The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in the 1920’s during the Jazz
Age. Nick Carraway is a man in his late twenties residing on West Egg island in
Long Island, New York living a “normal” life. That is, until he meets his
mysterious neighbor, a wealthy man named Jay Gatsby. He is a man of mystery,
living in a mansion that is constantly full of people, music, and fun. Nick’s
“normal” life gets thrown topsy-turvy when he gets involved in the life of
this extraordinary millionaire. Marred by jealousy, cheating, and lying, Nick
begins to feel the essence of living a glamorous life in the ‘20’s. He
showed this when he said, “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the
cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I
have ever known.” All along, I felt sorry for Nick being dragged into more and
more tragedy, but I especially felt bad for him during one instance. His friend
Daisy was married to Tom, but Tom was having an affair with Mrs. Wilson and
Daisy had a thing for Gatsby. Daisy and Gatsby were driving home from town after
an argument amongst the group of friends when they passed the Wilson’s gas
station. Mrs. Wilson ran out to Gatsby’s car, because they were driving
Tom’s car, and was hit. Mr. Wilson went positively crazy, and Nick felt torn
by his mixed feelings towards his supposed friend Gatsby. “I disliked him so
much by this time that I didn’t find it necessary to tell him he was wrong.”
Gatsby’s insensitivity brought on by his lifestyle made Nick despise him. This
is the part where I think Nick really started opening his eyes to how Gatsby
really was. This book really displays how the life of an important person is,
especially in that time period. At first, Nick is awed and drawn in by the
glamour and prestige, but he eventually figures out for himself how rough it
really was. Although this book was set back in the ‘20’s, the lessons you
learn from it still apply to society and life in general today. Anyone could
read this book and draw a few lessons about life from it. Summary The Great
Gatsby was set in the 1920’s. It’s about the lives of a group of people who
all become entangled in a web of, lying, scandal, and cheating together. Nick
Carraway lives a “normal” life on Long Island, until he meets his neighbor,
Jay Gatsby. Parties went on every weekend, and Nick gets caught up in Gatsby’s
“glamorous” lifestyle. Soon, everyone is involved in scandal, Daisy’s
cheating on Tom with Gatsby, Tom’s cheating on Daisy with Mrs. Wilson, and
Nick’s caught in the middle. Gatsby ends up convincing Nick to get Daisy to
come to Gatsby’s house, because they had a history together. Daisy comes, and
both she and Gatsby find out that their love for each other never went away. The
trouble really begins when Tom finds out that Daisy’s love for Gatsby has
rekindled. One day while in town, Tom and Daisy fight, so Gatsby drives Daisy
home in Tom’s car. On the way, they hit a woman who turns out to be Mrs.
Wilson who was thought the person in the car was Tom, and was trying to talk to
him. All the while, Nick starts realizing how terrible a life like Gatsby’s is
despite the outer glamour. He also becomes emotionally attached to golf player,
Jordan Baker. After Mr. Wilson finds out who was in the car that killed his
wife, he goes crazy and kills Gatsby. In the end, two people wind up dead, and
everyone winds up hurt in one way or another. Daisy and Tom remain together, Mr.
Wilson is crazy, and Nick is hurt by Jordan who never loved him back. After all
of this emotional suffering, Nick realizes that he learned a valuable lesson
about life: Some of the supposed happiest people with the best lives often are a
lot worse off, or end up a lot worse off than people with “normal” lives.
The only thing he can do is go on living his life the way it was meant to be
lead: not as a millionaire, or a prestigious person in society, but as a normal
guy-the only way he knows how.