) in our local terms; West Egg is new money (we think Darras Hall). The West Eggers are “all connected with the movies in one way or another.”  So one “controlled films Par Excellence” another is a “promoter” (and at the Chapter VI party we meet “the moving-picture director and his Star” (89)). In contemporary – and non-party political terms we find in West Egg the New Labour celebrity culture of film stars, pop stars, and fashion designers as well as the stalwart Old Labour of the Trade Union movement meeting at Blair’s parties: it would be a mistake to believe either group is any more free from corruption than Gatsby’s guests.  Fitzgerald’s crowd fills up the “empty spaces of a timetable” (52) that is now out of date. And their “gray” names assigns them to the ash heaps of The Valley of the Ashes – where the detritus of a dead civilisation is dumped.

The whole list in its conception is a brilliant tribute to writers of the past: “the Prince of something, whom we called Duke, and whose name, if ever I knew it, I have forgotten” concludes the roll with a wonderful contempt for empty title (“of something”) and undeserved respect (“whom we called”). The forgotten name that concludes his portrait echoes Chaucer’s final valediction on his Merchant:

For sothe (truly) he was a worthy man with alle, in every way But, sooth (truth) to seyn, I noot (= ne woot, don’t know )how men hym calle.

“I noot how men hym calle,” he is in other words unworthy of name or remembering. Of all writers, Chaucer is so especially concerned with a man’s worth, (the word is used ironically in the quotation above) his worthiness, the parity between the inner and the outer man. The choice of the Merchant is apt: he represents financial rottenness, self-serving material greed.

The last line of all in Nick’s guest list, “All these people came to Gatsby’s house in the summer,” in its obvious summing up of what we already knows echoes Homer’s method in the famous muster of the armies at the beginning of The Iliad , (e.g. “These were the men whom Amphimachus and Nastes brought.”). The very idea of remembering each with some anecdote of their deeds is again Homeric – but how unedifying their deeds: fighting with bums, drunk on the gravel, arriving with another’s wife, run over by Mrs. Ulysses Swett. The name Ulysses is enough to point us to our Homer. This “rotten crowd” is mocked in comparison to the Greek Heroes of the great ancient civilization of the past: the one at its heroic zenith, the other at its rotten nadir.

Plenty of food then for scholars wishing to track down all these names and associations. Ulysses Swett is in fact a real person (born 1868) and a member of the famous Swett family of Cape Cod who traced themselves back through thirteen generation. However, the names have an immediate, not just a scholarly impact. Swett (homophone for a squalid bodily function) is allied with Belcher (the, what, shamelessly, insolent expulsion of stomach gas through the mouth?– usually avoided because of the bad smell) and Smirke (the silent mocking laugh) – all aspects of our base corporeal rather than spiritual natures.

Worse are the animal names: Blackbuck, Roebuck, connoting both money (buck=dollar) and animal sexuality (a buck is a male deer – like the word ‘tup’ we make the gender distinction usually to refer to sexual behaviour). The name ‘Blackbuck’ perhaps evokes Tom’s fear of the Rise of the Colored Empires , of the sexual potency of black races according to popular myth and also a fear of the black dollar, of black wealth as a part of rising black supremacy. So the names have a resonance that goes beyond the animals and fish they denote (Beluga, Whitebait, Hammer Head – it is easy fit them into a taxonomical classification). It is fun to learn from Wikipedia that the Beluga whale has a ‘high-pitched twitter.’ Such information adds another dimension to our own imagined constructions of Gatsby’s party crowd. But the name itself seems ugly. Is it because it has the consonants of the word ‘ugly’ in it? Or because, as we search to make sense of an unfamiliar word, our brains try out the word ‘bulge’ through the association of sound and thus evoke some ungainly swollen creature, some ulcerous tumescence of money and immorality. Is there something belchy in the sudden release of air in the second vowel sound, Bel u ga? And that is before we think about the associations with caviar and the untouchable luxuries of the war-time rich.

And then there are the Hammerheads: another wonderfully evocative name. What rottenness does this conjure? A family of boneheads. The Hammerhead Shark has evolved an elongated and flattened skull perhaps for the manipulation of prey – nice associations there. It also contains the idea of the tool after which the shark is named, the hammer, blunt bludgeoning instrument. Picture it here in the hands of one of Gatsby’s bootlegging cronies, crushing the skull of some unfortunate prey. Hear in its sounds, the repeated glottal fricatives, (‘ Ha mmer hea d’) the heavy breathing of the hammer-wielder exerting himself in the act of skull-crushing.

There is a poetry in this carefully constructed mock epic that delights in the cultural allusion, in the connotative capacity and the phonological features of words to express the sheer rottenness of this crowd.

Fitzgerald offers a wide, but not comprehensive, survey of the animal kingdom to convey his rotten crowd: in all this verminous, predatory, bestial crowd there is not one airborne, flying creature. There are fish aplenty as well as the semi-aquatic rodent, Ernest Beaver and the tree dwelling Doctor Webster Civet , who despite his airy habitat “drowned last summer.” James B. (“Rot-Gut”) Ferret take his name from the domesticated earth-burrow dwelling carnivorous mammal. All three (beaver, civet, ferret) are noted for scent glands, genital or anal: in the wild, they pollute the air to mark territory; killed, they are used for perfume. The point is of course that Fitzgerald’s elemental imagery portrays Gatsby’s aspirations to transcend mortal bounds as an aspiration to fly. Daisy is associated with air, floating, fluttering, anchored like a balloon. Gatsby aspires to her airiness which lifts her among other things, ‘above the hot struggles of the poor.” (122) He is condemned, through Fitzgerald’s imagery to death by water: he is shot in a swimming pool, to be buried in “soggy ground” (142). The moment is foreshadowed at Nick’s tea-party reunion: Gatsby stands “in a puddle of water glaring tragically” (72). Fitzgerald’s rotten crowd is an earth-bound water-dwelling crowd and they drag Gatsby down to his watery death and earthy resting place. Their very names make the air he breathes stink.

This crowd perhaps constitutes the ‘funny fruits’ (103) of New York of a civilisation that has, in Spenglerian terms, (Oswald Spengler, The Decline of Civilization – the book Fitzgerald never recovered from when writing Gatsby) organically outgrown itself, lost touch with the nature that feeds it to produce the cities, and city folk, this ‘rotten crowd’ that are its fruit. And Fitzgerald’s judgement reveals Nick’s growth to moral understanding – he too will reject the wealth of the East, its money, machines and rottenness to nurture the reputation and aspirations of Jay Gatsby, seeking his flower, his Daisy Fay, who, in his imagination (according to Nick) represents the green breast of an earlier, rural America. For Nick, in Gatsby, found an incarnation of the Faustian legend (there was indeed a Faustina O’Brien –a diminutive and corrupt mini-Faust on that party-list (53)), of man’s desire to transcend the bounds of his mortality and the rottenness of his world.

Richard Marriott English

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to write a compare/contrast essay for the great gatsby.

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These compare/contrast essays are an opportunity for you to tie the character similarities and differences to larger observations about society and class, the American Dream , or identity in the novel. They also allow you to practice standard English class skills: close reading, using lines from the text as evidence, and taking a stance and presenting a supporting argument in an essay.

We’ll go over some basic dos and don’ts for writing compare/contrast essays before diving into some analysis of the most asked-about character pairings. Keep reading if you have a Compare/Contrast assignment on the horizon!

Article Roadmap

  • The do's of a compare and contrast essay
  • The don'ts of a compare contrast essay
  • Why some characters are paired for comparison more often than others
  • Nick and Gatsby
  • Tom and George
  • Tom and Gatsby
  • Daisy and Jordan
  • Daisy and Myrtle

What to Do in a Compare/Contrast Essay

Like anything you write for English class, your essay should be clearly organized, with a thesis statement (a one-sentence summary of your argument), and topic sentences for each body paragraph.

And you should definitely have an overall argument! The point of the compare/contrast essay isn’t for you to just list the differences and similarities between two characters, you need to take those observations and make a larger argument about the novel as a whole . That larger argument allows you to practice writing an essay that contains an argument, which is a skill that nearly all English teachers are focused on building.

To take a quick example, don’t just list the differences between Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. Instead, make an argument like, “Fitzgerald’s portrayal of wealthy New York society through Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan allows him to critique both old money and the newly rich, while reserving his most pointed critiques for the old money crowd.” (Obviously, that’s just one example, and there are dozens of potential arguments you could make while comparing and contrasting characters in Gatsby!)

Make sure to address your larger argument in each body paragraph as you draw out the similarities and differences between the two characters. Don’t get caught in the weeds as you tease out the many differences and similarities in each character pair. Always link back to the bigger picture.

Finally, analyze each quote you use – in other words, don’t stick a quote in your essay and do nothing with it. Make sure to explain how and why the quote demonstrates a key similarity or difference, and what that means for your bigger argument.

What to Avoid in a Compare/Contrast Essay

Don’t just list differences and similarities without an overarching argument . Although you can definitely start brainstorming by making a list of similarities and differences, just presenting that list in essay form won’t get you a good grade, since you need to go deeper and explain what the similarities/differences suggest about the novel as a whole.

And, on the other side, don’t make big claims without some evidence from the text to back them up . For example, don’t say “Tom is selfish while Gatsby cares about others.” Prove those two separate claims (Tom is selfish” and “Gatsby cares about others”) with relevant lines from the book. (And if you’re having a hard time locating good quotes, find a digital version of Gatsby you can search using the CTRL-F function. It’s a lifesaver when gathering relevant quotes for an essay!)

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Why Are These Characters Paired Most Often?

We will tackle these major pairings in the next sections of this article:

Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby

Tom buchanan and jay gatsby, tom buchanan and george wilson, daisy buchanan and jordan baker, daisy buchanan and myrtle wilson.

Before we dig into the analysis, you might be wondering: “why are we only comparing characters of the same gender?” or maybe “why not other pairings? Why not Jordan and Myrtle, or Nick and Tom?” We are focusing on these specific pairings because they are by far the most commonly asked about pairs in essay prompts and discussion topics for The Great Gatsby . And we want this guide, first and foremost, to be helpful to students as you work on assignments involving Gatsby!

Furthermore, these pairings help teachers get you to explore some of the novel’s larger themes . For example, comparing Daisy/ Myrtle or Tom/George can help you explore the differences between the wealthy and the working class . Comparing Daisy/Myrtle or Daisy/Jordan can help you explore the changing status of women during the 1920s. Comparing Tom and Gatsby can get at the old money/new money divide. Finally, differences between Nick and Gatsby raise some of the novel’s larger questions about the American Dream , repeating the past, and identity. In short, these pairings have become common because they each allow fairly easy access to one of the novel’s larger issues.

That’s not to say you couldn’t also explore some of those themes by comparing, say, Jordan and George, or Daisy and Gatsby, but cross-gender compare/contrast essays can be challenging because the status of women and men is so different in the novel. If you are interested in seeing how a particular male and female character are paired, you may be better off studying them through the lens of love, desire, and relationships in the novel, or through the way they relate to one of the novel's symbols or motifs.

With those thoughts in mind, let's jump into the top 5 pairings! For each pairing, we will suggest a few possible larger arguments you can either build from or disagree with, but these are far from comprehensive! You should add to our analysis of the characters and come up with an argument you’re excited about.

Quick Note on Our Citations

Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text.

Although Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway vary both in outlook and temperament, they are also alike in interesting ways. Despite somewhat similar desires, attitudes, and social positions, Nick and Gatsby make very different choices during the novel.

Love and Romance . Nick and Gatsby both want women that are out of their reach, although in different degrees. Daisy is miles above Gatsby in terms of social class. Jordan and Nick are of the same social status, but Jordan doesn't seem free to make her own decisions since an aunt controls her financial life. There is a significant passion gap between Gatsby and Nick as well. Gatsby obsesses over Daisy - he has thought of nothing else for five years, going as far as to buy a house across the bay from her just in case she notices. Nick, meanwhile, is attracted to Jordan's cool and self-sufficient demeanor, but he is clearly not in love with her, as he himself notes ("I wasn't actually in love, but I felt a sort of tender curiosity" (3.159)). 

Approach to Women.  Both men are not particularly interested in the inner lives of the women they want to be with. Gatsby is devastated when Daisy doesn't want to renounce her relationship with Tom completely. Similarly, Nick cavalierly discounts Jordan's penchant to lie, cheat, and generally be cynically uninterested in other people, and then is deeply disappointed when she acts this way after Myrtle's death.

Class and Social Standing.  Although both Gatsby and Nick are outsiders to the wealthy communities of East and West Egg, Nick is a much more in-between character socially than Gatsby. Nick is familiar with the ways of the old money crowd because of his own family's privilege and the fact that he is related to Daisy. Gatsby is not only self-made, but is a criminal who is desperate to pass as part of the old money elite without knowing its customs or rules of behavior. What isolates Nick from East Egg life is his Midwestern values and the importance he places on morality and decency. Gatsby is isolated from everyone by the fact that he can never actually be himself - he is always playing a role and putting on his "Oxford man" persona. It may be this sense of feeling out of place that connects them.

Outlook and Temperament.  Gatsby is an optimist (almost to a delusional degree) while Nick is a realist who finds Gatsby's idealism inspiring and admirable. Gatsby believes in his ability to shape his own life and future, which makes sense since he has managed to transform himself from a farmer to a successful gangster, to impersonate an "Oxford man," and to accumulate a fantastic amount of wealth in a very short time. This belief in his power translates to Gatsby being sure that he and Daisy can go back to their month of idyllic love ("'Can't repeat the past?', he cried incredulously. 'Why of course you can!'" (6.129). Nick tries his best to be an objective realist and to reign in his tendency to judge others. He is deeply in awe of self-directed men like Gatsby, and even Wolfshiem (Nick is amazed to think that one man could be behind a huge event like the rigged World Series). 

Ambition.  Gatsby dreams of greatness. As a young man his mind “romped like the mind of God,” and so as an adult, he seems to have made good on this promise by buying the most ridiculous mansion and throwing the most extravagant parties (6.134). Nick is much less ambitious in comparison. While he comes to New York seeking excitement, he doesn't want to be the wealthiest bond salesman on Wall Street or to have the biggest house. He is happy to be an observer at the edge of the drama rather than being in its midst.

Nick and Gatsby Essay Ideas

Here are potential arguments to build on or disagree with based our observations. These are certainly not the only possible arguments, so be creative! Make sure your essay considers what the similarities and differences between Nick and Gatsby reveal about the novel as a whole.

  • Nick is a passive person and Gatsby is active, which is why Gatsby is the hero and Nick simply the observer.
  • Nick has much more in common with Gatsby than he thinks he does, which explains why he becomes so enamored of him.
  • Nick serves as a foil (someone who serves as a contrast) to Gatsby, which makes Nick the best possible observer of Gatsby.
  • At the end of the novel, Tom says that Gatsby “threw dirt in [Nick’s] eyes, just like Daisy’s,” meaning that both Nick and Daisy were taken in and could never see the true Gatsby: a narcissist and a criminal. Tom is right - the whole novel is Nick trying to spin a negative character into a positive one.

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As they battle over Daisy’s love, Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby sometimes seem surprisingly similar - particular in their self-centeredness, wealth, and concern with appearances. At the same time, these surface parallels point to major conflicts in their social class, and say a lot about the world of the novel.

Appearance.  Gatsby is driven by his materialism to be very invested having fashionable clothes, a beautiful mansion, and visually overwhelming parties - for him, the outfit is the thing that makes the Oxford man . Meanwhile because Tom doesn't have to dress the part of the moneyed elite to be one, he is instead very attuned to the behavior of others. This is why he immediately sees how fake Gatsby's persona is, both because of Gatsby's overly ostentatious clothes, and because of how much Gatsby misreads the fake invitation from the Sloanes. Tom is never fooled into thinking that Gatsby is anything other than an upstart, and mostly likely a criminal one.

Self-Centeredness.  Tom and Gatsby are both completely selfish, and fully convinced that their desires have to be acquiesced to by those around them. Tom, for example, starts his affair with Myrtle by pressing himself against her on a train platform - basically, his version of flirting is bodily assault. Gatsby, meanwhile, also thinks nothing of starting an affair with a married woman, assuming that his obsessive feelings are enough to justify any behavior.

Wealth.  Despite the fact that both are unimaginably rich, these men come from totally different sides of the big money divide. Tom comes from old money and is forever worried about the encroachment of the nouveau riche, minorities, and others onto what he thinks is his. At the same time, Gatsby is the most successful of the novel's many ambitious social climbers, using his lack of ethical scruples to parlay his criminal activity into a higher social status.

Power.  Tom loves being powerful and wields his power directly. He is physically aggressive and uses his body to threaten and intimidate (Nick, for one, is clearly very cowed by Tom's bulk). He is also quick to violence, whether it's socially sanctioned - like his football accomplishments - or not - like when he breaks Myrtle's nose without a second thought. Gatsby also holds significant power, but his methods are much more indirect. Still, whether he is offering Nick some illegal bond trading action, or showing off his get-out-of-a-ticket-free card to a cop on the highway, Gatsby is clearly happy to be in control of a situation.

Love. Tom and Gatsby both seem to be in love with Daisy. But what does that really mean to each of them? For Tom, Daisy is clearly partly appealing because she completes his horse-riding, East Egg, 350-thousand-dollar pearl necklace lifestyle. He cheats on her because he clearly has never denied himself anything, but he also understands Daisy as a person. He knows that she is too weak to leave him, but he also loves her enough to tolerate her affair with Gatsby and to stay with her after Myrtle's murder. Gatsby's love, on the other hand, is in some ways purer because he so idealizes Daisy and connects her to all of his other hopes and dreams. But this love is overly pure - he doesn't really seem to know Daisy as anything other than an idealized object, and is incapable of accepting that she has led a life apart from him for five years.

Tom and Gatsby Essay Ideas

In a compare/contrast essay, you can’t just present a list of similarities and differences. You also need to have an underlying argument you’re supporting. Feel free to take these at face value or as jumping-off points for your own thoughts.

  • Tom loves Daisy as a person, Gatsby loves her as an idea.
  • Both Tom and Gatsby’s tendency to control women and see them as prizes reveals the misogyny of the 1920s.
  • Although Tom sees Gatsby as someone from an entirely different class than him, what they have in common (selfishness, affairs, obsession with appearances) makes a larger argument for an overall moral hollowness of the rich of any class.
  • We see both Gatsby and Tom through the eyes of Nick, who worships one of them and hates the other. In reality, they are both much more similar than different, and their different treatment reveals Nick's insecurities and biases.

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At first, most readers see Tom Buchanan and George Wilson  as opposites. But, these markedly different characters face very similar circumstances and offer two takes on masculinity and power in the novel.

Appearance and Presence.  Where Tom is strong and cowering, George is meek and shrinking. Tom exudes power and confidence while George tends to just fade into the background. These differences are borne out in the way these two men interact with the world. Tom is violent towards others, while George’s instinct is to be passive or to try and escape situations, the notable exceptions being his locking up of Myrtle and murder of Gatsby. Tom is confident, privileged, and assured while George is timid; George is “ruled by his wife” where Tom is selfish and acts on his own desires.

Reaction to Adversity. There is a dramatic difference in the way the two men react to the fact that their wives are cheating on them. Tom notices Daisy’s love for Gatsby and immediately starts making power plays. On the other hand, George discovers Myrtle’s affair and is undone by it. Nick compares the two men in a memorable description:

“the shock had made him physically sick. I stared at him and then at Tom, who had made a parallel discovery less than an hour before--and it occurred to me that there was no difference between men, in intelligence or race, so profound as the difference between the sick and the well. Wilson was so sick that he looked guilty, unforgivably guilty--as if he had just got some poor girl with child" (7.160).

In this description, Tom is “well” and George is “sick.” These are certainly arresting ways to describe Tom's more traditional masculinity and George's less overtly masculine character. Tom is self-assured in the face of adversity and immediately takes action to win Daisy back, insisting on driving Gatsby's car, bullying those around him into driving to Manhattan, and using his romance skills to remind Daisy of the pluses of their relationship. Meanwhile, George's weakness makes him look sick and guilty as he contemplates Myrtle's betrayal and is driven to violence to reassert his power over her.

Approach to Women.  Both Tom and George assume they know what’s best for their wives: Tom dismisses Daisy’s professed love for Gatsby despite their obvious closeness, while George is determined to take Myrtle out west once he learns about the affair. But, while it seems that Tom does fundamentally understand Daisy and is right about her unwillingness to leave their marriage, George is unable to hold on to Myrtle either emotionally or physically. She is killed trying to run away from him.

Tom and George Essay Ideas

Differences in attitude and outcome, despite a relatively similar situation, reveal some unexpected truths about the world of the novel. Argue the reverse of any of these topics for a really provocative essay!

  • The fact that Tom manipulates George into killing Gatsby and then himself (which allows Tom and Daisy to walk away from the entire affair without consequence) shows the huge privileges of having money in the novel.
  • Nick's approach to Tom and George shows his admiration of a physical, brutish, domineering kind of masculinity. 
  • The fact that the relatively good guy turns into a murderer while the bad guy lives to cheat another day is a very cynical take on what happens in a world without a moral compass.

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Despite Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker 's similar “white girlhoods” (1.140) in Louisville, their attitude and motivations are quite distinct, making them really interesting to compare and contrast.

Attitude and Outlook.  Both Daisy and Jordan display an entitled, bored attitude that’s typical of Fitzgerald’s depiction of the old money segment of wealthy New York society. The fact that they are introduced in tandem, both lying on the couches in their white dresses, speaks to their initially similar attitudes. But soon we see how different their takes on this kind of life are. Daisy is increasingly despondent, even nihilistic, asking in Chapter 7 , “what shall we do today, and tomorrow, and for the next thirty years?” (7.74).  Jordan meanwhile is a pragmatic opportunist, who sees possibilities everywhere, arguing that “life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall” (7.75). In other words, Daisy’s pessimistic attitude from Chapter 1 comes through again, while Jordan, despite coming across as cynical and sharp, actually still seems excited about the possibilities life has to offer.

Appearance and Personality.  Both Daisy and Jordan very alluring in their own way, though Daisy’s allure comes through her enchanting voice and feminine charms, while Jordan is masculine, “jaunty,” witty, sharp, and physical. Daisy maintains a squeaky-clean reputation despite moving with a fast crowd, while there are plenty of rumors about Jordan’s cheating in golf, and Nick comments on her dishonest attitude. More significantly, Daisy is incredibly self-absorbed while Jordan is very observant.

Role in Society.  Daisy seems caught between what society expects of her and some deeper, more powerful desires she can’t name, resulting in restlessness, depression, and her affair. Daisy is sticking to her prescribed societal role by marrying and having a child, while Jordan plays golf, “runs around town” and doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to marry, at least in the beginning of the novel. Perhaps Jordan is still somewhat optimistic about the possibilities of life since she hasn’t settled down yet, while Daisy realizes that nothing major in her life will change at this point. Jordan, meanwhile, is content to chase after fun and intrigue via other people’s bad behavior. And she doesn’t get dragged down by the tragedy in the book – on the contrary, she is callous in how little Myrtle’s death seems to shake her, coolly calling Nick the next day and asking him to meet like nothing has happened (8.50-61). Perhaps her motivations are a bit less accessible to the reader since her role was significantly downsized between some of Fitzgerald’s earlier drafts. But in any case, as we watch Daisy struggle in her marriage, what we see of Jordan is cool, calm, collected, and rather uncaring.

Daisy and Jordan Essay Ideas

So what are some possible conclusions we can draw from Daisy and Jordan’s characters? One of the most common strategies is to tie the differences between these women onto one of the book’s larger themes, like the role of society and class or the American Dream . Another is to think about an important feature of the novel, like Nick’s narration, and see what these two characters can reveal about it. With those strategies in mind, here are some potential arguments you could argue for or against!

  • Jordan and Daisy, because they are generally disempowered, both use their sexuality in different ways to gain power, with different results.
  • Despite Jordan’s overt cheating and lying, Daisy is, in fact, the more morally compromised person.
  • The way Nick treats Jordan versus the way he describes Daisy reveals the novel’s preoccupation with Gatsby above all, to the detriment of the female characters.

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While Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson obviously come from very different backgrounds and have conflicting motivations, they also have some surprising similarities.

Physical Appearance.  Daisy and Myrtle both derive power from their looks. Myrtle's comfort with her voluptuous body is clearly appealing to Tom, while Daisy's magnetic voice and ethereal presence obsess Gatsby. Throughout the novel, Myrtle is frequently reduced to being just a body - one to be used or violated by those around her. Tom sees little in Myrtle besides someone to either rub up against, have sex with, or punch at will; George resorts to imprisoning Myrtle while she eggs him on to "beat" her (7.314) the way Tom does; and finally, Daisy gruesomely rips Myrtle's body apart with a car. Meanwhile, Daisy's voice also serves to make her less of a person in her own right and more of an idealized, mythic figure from fairy tales. For Gatsby, Daisy's voice is appealing because it is "full of money" (7.105) - he is attracted to her not because of who she is, but because he sees her as a prize.

Social Standing.  Myrtle puts on the airs that Daisy has been born and raised with. This allows Myrtle to wield considerable social power within her group, as seen by how her guests fawn on her at the Manhattan party she throws. Daisy, in contrast, never exerts such overt power over a group – rather, she seems to move with crowds, doing what it expected of her (for instance marrying Tom despite still loving Gatsby). 

Love and Relationships.  Daisy and Myrtle’s marriages are strikingly quite different. Daisy and Tom are able to stay together even through serial affairs and murder. They end up loyal co-conspirators, protected by their wealth. Meanwhile, Myrtle has nothing but disdain for George despite his evident love for her. Still, both women use affairs with other men as a way to escape. Daisy wants to get away from an increasingly unhappy marriage and try to recapture the spontaneity and possibility of her youth, while Myrtle loves the status that her affair with Tom grants her. However, both learn that they can’t escape forever through their affairs. Obviously, their biggest difference is that Daisy gets to walk away from the novel unscathed, while Myrtle gets killed. 

Daisy and Myrtle Essay Ideas

Here are ways to write about these different women who face similar choices with dramatically opposite conclusions.

  • Despite their similarities in action and motivation, Daisy is protected from any lasting harm by her wealth and old money status, while Myrtle is punished for the same behavior, revealing how the class system in America protects the wealthy.
  • The novel refuses to give any inner life to women, and instead reduces them to their physical qualities no matter what social class they come from. Daisy and Myrtle's similar treatment by the narrator and by the men around them shows that gender trumps class when determining status. 
  • Daisy and Myrtle’s similarities reveal how hollow the progress of the women’s movement really was at that point in time. Despite the big gains the movement made in the early twentieth century, including winning the right to vote and pushing for more freedom in how they could dress and act, both of these women’s lives aren’t vastly improved. They’re both trapped in unhappy marriages, they both rely on their looks/charms/sexuality to get what they want, and neither of them has even a chance of pursuing a fulfilling life through a career.

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What’s Next?

Now that you’ve gone over the novel’s most popular compare/contrast pairings, check out our analysis of the novel’s romantic pairings in our guide to love, desire, and relationships in The Great Gatsby .

Have an essay about a symbol or motif? Get started with our symbols overview  and motifs overview.

Still a little hazy on some of the plot elements in Gatsby? Not to worry, we have you covered with our complete book summary !

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Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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88 Perfect Essay Topics on The Great Gatsby

higher english the great gatsby example essay

Welcome to The Great Gatsby Essay Topics page prepared by our editorial team! Here you’ll find a large collection of essay ideas on the novel! Literary analysis, themes, characters, & more. Get inspired to write your own paper!

  • 🔬 Literary Analysis
  • 🎭 Characters
  • 📊 Compare & Contrast
  • 🗺️ Navigation

🎓 References

🔬 literary analysis of the great gatsby: essay topics.

  • What are the literary devices used to create the image of Jay Gatsby?
  • Analyze how Fitzgerald uses imagery in The Great Gatsby.
  • The Great Gatsby: analysis and feminist critique
  • What do colors symbolize in The Great Gatsby?
  • How does Fitzgerald use geographical setting to show the contrast between social classes in the novel?
  • How does Fitzgerald convey a notion of the American Dream through metaphors and symbols?
  • What does the green light in Daisy’s window represent in The Great Gatsby?
  • What does the Valley of Ashes symbolize in The Great Gatsby?
  • What role does Nick Carraway’s narration play in the story? If we got it through an omniscient third-person narrator, what would we gain or lose?
  • Could the story have been set in other places, like Chicago or Los Angeles, or were New York City and Long Island absolutely necessary?
  • Look at the novel’s opening lines. If we accept Nick’s advice when we read the story, will our views of it change? Or, in other words, does refraining from criticism promote compassion?
  • Is there a hidden meaning of the title of The Great Gatsby? What is it?
  • How is the color white used within the novel? When does it make a false representation of innocence? When does it truly represent innocence?
  • Color symbolism in The Great Gatsby
  • What is the role of a New York setting in the novel’s storyline?
  • What is the real meaning of ‘great’ in the title of The Great Gatsby?
  • What significance do colors have in the party’s descriptions in chapter 3?
  • Why is Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby a satire?
  • Elaborate on the green light as the symbol of the American dream.
  • What is the meaning of the phrase “Can’t repeat the past?.. Why of course you can!” What does Gatsby really want from Daisy?
  • What role do the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg play in The Great Gatsby?
  • How is The Great Gatsby a satirical representation of the society?
  • Are the rich in the novel really so careless as everyone believes them to be?
  • Create an alternative ending for The Great Gatsby. Justify your choice.
  • What is the relationship between those born rich and those who became rich in the novel?
  • Fairy tale traits in The Great Gatsby

🎭 Essay Topics on The Great Gatsby’s Characters

  • Discuss female characters and their significance in The Great Gatsby.
  • Compare Gatsby and Wilson. In what ways are they similar?
  • Gatsby & Nick in The Great Gatsby
  • Who is the most responsible for Gatsby’s death? Why is it so?
  • Why do Tom and Daisy stay together at the end of the novel?
  • Does Gatsby’s money bring him real happiness?
  • Can Jay’s feelings for Daisy in The Great Gatsby be considered love?
  • How do secondary characters affect the story?
  • Daisy Buchanan: quotes analysis
  • Who is the real hero in The Great Gatsby?
  • Can we call Jay Gatsby a romantic hero or a villain?
  • What does Jay Gatsby really live for in the novel: the present or the past?
  • Compare Myrtle and Daisy.
  • Jay Gatsby & Tom Buchanan: compare & contrast
  • What does Tom’s quarrel with Myrtle in chapter 2 tell us about his personality?
  • Elaborate on how both Tom and Gatsby want to change not only the future, but the past in chapter 7.
  • What was Gatsby’s power of dreaming like? Was Daisy a worth object?
  • Is anyone to blame for Gatsby’s death?
  • Nick as the narrator in The Great Gatsby
  • Are there any moral characters in the novel?
  • Can Jordan and Daisy be considered perfect role models for the upper class in America? Why or why not?
  • Is Gatsby really great? In what way? How does his greatness evolve as the plot unfolds?
  • How does Nick’s character change over the course of The Great Gatsby?
  • Does Gatsby deserve the definition of a self-made man? Why or why not?
  • What role does Daisy play in the conflict between Gatsby & Tom?

🌻 Essay Topics on The Great Gatsby’s Themes

  • What are the central themes in The Great Gatsby?
  • What roles do fidelity and infidelity play in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby?
  • What importance does sex have in the story?
  • What role does alcohol play in The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald?
  • Did Fitzgerald really criticize the idea of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby?
  • Does love play have any importance in The Great Gatsby?
  • What role does the relationship between geography and social values play in the novel?
  • Francis Scott Fitzgerald & his American Dream
  • What is the meaning of time in The Great Gatsby?
  • How do the aristocratic East Eggers, Tom and the Sloanes, regard Gatsby in chapter 6? How is their contempt connected to the theme of social class in the novel?
  • Analyze The Great Gatsby through the prism of feminist theory.
  • How are the themes of kindness and compassion presented in The Great Gatsby?
  • Describe how the theme of ambition is presented in the novel.
  • Elaborate on how Fitzgerald contrasts education and experience in The Great Gatsby.

⌛ Essay Topics on the Context of The Great Gatsby

  • Describe how F.S. Fitzgerald’s life experiences influenced The Great Gatsby.
  • What are the examples of modernism in The Great Gatsby?
  • How does Fitzgerald represent the society of his time in the novel? Would you like to live in the Jazz era? Why or why not?
  • How is America shown in The Great Gatsby? What values do the East and the West represent?
  • How does Fitzgerald provide a critical social history of Prohibition-era America in his novel?
  • How is the economic boom of postwar America shown in The Great Gatsby?
  • Why did The Great Gatsby was neither a critical nor commercial success just after its publication? Why did its popularity grow exponentially several decades after?
  • How are racial anxieties of the time shown in the novel?

📊 The Great Gatsby: Compare & Contrast Essay Topics

  • Make a critical comparison of the novel with the 2013 movie.
  • Make a comparison of the novel with the 1949 movie.
  • Compare The Great Gatsby movies of 1949 and 2013.
  • Compare and contrast two classic American novels: The Great Gatsbyand The Grapes of Wrath.
  • Female characters in The Streetcar Named Desire & The Great Gatsby .
  • How are Donald Trump and The Great Gatsby’s Tom Buchanan alike?
  • Compare Miller’s Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby.
  • What other fictional or non-fictional character from a book or movie can Nick Carraway be compared to?
  • Jay Gatsby & Eponine from Les Miserables .
  • Make a critical comparison of The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby.
  • Compare The Great Gatsby with A Farewell to Arms.
  • Make a comparison of Daisy from The Great Gatsby with Henrietta Bingham from Irresistible.
  • Love in The Great Gatsby & The Catcher in The Rye .
  • What pop stars of nowadays Daisy can be compared to?
  • Macbeth vs. Jay Gatsby: make a character comparison.
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Study Guide Menu

  • Short Summary
  • Summary (Chapter 1)
  • Summary (Chapter 2)
  • Summary (Chapter 3)
  • Summary (Chapter 4)
  • Summary (Chapter 5)
  • Summary (Chapter 6)
  • Summary (Chapter 7)
  • Summary (Chapter 8)
  • Summary (Chapter 9)
  • Symbolism & Style
  • Quotes Explained
  • Essay Topics
  • Essay Samples
  • Questions & Answers
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Biography
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Character: Jay Gatsby

Gatsby’s Background

  • Jay Gatsby , originally James Gatz , comes from a humble and impoverished past which he attempts to sever all links from.
  • Born to poor farmers in North Dakota, he transforms himself into a millionaire, ensconced in glamour and wealth.
  • Gatsby’s transformation begins when he meets Dan Cody , a copper magnate, who introduces him to wealth and luxury.

Gatsby’s Obsession with Daisy

  • Gatsby’s life is primarily driven by his love and obsession for Daisy Buchanan , whom he met before going to World War I.
  • He is not just smitten by Daisy, but by what she represents – wealth, social status, beauty and sophistication. In essence, she embodies the American dream .
  • His extravagant lifestyle and grand parties are all elaborate attempts to attract Daisy’s attention and win her back.

Gatsby’s Flamboyant Lifestyle

  • Gatsby represents excess wealth and consumerism. He throws grand parties at his mansion, theatrically displaying his wealth.
  • His pink suit, giant mansion and fancy cars are all part of an illusionary image he created to woo Daisy.
  • Despite living amongst the social elite of West Egg, Gatsby always remains an outsider. This objective perspective allows Fitzgerald to critique the very society that Gatsby aims to be part of.

Gatsby’s Tragic End

  • Despite Gatsby’s enormous wealth, he fails in his quest to win Daisy’s heart and this eventually leads to his downfall.
  • He is tragically killed over a misunderstanding of events, dying alone without achieving what he hoped for.
  • Ultimately, Gatsby represents the tragic futility of the American dream , a man who has accumulated wealth and social status, yet still dies tragically, unfulfilled and alone.

Jay Gatsby is one of the most memorable characters in literature, embodying the illusions of success, wealth, and love that are at the heart of the American dream . His tragic demise punctuates F. Scott Fitzgerald’s critique of a society obsessed with wealth and social standing. Through Gatsby, the novel prompts readers to reconsider the values often associated with the American dream and explore the consequences of pursuing these illusions.

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Advice for pupils, parents, tutors and teachers on English exams in Scotland. Contains essay examples and plans, and general hints and tips. Suitable for Standard Grade, Intermediate and Higher levels.

Saturday 28 March 2009

  • The Great Gatsby Essay Plan
  • ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F Scott Fitzgerald is an example of a novel in which …
  • Brief plot summary
  • Setting – affluent New York, in contrast to the Midwest where Nick is from
  • First impressions of Gatsby
  • The symbolism of the ‘green light’
  • Self-made man – changed his name and made a fortune
  • Gave lavish parties to people he didn’t really know, his rich neighbours
  • Has links to organised crime through Meyer Wolfsheim
  • ‘Old sport’ – his favourite expression, which makes people believe he is Oxford-educated
  • Even though he has invented a ‘persona’ for himself, he is still a romantic, idealistic figure
  • Met when he was a young man working as a diver
  • Created his wealthy life in order to win Daisy over
  • He is clearly better than Daisy’s cynical, cheating husband Tom
  • It suggests that the story will end happily
  • Gatsby believes the past can be recaptured, as he tells Nick
  • Daisy will not give up her husband Tom
  • The climax - Gatsby’s murder: Gatsby was too naïve for the world of cheating and betrayal that he tried to live in
  • Gatsby was finally crushed by the class system – he underestimated Daisy’s devotion to Tom, who came from a wealthy background
  • After his murder his neighbours do not attend his funeral – he has failed to become one of them
  • The symbolism of Gatsby’s body

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The great gatsby (hle).

The following HL Essay aims to answer the line of inquiry: 

Read the essay carefully. Apply the HLE assessment criteria and discuss the marks you would award the script before reading the examiner's marks and comments. How different were your marks and comments from the examiner's marks and comments? What improvements would you make to this essay to achieve better results?

This essay is good because it has a clear angle or focus on a 'topic'. Look carefully at the assessment criteria, and you will see that you need to explore a 'topic' through your HL Essay. In this case, it is the role of higher education in the novel The Great Gatsby. This level of specificity is good when considering your topic.  

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  • HL Essay: Assessment criteria
  • HL Essay: Skills: HLE Builder
  • Literary works: The Great Gatsby
  • The Great Gatsby Essays

The Great Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby is almost completely dominated by the themes of time and memory and the inescapable nature of the two. Intertwined in this is the sub-theme of discovery and re-discovery. Throughout the novel, the inescapable nature of the past is brought together with the way man discovers fresh ground and also rediscovers it with the new perspectives of experience. The whole tragedy of Gatsby and his failed lovelies in the hold of his memories over his actions.   The idea that the past is irrevocably bound up in the future and guides the longings and actions of men is very intense in this novel. It is a motif that is also shared by T. S. Eliot in his Four Quartets. In Burnt Norton, he says

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“Time present and time past/ Are both perhaps present in time future,/ and time future contained in time past./ if all time is eternally present/All time is unredeemable”

This very vividly brings out time as an amorphous mass with no real future or past. It all seems to exist in one place and seems to suggest that it is also memory he is talking about, for where else in real life does all time exist in one place except in the human mind?

This is also implied in the first and last lines of East Coker.

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“In my beginning is my end” and “…In my end is my beginning.”

They say that all things do not stand independently; one’s future depends directly on one’s past and also implies a circularity of time or perhaps events.  

“We shall not cease from exploration/ And the end of all our exploring/ Will be to arrive where we started/ And know the place for the first time.

These lines from Little Gidding, bring a new dimension to the concept of circularity of time. It says quite clearly that one can only truly understand when one has come full circle. This dimension is not evident in The Great Gatsby. In the novel, though past and present are irrevocably entangled, there is a quality that makes one think we are trying to escape from the past but cannot, especially in the last lines. However, Eliot seems to consider the pull of the past on us as something that helps us to understand ourselves and the future more completely. The idea that the past and future are inseparable is brought out clearly in Nick’s comparison of the Dutch sailors and Gatsby’s vision of a new life. Here too, the idea of rediscovering oneself reasserts itself.

The experience of the Dutch sailors on landing on the Long Island beach for the first time clearly seems to be one of wonder and is filled with a sense of incredible adventure. They had discovered a completely new, untouched virgin country; “….fresh, green breast of the new world.”  

The discovery is accompanied by a sense of excitement and the promise of new and undiscovered adventure, as is evidenced by Fitzgerald’s use of subtle but definite language. He describes the moment with tenderness, bringing out the overwhelming sense of wonder in their landing, with terms like “transitory enchanted moment” and his description of the greatness of their dreams for the future.

The experience is unique because of the sheer newness of the discovery. The sailors had come across an entirely unexplored and unknown territory. Everything here was to be discovered and shaped by them, they had a sense of power and the headiness of it is evident in the language. The paragraphs vibrate with it despite the restrained language. This was not simply a new area; it was a new life and world, something of theirs and theirs alone. It was an experience of hope and was forward-looking.

Gatsby’s experience on first identifying the light that swung outside Daisy’s home must have been, according to Nick, a similar experience in terms of the wonder it created in him. He must have felt the same sense of discovery and also one of hope for the future;

“I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”

However, this experience is both similar to and widely different from the one of the sailors. It is similar in one sense, as this was not the same Gatsby who had wooed Daisy five years ago. He was now wildly successful and rich (“He had come a long way to this blue lawn”) and he must have imagined the future as rich with promise and discovery, just as the sailors did. This seems to be borne out by the following sentence;

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.”

  Similarly, not being the same Gatsby, this promised to be a fresh start, just as the sailors must have felt about their new country.

  But at the same time, this discovery of Daisy’s proximity was not a fresh and untrammeled ground; Gatsby knew Daisy intimately. They had a history together which could not be swept aside. In fact, if one looks at the last few paragraphs of chapter 6 we realize that probably, this was Gatsby’s real discovery of Daisy. The sense of wonder there, the feeling of giddy power and at the same time helplessness that must have filled the sailors, is vastly more evident in that meeting with her. It also must seem so to Nick, for he himself says, “He did not know that it was already behind him”. This, the sighting of her light was a mere illusion of the original. The sense of hope is stronger here, but the freshness of the event is not as strong as the incident described in chapter 6. The main distinguishing feature between the sailors and Gatsby though seems to be the aim. This is to say, the sailors appeared to treat their first sighting of Long Island as a new beginning and it heralded a completely new life. Though one can also argue that this precisely describes Gatsby’s situation, there is a more subtle difference in that his sighting of the green light is in many ways a homecoming. It is also not precisely new and fresh as much as a wiping out of several years of the past and a continuation into the future. This is especially clear when one looks at the first few paragraphs of chapter 8 when he denies the fact that she could possibly have ever loved Tom. It is clear that he wishes to imagine everything that has occurred after her rejection of him just as an aberration, as something that can be obliterated completely and unimportant. It is also clear when he begs Daisy to say she never loved Tom and later insists that she was too disturbed to be able to tell him the truth when she is forced to admit that she, in fact, did love her husband.

In Gatsby’s journey, Nick sees what he thinks is the ultimate essence of humans and their struggle in life; a ceaseless hope and reaching out into the unknown, the future, a better and more wonderful life. This is intrinsic in the sailors’ reaction to Long Island and in Gatsby’s sighting of the green light. This is especially clear in the last two paragraphs of the book;

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning——

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

The sentence is filled with a sort of futile hope; we run incessantly towards a future that is forever beyond us. However, the almost childlike nature of that hope is beautifully nuanced in the quick comma that separates the harsh fact that it eludes us from the essentially human “but that’s no matter”.   Fitzgerald has used even punctuation in this sentence as a tool to change the tone from callous fact to anticipation and hope. The hyphens between the sentences add a quick pace to the words and the irrepressibility of the human spirit is brought out in the paragraph with its subtle images of a chase.

Nick obviously sees the human struggle as futile but admires our capacity for continual effort to escape from it, to look forward despite the fact that we cannot. Perhaps there is even a slight weariness; from the tone of the sentence, he seems to consider this outlook as childlike. The novel ends with his own perception of our struggle in life, (as boats), in a sentence that is gloomily adult in contrast to the ideality that he sees as our nature.

What comes out very clearly in the novel is Fitzgerald’s view of time and memory. He seems to share with T. S. Eliot the view that time is not a linear progression of events. Both in The Great Gatsby and Eliot’s Four Quartets, there is the constant theme of time as a fluid melting amorphous mass. We do not seem to actually be able to leave it behind. For example, in chapter 6 of the novel, Nick tries to warn him that the past cannot be repeated and Gatsby replies that he most certainly can; it seems clear that he is talking about memory here. And again in the final words of the book, there is a clear indication of memory.

In Gatsby’s pitiful attempt to recreate the past and at the same time conveniently wipe out parts of it lies the whole theme of time as an entity that can be manipulated. Memory which is certainly manipulated is also brought in, but it is intertwined with time in a mass of tentacles that stretch out and pull you in.

Fitzgerald uses this theme throughout the book. Nick, the narrator, says at the beginning of the book,

“When I came back from the east last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart.”

Here again, the messy, untidy quality of memory is brought into play. The human heart colors memory and plays with it. It tunes it to suit its purposes. As Gatsby wished to do away with the years of separation he tried desperately to make Daisy admit that she had never loved anyone else.   He could never actually make a fresh start because everything was colored with his memories and his past.

Very subtly, Fitzgerald differs from Eliot in his concept of time. It at first appears to be a mass from which we cannot escape, always pulling us back. But this does not imply the circular nature that Eliot puts forward. It does seem to have a direction or many possible directions which extend from a core of the past and sometimes doubles back on it.  

Nevertheless, both writers create a picture of time and memory as entities that have incredibly strongholds on the human mind and on his actions. Time and memory are things from which we cannot extricate ourselves, they make us who we are, as they made Gatsby, and they can also break us as they did Gatsby. The command of our memories and consequently the intensity of our hopes are what has power over our lives.

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , Penguin Modern Classics
  • T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets , Penguin Classics

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Higher English sample critical essay The Great Gatsby

Higher English sample critical essay The Great Gatsby

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  1. The Great Gatsby Essay Examples

    The Great Gatsby Essay Topic Examples. Whether you want to analyze the American Dream, compare and contrast characters, vividly describe settings and characters, persuade readers with your viewpoints, or share personal experiences related to the story, these essay ideas provide a diverse perspective on the themes and complexities within the book.

  2. The Great Gatsby: Mini Essays

    The first is a perfect example of the manner in which characters in The Great Gatsby infuse symbols with meaning—the green light is only a green light, but to Gatsby it becomes the embodiment of his dream for the future, and it beckons to him in the night like a vision of the fulfillment of his desires. The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg work ...

  3. PDF Candidate 1 The Great Gatsby

    The Great Gatsby The evidence for this candidate has achieved the following marks for this Course ... Higher English Critical Essay 2015 Commentary - Candidate 1 1. ... The concluding paragraph presents Gatsby as a positive example of someone who 'tries to keep his dream alive', which slightly moves away from the point of the essay. However ...

  4. The Great Gatsby Sample Essay

    Now, the great Gatsby himself has been no monk (he 'knew women early' (82) Nick tells us, momentarily picturing a proud and promiscuous young Gatsby), but in pursuing Daisy, he pursues more than sex: he wishes to attain a higher state of being - to 'romp with the mind of God,' to 'gulp down the milk of wonder.'

  5. A+ Student Essay: The Automobile as a Symbol in The Great Gatsby

    Leaving Gatsby's party, a drunken buffoon crashes his car and loses a wheel: The man's status symbol exposes him as a weak fool. Though beautiful, Gatsby's leather seats heat up and burn him toward the end of the novel. A speeding car is responsible for Myrtle's death, and Jordan Baker describes her ruined love affair in terms of ...

  6. How to Write an Essay on The Great Gatsby

    About. This How to Write an Essay about The Great Gatsby document provides you with a step- by-step guide to drafting your essay, valuable contextual information on what to include in your essay ...

  7. The Great Gatsby: Essay Samples

    Here you'll find a heap of wonderful ideas for your Great Gatsby essay. Absolutely free research paper and essay samples on The Great Gatsby are collected here, on one page. We will write a custom essay specifically. for you for only 11.00 9.35/page. 808 certified writers online.

  8. How to Write a Compare/Contrast Essay for The Great Gatsby

    In a compare/contrast essay, you can't just present a list of similarities and differences. You also need to have an underlying argument you're supporting. Feel free to take these at face value or as jumping-off points for your own thoughts. Tom loves Daisy as a person, Gatsby loves her as an idea.

  9. Higher English 5x critical essays, tasks and test 'The Great Gatsby'

    Essay three (approx. 1700 words) focuses on the ways in which the setting in time and place is particularly significant to the novel as a whole. Essay four examines the use of symbolism. This essay is approx. 1000 words. Essay five is around 1200 words and argues that Gatsby is an admirable character. 6 page test booklet.

  10. 88 Perfect Essay Topics on The Great Gatsby

    4 min. 3,315. Welcome to The Great Gatsby Essay Topics page prepared by our editorial team! Here you'll find a large collection of essay ideas on the novel! Literary analysis, themes, characters, & more. Get inspired to write your own paper! We will write a custom essay specifically. for you for only 11.00 9.35/page.

  11. The Great Gatsby

    F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby explores the idea of the American Dream in the 1920s: A time when the country was recovering from World War 1, and a period of changes to the economy and ...

  12. Jay Gatsby

    Characters. Further explore The Great Gatsby through its main characters: Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker, Myrtle, George Wilson and Meyer Wolfshiem. Part of ...

  13. Character: Jay Gatsby

    Through Gatsby, the novel prompts readers to reconsider the values often associated with the American dream and explore the consequences of pursuing these illusions. Everything you need to know about Character: Jay Gatsby for the Higher English SQA exam, totally free, with assessment questions, text & videos.

  14. pass english in scotland: The Great Gatsby Essay Plan

    The Great Gatsby Essay Plan. Introduction. 'The Great Gatsby' by F Scott Fitzgerald is an example of a novel in which …. Brief plot summary. Setting - affluent New York, in contrast to the Midwest where Nick is from. The character of Gatsby is vital to the author's theme of class / the American dream. First impressions of Gatsby.

  15. English A: Lang Lit: The Great Gatsby (HLE)

    The Great Gatsby (HLE) The following HL Essay aims to answer the line of inquiry: How and why does the motif of higher education in The Great Gatsby play an important role in the readers' understanding of class in America in the 1920s? Read the essay carefully. Apply the HLE assessment criteria and discuss the marks you would award the script ...

  16. The beginning

    Higher; Plot The beginning. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby focuses on the life and relationships of Jay Gatsby, a self-made man with a murky past, and his doomed love for Daisy Buchanan.

  17. The Great Gatsby Essay Sample, 1974 Words, 5 Pages

    The Great Gatsby Essay. The Great Gatsby is almost completely dominated by the themes of time and memory and the inescapable nature of the two. Intertwined in this is the sub-theme of discovery and re-discovery. Throughout the novel, the inescapable nature of the past is brought together with the way man discovers fresh ground and also ...

  18. English A: Language & Literature search: the great gatsby

    Individual Oral Commentary (SL) The Great Gatsby (3) (Tim, IOC, Part 4, The Great Gatsby, Individual Oral Commentary) ...wenty minutes of exam preparation, she annotated the passage and created an outline. It is a passage from chapter seven of The Great Gatsby where Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby enter an intense argument about whom Daisy loves.

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  20. Higher English sample critical essay The Great Gatsby

    118 x A-grade Higher and National 5 English Folio and Critical Essays. was £10.00. Report this resource to let us know if it violates our terms and conditions. Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch. Last updated.

  21. The Great Gatsby Essay

    Long Essay on The Great Gatsby 500 Words in English. Long Essay on The Great Gatsby is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10. The Great Gatsby is a critically acclaimed classic American novel. The author of the book is F Scott Fitzgerald. This is the author's most popular book that has the honour of many elite references in societal strata.

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