The Great Gatsby

This blog is Tom Blankenship's electronic study guide for The Great Gatsby. Here we discuss key themes found in the book, give information about the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, give information about the time period, and much more!

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Quiz: Jay-Z Lyric or Line From The Great Gatsby?

This is the best thing I’ve seen all day.

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I got this quiz so wrong.

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yo who’s going to Jay Gatsby’s party later

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“I wish I had done everything on Earth with you.”

The Great Gatsby - photoset 3 of 3

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4/365 by Burning-Heart on Flickr.

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lemme borrow that sweater

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I hate when people say they’re having a “Great Gatsby theme party” because unless someone ends up dead in the pool by the end of the night, honey that’s just a Roaring 20s theme party…

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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the great gatsby (by natalie ✖)

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Key themes in the novel

Like in any novel, there are themes, or lessons, to tell the reader what the story is about, keep the story organized, or to teach a hidden lesson that can relate to everyday life. The themes in The Great Gatsby are:

Honesty: The novel begins with our narrator, Nick Carraway, tell us where he comes from and how he was raised. Throughout the novel, it is suggested that Nick is not one to like people who lie. This is made evident because he does not like Tom Buchanan after finding out that he has a mistress in New York City. Nick still likes Gatsby despite it being rumored that he has lied and cheated his way to becoming wealthy. Nick also befriends a woman named Jordan Baker who is said to have cheated in a golf tournament.

Violence: There is quite a bit of violence that takes place in the story. The first sign of it is when Tom hits his mistress after she gets drunk and out of hand. Later, the violence escalates when Daisy kills Myrtle, Tom's mistress, with Gatsby's car. Later, the violence ends when George Wilson, Myrtle's husband, kills Gatsby and later himself.

Religion (God): The eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg can be seen on a billboard over the Valley of Ashes. It has been referenced as being the "eyes of God" who is put on the back burner during this wild era of partying. The eyes symbolize that God is always watching, whether we remember him to be or not. 

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I need this shirt more than most things. It’s crucial, really.

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Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (via flappers-andphilosophers)