Publisher: Scribner Paperback Fiction in New York.
Setting: Around the summer of 1921or 1922 in Long Island and New York City.
Type of book: Classic novel.
The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway but he also implies that he is the author. Carraway narrates in both first and third person, just talking about what he observes. Nick gives his own interpretations of the story's meaning. Fitzgerald uses literary devices such as motifs and symbols. The motifs are used in geography as well as in the weather. Throughout the novel, places and settings symbolize the different aspects of the 1920s American society that Fitzgerald depicts. The weather in The Great Gatsby dependably matches the emotional and narrative tone of the story. Some symbols are the green light, the valley of ashes, and the eyes of Doctor T.J. Ekleburg.
Nick Carraway: The novel's narrator, Nick Carraway comes from a wealthy Minnesota family. He traveled to New York to learn the bond business; there he becomes involved with Gatsby and the Buchanans. Honest, tolerant, and inclined to reserve judgment, Nick often serves as a confidant for those with troubling secrets. Of all the novel's characters Nick is the only one to truly recognize Gatsby's greatness.
Jay Gatsby: He is the title character and the protagonist of the novel, Gatsby is an extremely wealthy young man living in a Gothic mansion in West Egg. He is well-known for the generous parties he throws every Saturday night, but none knows where he comes from, what he does, or how he made his fortune. Later in the novel Nick finds out that Gatsby real name is James Gatz and was born on a farm in North Dakota and was working for a millionaire that encouraged him to the achievement of wealth. While Gatsby was in training to be an officer in Louisville he met Daisy Fay and passionately fell in love with her. Nick later finds out that Gatsby made his fortune through criminal activity to try to win Daisy's love with wealth.
