Cliffs Notes on Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

by Philip Northman, F. Scott Fitzgerald, CliffsNotes

Division of the past into convenient "periods" reflects more expediency than reality. Although pivotal events may be chosen to demarcate phases of historical or literary activity, the divisions tend to obscure the actual gradations and overlapping that occur. The decade of the 1920's--particularly in the United States--came closer to having a sharply defined uniqueness than most recognized periods. World War I inflicted a mortal blow upon the comfortable old world of European culture. The stock market crash in October, 1929, extinguished forever the bright lights and levity of the twenties. In the grim darkness of the Great Depression that followed, nothing survived of the madcap period except memories that took on an almost legendary aura.

Genres: Reference, Classics, Fiction

55 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 1964

Reviews

[Andromeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writer has tried to make sense of The Great Gatsby, which is one of the most boring and unnecessarily tedious book that I have read in years.

[David Fulmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This study guide for the Great Gatsby has some biographical information on the author, historical background on the 1920s, some literary analysis of setting, style, and symbolism, on which it is particularly good, and chapter commentaries that lean toward analysis rather than just straight summary. This guide is particularly good at pointing out some of the comparisons and contrasts that are in the novel, as in the comparison of the narrator’s relationship with Jordan Baker and the way it crumbles which is contrasted with Gatsby’s love of Daisy which is pure, and romantic, and unending. There is also some good insight offered into the characters, such as the description of Myrtle, Tom Buchanan’s mistress, and the way her interest in clothing shows her personality and her values. While it comes across a bit fixated in stressing the moral issues, it’s at its best when discussing the narrator, Nick Carraway, and the way in which he develops throughout the novel, hitting the age of 30, getting disgusted by the mores of the East Coast and going back west, newly sophisticated, adult, and grounded by what he’s seen and the people he’s been around.