The Green Light

Gatsby lives in West Egg right across the lake from the love of his life, Daisy. His mansion was specifically placed so that he could have a direct view of the Buchannan residence.

Gatsby's love for Daisy caused him to not ever wanted to be far away from her. Across the lake, her house was visible due to a bright green light which was seen every night by Gatsby directly from his front porch.

The green light in the story symbolizes the always possible love connection between Daisy and Jay Gatsby. This is because no matter how far apart they are love will eventually bring them back together to one another.

Dan Cody

Dan Cody was a wealthy copper mogul who Gatsby met while walking on the beach as he saw Cody in Lake Superior. Gatsby warned him about the strong winds so that he wouldnt get hurt. Cody was a product of the Nevada Silver Fields and became a millionare after the transactions in Montana Copper. Dan Cody was very influental to Jay Gatsby and taught him alot.

Dan Cody was naive and softminded. Once women noticed these characteristics in him they quickly took advantage of them. Gatsby began to work for Cody as a steward, skipper, jailer and secretary. He began to be trusted alot by Dan. He was a heavy alcoholic which is why Gatsby hardly ever drank. Dan Cody died and Gatsby put a picture of him in his mansion to pay tribute to one of his biggest mentors.

The Women Of Gatsby

The Women of Gatsby include Daisy, Jordan and Myrtile. In The Great Gatsby, F.Scott Fitzgerald shows that marriage doesnt really matter to the women of gatsby. The novel is full of affairs and the women seem to be free. Daisy is Nicks cousin and Tom's Wife but is in love with Gatsby. She is superfiicial at sometimes and is very dramatic as well. At one point in the novel she is crying because of how "beautiful" Gatsby's shirts are. She can sometimes be annoying and get on your nerves as you read the novel.

Jordan Baker is Daisy's friend and is falling in love with Nick. She is beautiful but one of her flaws is her dishonesty. She is a golfer and one time she cheated during a golf tournament. She represents one of the new women of the 1920's by being more like a boy and very self-centered. Myrtile is Tom's lover and is George Wilson's wife. She is fierce and feels that if Tom doesnt treat her the way she wants him too. He treats her more like an object if anything. Myrtile dies when Daisy runs her over in Gatsby's car on the way home from New York City.

The Men of Gatsby

The three main men in the Great Gatsby are Nick, Tom, and Gatsby.

Nick is the narrorator of the story. He finds himself inbetween the major conflict between Tom and Gatsby. He lives in West Egg right next door to the grand mansion of Gatsby. He gets so caught up in Tom and Gatsby's troubles that he even forgets that it is his own birthday.

Tom is the wife of Nick's cousin Daisy. He cheats on Daisy with a woman named Myrtle (who is the wife of Mr. Wilson). He is very wealthy and lives in East Egg. He is shocked and angered when he finds out that Gatsby is in a relationship with his own wife Daisy. This infuriates Tom and he begins to investigate Gatsby and make accusations about him.

Gatsby is a very wealthy man as well. However he lives in West Egg and always throws very extravagant parties in which everybody attends. He lives in his huge mansion with no wife or girlfriend. However, he has a strong love for Daisy (Tom's wife). He's loved her for a long time; ever since he was in the military years ago. His love for Daisy causes major conflict between him and Tom which is the source of many problems and issues in the story.

East Egg vs West Egg

In the story there are two major cities mentioned. They are East Egg and West Egg. In general, the people of East Egg tend to be more wealthy than the people of West Egg.

East Egg is home to many rich families. They live in large, lavish homes that demonstrate their extreme wealth. These people more than not drive the nicest cars, have the nicest boats, and live in nicer/cleaner neighborhoods. Characters such as Tom and Daisy live in East Egg.

West Egg, however is home to the lower-middle to upper-middle class people. The houses aren't as large and elegant and overall the lifestyle of the residents isn't as graceful as the people of East Egg. An example of a person that lives in West Egg is the narrorator of the story Nick.

However, there is one very grand spectacle in West Egg that stands out above all the rest of the houses. This structure is the Gatsby residence. It is a huge mansion in which many extravagant parties are thrown and everybody around attends.

Selfish People

There are many people in our society that are selfish. The word selfish is defined as devoted to or caring for oneself. Selfish people only care about themselves and not about anyone else. As long as they are happy or pleased they could care less about the others surrounding them. Selfish people do what they have to do to get what they want. They will take advantage of others and bully others. They have no problem with bullying people because they dont care about how the other person feels. Also, once that person does a favor for them they act unappreciative and might not even say thank you.

When it comes to seeking help from someone who's selfish you shouldnt even bother. If it doesnt have anything to do with them they are not interested and really dont care at all. They wont try to help you with your problem even if you have helped them before. Selfish people are useless when it comes to helping others. Dealing with selfish people can be difficult. The best thing you can probably do is just try to limit conversation with them and try to limit their role in your life. They probably wont even notice themselves unless they need something from you.

The Great Gatsby Film Versions

There have been many different film versions of the Great Gatsby. They are all based on the novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The latest film created for The Great Gatsby dates back to 1926. The most recent film for The Great Gatsby in 2000. The others inbetween include: 1949, 1974, and a 1999 opera.

The 1926 film was a silent film that starred Warner Baxter and Lois Wilson. The 1949 film starred Alan Ladd and Betty Field. The film created in 1974 starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. The opera performed in 1999 was composed by John Harbison. The most recent of these films is actually a television show which stars Toby Stevens and Mira Sorvino.

Jealousy

Everyone has most likely been jealous at one time in their life. Jealousy is an emotion that refers to being negative, feeling insecure and having anxiety. These feelings happen when you lose something that you value such as a relationship or a friend. Some people belive that you are envious when jealous but you are not, you actually have feelings of anger, sadness or disgust. Many feel jealous during human experiences. People as young as five months old experience jealousy.

Jealousy has been featured in novels, movies and poems.Physoclogists, biologists and scientists have all studied jealousy and have came up with many conclusions. Some believe that it has to do with cultural beliefs and thats what triggers jealousy. No matter where it comes from jealousy has all played a role in our lives from one time to another.

Mafia/Gangsters

In the 1920's the act of Prohibition was taking place in the US. This was defined as the banning of alcohol. Although some people were happy with prohibition, many others were very displeased. They needed their alcohol to function properly and live their lives. Therefore there was a lot of organized crimes beginning to happen to get these people their alcohol.

This is what led to gangs such as the mofia and the mob. The mafia contented itself with the many profits to be gained from the controlling of the bootleg liquor industry. They usually sold all their liquor obtained in speakeasies. Mafia families looked at the prohibition as a weakness that could make money. They would either brew their own liquor or would buy from other families to supply speakeasies for the people who couldn't live without alcohol.

Many mafia members such as Al Capone became very rich because of all the money made from his liquor profits. However, when prohibition was banned in 1933, the mafia shifted their sales from liquor to illegal drugs and they continued their illegal acts.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald is an american author who wrote The Great Gatsby. He was born on September 24, 1896 in St.Paul Minnesota. He was born into an upper middle class family and was the only son. He was raised by his father Edward Fitzgerald and his mother Mary McQuillan. In 1898 his family moved to Buffalo, New York and he got a job as a salesman. However he lost his job in 1908 and moved back to St.Paul. He enrolled into St.Paul Academy and eventually went to Princeton. This is where he began to write scripts for musicals. He developed a love for theatre and writing. After leaving Princeton he joined the army in 1917. He met Zelda Sayre who he engaged but after a few months Zelda left him.
Fitzgerald then moved to New York City after discharging from the army. He began to work on his first novel called The Romantic Egoist. It was first rejected but three revisions later it was published as The Side of Paradise in 1920. He then finally married Zelda in 1920 and had a daughter. Zelda began to become a flapper changing her clothing, drinking and smoking cigarrettes. Fitzgerald's greatest success came from his novel The Great Gatsby. However him and his wife were having relationship problems and eventually his wife moved back to live with her mother in Montgomery, Alabama. Fitzgerald then had two heart attacks in a span of two months. F. Scott Fitzgerald died on December 21, 1940 due to a second heart attack.

1920's

This decade in time was known as the Roaring Twenties for the speedy social change it brought to the United States. Some of the main types of people that were affected was women. After decades of long struggle, women could finally vote. This resulted in women being elected to state and local offices. Women also saw changes in their workplace roles during the Roaring Twenties. During the economic boom of the 1920's women joined the workforce in large numbers. They filled a greater range of jobs than ever before. Americans also began attending college more than ever. Many of these new students were women from middle and upper class families.

During this time period, fashion, especially amongst women, dramatically changed. Groups such as the flappers wore more revealing clothes that showed their legs and arms and overall a lot more skin than they ever did.

In general, the Roaring Twenties was a very different yet fun decade in our United States history. The unique styles and lifestyles dramatically changed the way the average American lived their life.

Flappers

Originated in the 1920's, the term Flappers began to be used to describe the women of "The Roaring Twenties". In 1920 the 19th Amendment was passed which granted Women Suffrage. Women began to change there wordrobes and started wearing more make-up. There hair was shorter and they even smoked. Every piece of clothing they wore was now shorter and more revealing. They listened to Jazz Music which they enjoyed alot because they were able to dance freely and reveal themselves more. Skirts began to fall just above the knee and they also wore stockings on their legs. The waists of flappers clothes fell to the hipline and there body was being more revealed. Lipstick, eye-liner and other products began to gain popularity among flappers as they wore alot of make-up.

Not only did fashion change but so did the attitude of Flapper's. They took more risks and engaged in sexual behavior. A new sexual activity called Petting became popular among Flappers and they even through petting parties. Flappers also drank alchohol when at the time it was banned in the United States. Flappers symbolized a change in Women all across the United States.

Prohibition

Prohibition was put in place in the 1920's. It was defined by the banning of the manufacturing, selling, transporting, and drinking of alchohol in any way. The banning of alchohol was due to the fact that many women had believed that it was the cause of crime, hatred and violence in the cities. They believed that if alchohol was banned, street crimes and things like abusive husbands would come to an end. Therefore this law was put in place and eventually became the 18th Ammendment to our United States Constitution.
However, this plan backfired and was an epic failure. Instead of decreasing the crime rate, the banning of alchohol greatly increased it. This was because many people loved alchohol and to get a hold of it, they would have to find a place that would sell it to them illegally. This led to the creation of "speakeasies." Speakeasies were somewhat like night clubs in which people could illegally go and drink all the alchohol they want and have fun. These speakeasies were to be kept in total secrecy and had to be hidden from authority figures. Police caught wind of the speakeasies eventually and sought to eliminate them. This was way too hard due to the secrecy of them and the fact that there had come to be so many of them in America. Because of this, the 18th Ammendment was appealed and prohibition in the U.S. came to an end in 1933.