What is The Great Gatsby about?

It is about Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire on Long Island who throws huge parties in the hope that Daisy, the woman he has loved for years, will come to one. It is told by his neighbor Nick Carraway, who watches the story unfold in the summer of 1922.

How does The Great Gatsby end?

Daisy’s car kills Myrtle Wilson, and Gatsby takes the blame. Myrtle’s husband, George Wilson, shoots Gatsby and then himself. Few people come to Gatsby’s funeral, and Nick, disillusioned, goes home to the Midwest.

Who is the main character in The Great Gatsby?

Jay Gatsby is the title character, but the story is told by Nick Carraway, who is the narrator and also takes part in the events. Many readers see Nick as the main character because the story is seen through his eyes.

What is the moral of The Great Gatsby?

Many readers take the book as a warning that chasing a dream that belongs to the past can be dangerous, and that money cannot buy love or happiness. It also shows that being careless with other people has a cost.

What age is The Great Gatsby appropriate for?

The original is generally suggested for teens, about 14 and up, because of its adult themes, drinking, death and complex writing. Children aged 6 to 9 can enjoy a gentle retelling instead.

How many chapters are in The Great Gatsby?

The original has nine chapters. It is a short novel of about 50,000 words, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1925.

The Great Gatsby summary for kids

The Great Gatsby is the story of one summer on Long Island, New York, told by a quiet young man named Nick Carraway. Next door to Nick lives Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who throws enormous, sparkling parties every weekend. Nobody quite knows who he is, and Nick slowly discovers that all the glitter is meant for just one person. It is a short, beautifully written novel about dreams, hope and the way people try to win back the past. Readers still love it for its vivid pictures of a glittering world and for Gatsby himself, a man who never stops hoping.

Written by: F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925
Setting: Long Island and New York City, summer of 1922
The original novel: 9 chapters, about 50,000 words
Our retelling: Ages 6–9, an illustration on every page

The story, from beginning to end

Spoiler alert: this summary tells the whole story, including the ending.

Nick moves next door to a mystery

Nick Carraway, a young man from the Midwest, comes to New York in the spring of 1922 to learn the bond business, which means helping people invest their money. He rents a small house on Long Island, in a village called West Egg. Beside his little cottage stands a huge mansion that belongs to a man named Jay Gatsby.

Across the bay, in the fancier village of East Egg, live Nick’s cousin Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom, a powerful, boastful man who was once a football star. Nick has dinner with them and meets Jordan Baker, a clever, cool young golfer who is Daisy’s friend. Nick learns that Tom has a secret: he is seeing another woman while married to Daisy.

The valley of ashes and a wild party

Between West Egg and New York City lies the “valley of ashes,” a gray, dusty stretch of land where a giant billboard of a pair of eyes looks down on everything. There Tom takes Nick to meet his secret girlfriend, Myrtle Wilson, who is married to George Wilson, a worn-out man who runs a car repair garage. Tom, Myrtle and their friends spend a loud afternoon in a New York apartment, and the day ends in an argument and a broken nose for Myrtle.

Soon after, Nick is invited to one of Gatsby’s parties. There are lanterns, orchestras, fountains and hundreds of guests, most of whom were never really invited at all. Nobody seems to know where Gatsby comes from. Rumors fly. Nick finally meets him: a polite, smiling man with a warm, friendly way of talking, who seems to be watching for something.

What Gatsby really wants

Gatsby takes Nick out for a drive and tells him a story about his past, which is a little too grand to be believed. Through Jordan, Nick then learns the real reason for the parties. Years ago, before the war, Gatsby was a poor young soldier who fell in love with Daisy. He had to go overseas, and Daisy later married the wealthy Tom Buchanan. Gatsby has spent every year since trying to become rich enough to deserve her. He bought his mansion because it sits across the water from her house, where a small green light shines at the end of her dock.

Gatsby asks Nick for one favor: to invite Daisy to tea so the two can meet again. Nick agrees. On a rainy afternoon at Nick’s cottage, Gatsby is so nervous he nearly runs away, but then he and Daisy are together again, and both are very moved. Gatsby shows her his house and his huge collection of beautiful shirts, and Daisy cries because she has never seen anything so lovely.

Gatsby’s secret and the hot day

We learn that Gatsby’s name was once James Gatz and that he grew up poor in North Dakota. As a teenager he decided to remake himself, and he came to know a rich old man named Dan Cody, who taught him about the world. Over the summer, Gatsby and Daisy spend more and more time together, and the parties suddenly stop.

On the hottest day of the summer, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, Gatsby and Nick drive into New York City and take a hotel room to escape the heat. There, tempers boil over. Gatsby demands that Daisy tell Tom she never loved him. Tom, who has been looking into Gatsby’s business dealings, says Gatsby has made his money in shady ways, and he accuses him in front of everyone. Daisy, torn and frightened, cannot say what Gatsby wants her to say. Tom, sure of himself, sends Daisy home in Gatsby’s car, driven by Gatsby.

The accident

On the road past Wilson’s garage, Myrtle runs out into the road, perhaps thinking the yellow car is Tom’s, and she is struck and killed by it. The car does not stop. Nick later learns that Daisy was the one driving, not Gatsby, but Gatsby says that he will take the blame. Nick, Tom and Jordan come upon the scene a little later and see a crowd gathered at the garage.

Back at Daisy’s house that night, Gatsby stands outside in the dark, keeping watch over her in case Tom causes her trouble. Inside, Nick sees Tom and Daisy sitting together at their kitchen table, quietly making a plan. Neither one is in any hurry to tell the truth.

A terrible mistake

George Wilson is heartbroken and half out of his mind with grief. He has found out that Myrtle was seeing someone, but not who it was. He learns that the car that killed her was yellow and tracks it to Gatsby. Tom, who is afraid of what Wilson might do, tells him that the car belongs to Gatsby. This sends Wilson to Gatsby’s door.

Meanwhile, Gatsby tells Nick the real story of his love for Daisy, and he refuses to leave town. He still hopes that Daisy will call and say she is coming to him. The next afternoon, he floats on a mattress in his swimming pool, waiting for a phone call that never comes. Wilson arrives, shoots Gatsby dead, and then shoots himself.

The end of the summer

Nick tries to find people to come to Gatsby’s funeral. Daisy and Tom have left town without a word, and no flowers or messages arrive. The people who ate and danced at his parties do not come. Only a handful of people turn up, including Gatsby’s father, who has come from the Midwest, proud of his son. One guest, a man with owl-eyed glasses who once marveled at Gatsby’s library, says a few sad, kind words about him.

Nick realizes that Tom and Daisy were careless people who smashed things up and then let other people clean up the mess. He ends things with Jordan, and leaves New York to go home to the Midwest. On his last night, he walks along the beach near Gatsby’s empty mansion and thinks about the green light, and about how we all keep reaching toward a future that moves a little further away, just as we try to row against the current, always being pulled back into the past.

Themes and big ideas

The American Dream: Gatsby believes that if he works hard and becomes rich enough, he can have anything, even a life he lost long ago. The novel asks whether that dream is really about money or about hope. Gatsby’s huge house and endless parties show how much effort he puts in, yet they do not buy him what he wants.
Hope and the past: Gatsby is certain that he can repeat the past, and he tells Nick so in a famous moment. His hope is brave and a little sad at the same time. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock stands for everything he is reaching for, and it never gets closer.
Rich and careless: Tom and Daisy have money, big houses and a lot of friends, but they take little responsibility when things go wrong. After the accident, they simply leave town. The book invites readers to think about how people with a lot of power can sometimes leave others to carry the blame.
Appearances versus reality: Gatsby’s name, his story and even his books are not quite what they seem. People at his parties believe all kinds of wild stories about him because he does not correct them. Nick, the narrator, learns to look more closely and see the person underneath.
Loneliness and loyalty: Gatsby has hundreds of guests but few real friends. When he dies, nearly all of them stay away. Nick is the only person who stays loyal to him, which says something about the difference between being popular and being truly cared about.

Is The Great Gatsby right for my child?

The Great Gatsby is a short book, but it was written for adults and is usually taught in high school. It includes some content parents should know about. People drink a great deal at the parties and in the story, and the book does not treat this as something to copy. Tom secretly has a girlfriend while married to Daisy, and Gatsby loves a married woman. A woman, Myrtle, is killed by a car that Daisy is driving, and later a grieving husband shoots Gatsby and then himself. The language is also sophisticated and often dreamy, with long sentences and a lot of symbolism. We suggest the original for ages 14 and up, or for confident younger teens reading with a parent or teacher.

Our retelling for ages 6 to 9 keeps the heart of the story: Gatsby’s hope, the green light, the parties and the friendship with Nick. It softens the grown-up parts in general terms. Money, mystery and love of home are in the foreground, and the sadder events are told gently and briefly, without graphic detail. If your child is sensitive to stories about loss, you may want to read it together and talk about it. We suggest the retelling for ages 6 to 9, and the original once they are teens.

Questions to talk about

Why do you think Gatsby holds such big parties, when he hardly talks to most of his guests?
What does the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock mean to Gatsby? Do you have something you hope for that feels far away?
Nick says he tries not to judge people. Is that easy or hard to do? Why?
Gatsby changed his name and told people a different story about his life. Why might someone do that? Is it a good idea?
What do you think of Tom and Daisy? Do they take responsibility for what they do? What should they have done?
Why do you think so few people come to Gatsby’s funeral, when so many came to his parties?
What is the difference between having lots of friends and having a true friend? Who is a true friend to Gatsby?
Do you think Gatsby’s dream was a good one? What would you tell him if you could talk to him?

Questions about The Great Gatsby

What is The Great Gatsby about?: It is about Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire on Long Island who throws huge parties in the hope that Daisy, the woman he has loved for years, will come to one. It is told by his neighbor Nick Carraway, who watches the story unfold in the summer of 1922.
How does The Great Gatsby end?: Daisy’s car kills Myrtle Wilson, and Gatsby takes the blame. Myrtle’s husband, George Wilson, shoots Gatsby and then himself. Few people come to Gatsby’s funeral, and Nick, disillusioned, goes home to the Midwest.
Who is the main character in The Great Gatsby?: Jay Gatsby is the title character, but the story is told by Nick Carraway, who is the narrator and also takes part in the events. Many readers see Nick as the main character because the story is seen through his eyes.
What is the moral of The Great Gatsby?: Many readers take the book as a warning that chasing a dream that belongs to the past can be dangerous, and that money cannot buy love or happiness. It also shows that being careless with other people has a cost.
What age is The Great Gatsby appropriate for?: The original is generally suggested for teens, about 14 and up, because of its adult themes, drinking, death and complex writing. Children aged 6 to 9 can enjoy a gentle retelling instead.
How many chapters are in The Great Gatsby?: The original has nine chapters. It is a short novel of about 50,000 words, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and published in 1925.