What is the Great Gatsby about short summary?

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel,The Great Gatsby, follows Jay Gatsby, a man who orders his life around one desire: to be reunited with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years earlier. Gatsby’s quest leads him from poverty to wealth, into the arms of his beloved, and eventually to death.

How did Gatsby become rich?

We are told that Gatsby came up from essentially nothing, and that the first time he met Daisy Buchanan, he was “a penniless young man.” His fortune, we are told, was the result of a bootlegging business – he “bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago” and sold illegal alcohol over the counter.

What do cars represent in The Great Gatsby?

What role do automobiles play in The Great Gatsby? For many of Fitzgerald’s characters, the automobile represents American progress. Fitzgerald, however, remains unconvinced. Despite its superficial role as an emblem of man’s ingenuity, Fitzgerald suggests that the automobile is actually a tool of destruction.

What do Gatsby’s books symbolize?

So, the simple answer is that the books represent the fact that Gatsby is a fraud. He’s built up an image of himself that isn’t consistent with the facts of his life. But you could also argue that the unopened, unread books represent Gatsby himself: eternally mysterious, eternally unopened.

Why is it important that Gatsby’s books are real?

The uncut books are significant because they prove that Gatsby has never read any of these books since the pages are still folded together and can only be read if they are ‘cut’ apart. The uncut pages are a potent symbol of the fact that Gatsby is not who he claims to be.

Why is owl eyes surprised the books are real?

Because he realizes Gatsby is projecting a facade, Owl Eyes registers surprise that the books on Gatsby’s library shelves are real. He had thought that Gatsby would use cardboard imitations of book covers. He admires Gatsby for going to such great lengths to project an image.