The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of The Great Gatsby with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the classic American novel about the importance and futility of dreams. It tells the story of Jay Gatsby, whose ability to make his dreams a reality through sheer force of will initially seems boundless. However, this self-made millionaire and embodiment of the American Dream eventually discovers that even love, wealth and ambition are powerless in the face of rigid class boundaries, proving that the myth of the American Dream ultimately rings hollow. Today, The Great Gatsby is considered the quintessential novel about the American Jazz Age, and is widely viewed as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece.  Fitzgerald drew a great deal of inspiration from his own experiences of the Roaring Twenties in New York to write the novel, and his status as one of the most famous American writers of the 20th century can be largely attributed to The Great Gatsby’s enduring success.

Find out everything you need to know about The Great Gatsby in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

•A complete plot summary
•Character studies
•Key themes and symbols
•Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: May 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9782808001960

Book preview

American writer

Born in Saint Paul (Minnesota) in 1896.

Died in Hollywood (California) in 1940.

Notable works:

This Side of Paradise (1920), novel

The Beautiful and the Damned (1922), novel

Tender Is the Night (1934), novel

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, better known simply as F. Scott Fitzgerald, was born into an Irish Catholic family just prior to the dawn of the 20th century. He studied at Princeton University, although he never graduated, and later enlisted in the army to fight in the First World War. He went on to become one of the foremost American novelists of the 20th century, whose novels are best known for the way they capture the spirit of the Roaring Twenties.

His debut novel, This Side of Paradise (1920), garnered him enough recognition that he was able to start publishing his short stories in prestigious magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, and he came to be seen as one of the figures who most completely embodied the American Dream of the 1920s. He and his wife Zelda Sayre, who was one of the most important people in his life and served as the inspiration for a number of his fictional characters, moved to the French Riviera in 1924. During his time