The Great Gatsby : Chapter 1 Summary

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Chapter 1

Plot

Nick Carraway is the narrator and starts the novella by remembering his upbringing. The narration takes place after the incident that is being described. Nick is working through memories.  Nick moves from Midwest to West Egg, to become ‘a well rounded man’ and recaptures what it was like to be a soldier in WW1, Daisy, Nick’s cousin, and Tom live in East Egg, They discus day pressing matters and what they will do on the longest day. After returning home Nick notices a figure in the distance and he stretches his arms toward the darkness.

Key Characters  

Nick
·          Working class man
·          Not very wealthy
·          Curious
Tom
·          Athletic
·          Obnoxious
·          Vacuous
Daisy
·          Calm
·          Aware
·          Social able
Miss Baker (Jordan)
·          Relaxed
·          In control
·          Enigmatic
Gatsby
·          Mysterious
·          Self contained
·          wealthy

Society and conflict in society

In chapter 1, there is a clear divide between rich and poor and the way of upbringing, “Just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you have had”   (page 7) and “fundamentals decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth”(page 7) the upper class are seen to be too relaxed “She was extended full length at her end of the divan” (page 14)

Language features

In chapter 1, Fitzgerald use a strong sense of realism in the novella, in the way he presents characters and the way he presents events, many of the events in the novella would be base of similar personal experiences that he would have experienced. Fitzgerald also uses also uses a range of euphemisms when describing the people and actions around him.     

Narrative feature

Nick is a homodiegetic narrator, as he is a character in the story. He is also a linear narrator as his way of narrating is in chronological order. He can also be seen as a unreliable narrator as he is bias towards curtain characters and events. The story is in the structure of analepsis as it is describing a past event.  

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