Gatsby
Mysterious: rumors, elusive,
his family background
Ambitious: Getting Daisy back,
works hard to change his social
class
Arrogant: lavish parties
Theme: The American Dream,
he is ambitious, self-made
man, dreams of money,
marriage
Hope is the essence of the
character, symbolized by the
green light
« by 7 o’clock the orchestra has
arrived”
“but the 2 or 3 people of
whom I asked his whereabouts
stared at me in such an
amazed way and denied so
vehemently any knowledge of
his movement”
“Gatsby believed in the green
light”
Nick Jordan
Omnipresent : he is Modern woman:
the narrator of every independent, earns
event, all the money on her own,
characters confide to unmarried, no
Tom Daisy
Manipulative: with Daisy, Materialistic: stays with Tom, is
forces her to leave Gatsby, drawn by Gatsby
same with Myrtle
Risk taker (to a certain point
Violent: racist theories, looks point): Cheats on Tom, enjoys
down on people, violent with her safety so she goes back to
Myrtle Tom
Insecure: because of Gatsby Hollowness
and Daisy,
Theme: Hollowness of the
Theme: Upper class upper class, superficiality
he is really wealthy and proud, Gatsby’s funeral
part of the aristocracy, uses his
status to get everything he “I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s
wants the best thing a girl can be in
this world, a beautiful little
Now he was a sturdy straw- fool” chapter 1
haired man of thirty, with a
rather hard mouth and a
supercilious manner. Two
shining arrogant eyes had
established dominance over
his face and gave him the
appearance of always leaning
aggressively forward. Not even
the effeminate swank of his
riding clothes could hide the
enormous power of that body-
he seemed to fill those
glistening boots until he
strained the top lacing, and
you could see a great pack of
muscle shifting when his
shoulder moved under his thin
coat. It was a body capable of
enormous leverage – a cruel
body.
George Myrtle
“He was a blond, Dishonest
spiritless man, anemic
and faintly handsome. Double-face character,
When he saw us a she is like Batman,
damp gleam of hope lives with Tom during
him children sprang into his light the day and with
Realistic: wise woman, blue eyes.” George at night,
Quiet: never has opposed to the
strong opinions, stays dreaming Daisy, Desperate: his life is Unfulfilled: loveless
in the back while most nothing serious with hopeless, he loves a marriage  wrong
of the action unfolds Nick, no false hopes woman who cheats on expectations, her
for him him, he forces her to hopes with Tom fail as
Theme: superficiality, stay, eventually kills well, Desperate as
Ambitious: not as rich she cheats, she enjoys Gatsby. George
as the other Daisy’s status, enjoys
characters, looks for a going to parties, Unlucky: Everything in
better job, in a better making contacts his life is not going Theme: The
city, also has hopes for well, he cannot inaccessibility of the
his friend “Jordan clever overcome his American Dream
intentionally avoided situation, he lives in
Theme: American clever men” the valley of ashes, he Quote: chapter 7;
Dream, inspired by married the wrong “beat me! He heard
Gatsby, moved to woman, … her cry. Throw me
West Egg, wants to fit Down and beat me,
in. Devastated: his you dirty little coward!
demise is tragic, in the A moment later she
Quote: “Everybody I end kills Gatsby and
rushed out into the
knew was in the bond himself
business, so I dusk (…) business was
supposed it could
over”
support one more Theme: Lower Class
single man.” Chapter 1
He is the most
unfortunate character
of the novel, he dies
while all the rich
characters survive, he
is the only truly poor
character and yet
manages to lose
everything.