RESUME OF F. SCOTT FITZGERARLD NOVEL

‘THE GREAT GATSBY’

CHAPTER 1

            Nick Caraway was a son of a prominent family in Middle Western. His father worked at hardware business which had been a tradition in his family. He graduated from Yale and fought in World War I. After the war, he went through a period of restlessness so he decided to go to the East in summer in order to learn about the bond business. He lived in New York, specifically in West Egg, a part of Long Island and had a Finnish woman as his servant. His neighbour in next door was a gentleman named Gatsby who had a mansion like some Hotel de Ville in Normandy.

            On the evening, Nick had dinner with Tom Buchanan, his cousin’s husband, Daisy in East Egg. Nick knew Tom when they were in Yale. His family was enormously wealthy. The bad side of him was that he’s got some woman in New York. Daisy’s friend also attended. She named Jordan Baker. They had conversation during the dinner. After that Nick went home in West Egg. When he arrived at home, he saw a handsome young man, Jay Gatsby, was standing on his wide lawn.

CHAPTER 2

Nick was taken by Tom to George Wilson's garage at the edge of the valley of ashes. There, Nick met Tom’s mistress for the first time. The woman who had been having an affair with Tom, no other was Myrtle, Wilson’s wife. Tom forced both Myrtle and Nick to go together him to New York. In an apartment on the top floor in which Tom maintained his affair, they had a vulgar party and drunk with Myrtle's sister, Catherine, and a couple named McKee who came after got a call from Myrtle.

In the middle of the talk, Catherine said that Gatsby is a nephew or a cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm and all Gatsby’s money was from him. They became exceedingly drunk. Towards midnight, Mrs. Wilson and Tom discussed in impassioned voice and she mentioned Daisy's name several times to irritate Tom. Tom told her that she had no right to say Daisy's name, and he suddenly broke Mrs. Wilson’s nose with his open hand. Then, Tom left her and Nick was following.

CHAPTER 3

Nick described the great parties which were always held in Gatsby’s house almost everyday in his life. It included the music, the foods and drinks, the swimming pool, and the garden which was decorated enormously. Nick was eventually invited to one of these parties in Saturday night, but not by Gatsby himself, instead by Gatsby's chauffeur who brought an invitation to Nick's door in Saturday morning.

Nick came to the party. Only few of the guests seem to be invited guests, and even had not met Gatsby face to face. Nick turned to Jordan Baker who was more casually bitter than usual because she had recently lost a golf tournament. All around them, people gossiped about their mysterious host. Jordan and Nick were looking for Gatsby in his mansion but they found a man in enormous eyeglasses. Nick called him Owl Eyes skimming through the books in Gatsby's library. Outside, in the garden, Nick struck up a conversation with a handsome, youthful man who looked familiar to him. This man was the mysterious Gatsby. The fact was that they served in the same division during the war. He prefered watching the party from a distance rather than taking part in it. Gatsby left to take a phone call. Later, he sent his butler to ask Jordan Baker if he may speak with her privately.

He did not merely attend parties during the summer of 1922 because he worked in New York. He began to like New York and its vibranty. He missed Jordan Baker and he felt different in his heart. It had to be love.

CHAPTER 4

In summer, as always, a party was held in Gatsby’s house. All the people of families from East Egg, West Egg, and New York came to the party. At nine o’clock in July, Gatsby came to Nick’s house by riding his luxurious car. Then, they went to town for lunch. On the way to town, Gatsby told the truth about him in order not to make Nick got a wrong idea about him. Actually, he was son of wealth people in the Middle West and educated in Oxford which became a family tradition. However, his parents died so he was brought up in America. After they died, Gatsby had glamour life. He tried to forget bad memories that had happened in his life long ago. He was even being a first lieutenant in the war in Montenegro and from there he got a piece of metal as a souvenir. When they arrived in a restaurant named Old Metro pole, they lunched with Meyer Wolf shier, Gatsby’s friend. Here also Nick met Tom who had been gone for a long time.

CHAPTER 5

            When Nick came home at two o’clock, he saw that Gatsby’s house lit from tower to cellar. Then when Nick got out from the taxi, Gatsby walked toward him. He asked Nick if he want to go to Corey Island with him but it was rejected by Nick. Gatsby offered another job for him and for the second times Nick had rejected the thing offered by Gatsby for some reasons. The next morning Nick called Daisy and invited her to come to tea in his house. The day was raining. At eleven o’clock Gatsby sent someone to cut the grass in Nick’s lawn. Nick went out by his self to buy some cups, lemons, and flowers because his Finn had not came back.

            Next, at 3 o’clock Gatsby came to his house. It was still raining outside. They had waited for Daisy for an hour. Finally, she arrived with her driver. Gatsby and Daisy met again after five years. Then they had a conversation and continued by visiting Gatsby’s house. There they saw around the house and heard Klipspringer, a boarder in Gatsby house, played piano while the rain was pouring.

                                                                                                  

CHAPTER 6

            Nick didn’t see Gatsby for several weeks so he went over to his house one Sunday afternoon. It had not been two minutes Nick was there then Tom, Mr. Sloane and his lady came. Then they all had a conversation except Mr. Sloane and his lady. No sooner they came then Mr. Sloane took leave but Gatsby urged him not to be hurry. The lady tempted Nick and Gatsby by inviting them to dinner. However Nick rejected it when he saw that Mr. Sloane didn’t like to his lady attitude.

            The following Saturday night, Tom came with Daisy to Gatsby’s party. There were not only famous people, such as a celebrity of movies with her director who seems like have a special relationship but also the people who hadn’t been invited. Nick stayed late in Gatsby house that night after the party was over. Gatsby told him a lot about the love story about him and Daisy in the past five years.

CHAPTER 7

            One day, Gatsby career was over. Nick was worried about him and wondered if he were sick. Thus he went over Gatsby’s house to find out but only an unfamiliar butler who was met by him and he said that Gatsby was not sick. He heard from his Finn that Gatsby had fired all of his servants and replaced them with the people employed by Meyer Wolfsheim. Daisy began to visit Gatsby in the afternoons.

            In the warmest in summer, Gatsby and Nick went to the Daisy’s house because they had been invited for lunch by her. Jordan Baker was also there. Then Tom appeared and came to join them. Then he left the room for a while to take a cold-drink. Gatsby was surprised by Daisy’s daughter who came into the room with the nurse. He found hard to believe that Daisy had been a mother. When they had luncheon, Tom realized as he saw Daisy told Gatsby that she loved him. After knowing that fact, he forced all the people there to go to town. Gatsby and Daisy drive in Tom's car, while Nick, Jordan, and Tom drive in Gatsby's.

            As arrived in town, they went into the parlour of a suite in the Plaza Hotel. They had a long conversation which was dominated by Tom’s investigation of Gatsby. Then Gatsby told that Daisy never loved Tom and she only loved him. However when Gatsby asked Daisy to tell that the statement was true, she didn’t do it because she feel that she ever loved him though just for once. She loved both of them.

On the way went home,Nick, Jordan and Tom found that someone had been struck and killed by an automobile. The young Greek named Michaelis, Wilson's neighbour, told them that the victim was Myrtle Wilson. Before the accident, he heard loud voice of Mrs.Wilson as a fight had occured between her and her husband,Mr. Wilson. Then she ran out into the road and she was struck by an yellow car. The policemen and some witnesses were there after the accident. Nick realizes that the “died car”must have been Gatsby's car. Tom presumed that Gatsby was the driver. However, Nick guessed that Daisy who had driven the car. His assumption was true after he heard from Gatsby so.

                                                                                                                             

CHAPTER 8

That night, Nick found himself unable to sleep, since the terrible events of the day. He hurried to Gatsby's house shortly before dawn. He advised Gatsby to leave Long Island until the case of Mrs.Wilson's death has quieted down. Gatsby refused because he cannot leave Daisy. In contrary, he told Nick that he spent the entire night in front of the Daisy’s house just to ensure that Daisy was safe.

Gatsby told Nick the story of his first meeting with Daisy. Gatsby and Daisy first met in Louisville in 1917 and he was instantly interested with her wealth, her beauty, and her youthful innocence. Realizing that Daisy would reject him if she knew of his poverty, Gatsby determined to lie to her about his past and his circumstances. Daisy promised to wait for him during he left for the war. Then they slept together, as though to seal their pact. Finally,Daisy could not wait anymore. She married Tom, who was equal to her social and the choice of her parents.

George Wilson told Michaelis that he realized what had been done by his wife. She had an affair with another man. Even tough she tried to deny it but she could not hide it from God.

He searched for Tom Buchanan, in the hope that Tom would know the driver's identity. Tom told him that Gatsby was the driver. Wilson drove to Gatsby's mansion. There, he found Gatsby floating in his pool, staring contemplatively at the sky. Wilson shoted Gatsby, and then turned the gun on himself. He had killed Gatsby and himself. It was Nick who found Gatsby's body.