The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Table of Contents
Cast of Characters
Nick Carraway — Nick is the narrator of the novel, as well as the main character. He is from Minnesota and has been educated at Yale. He spends time fighting in WWI, and then decides to get into the bond business in New York City. He is a non-judgmental man who is tolerant of others and very honest in all of his dealings with others. When people have secrets and problems that are bothering them, they often confide in Nick. He moves to a place called West Egg, which is part of Long Island (fictional) and home to many people who are newly rich. His neighbor next door is Jay Gatsby, who is mysterious and reclusive. Nick is also the cousin of Daisy Buchanan, so he works to re-establish the romance she once had with Gatsby. Because the story is told completely through the eyes of Nick, the perceptions he has go a long way toward shaping the story.
Daisy Buchanan — Daisy is the cousin of the main character, Nick. Gatsby loves her, and was one of the officers to court her before the war, when they were in Louisville. She promised that she would wait for Gatsby, but she changed her mind when Tom Buchanan asked for her hand in marriage. She had a deep need to feel loved, and Tom was powerful and rich. She is a socialite now, and she lives in East Egg, across from Gatsby and his West Egg home. Her husband cheats on her all the time, and she has become very superficial in an effort to mask the pain that she feels.
Tom Buchanan — Daisy's husband, Tom is incredibly rich. He was a member of the same social club as Nick when they were at Yale. He has a family that has "old money," and he is a powerfully-built bully. Arrogant and unpleasant, he is both sexist and racist. He has no interest in following any kind of moral code, but others around him must have strong morals or he will not allow them into his circle. He is having an affair with a woman named Myrtle, but when he starts to think that Gatsby and Daisy may be having an affair, he is completely enraged. At that point, he forces a...
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