The Great Gatsby

Set in the Jazz Age of the early 1920s, the narrative captures Prohibition-era excess and the era’s rapid social change. Wealth and leisure define daily life as parties spill from Gatsby’s garden into the summer streets of Long Island and the city. The period’s volatility underpins Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy and the fates that befall those who chase an unattainable dream.

The story unfolds across Long Island’s twin communities of West Egg and East Egg, centered on Gatsby’s opulent mansion. The Long Island Sound separates the ostentatious aristocracy from the city’s nightlife, with New York serving as a playground for affairs and ambition. The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan becomes a focal point for crucial confrontations and revelations.

💎 Wealth & Class

Lavish wealth and old-money status shape every interaction, masking insecurity and moral compromise. The parties, mansions, and social rituals reveal a world where money buys access but not happiness or virtue. The contrast between East Egg’s aristocrats and Gatsby’s nouveau riche aspirations drives conflict and tragedy.

🕰️ Past & Nostalgia

Gatsby’s fixation on rekindling a bygone romance with Daisy highlights the impossibility of recapturing the past. The dream he chases is built on selective memory and idealized moments rather than current reality. The past slowly closes in, undermining every attempt at reinvention.

🎭 Illusion vs Reality

The glittering parties and confident facades conceal truth and vulnerability. Characters perform roles—socialites, lovers, friends—while hidden motives drive their actions. The story exposes how outward glamour often masks moral decay and personal weakness.

🔫 Crime & Corruption

Meyer Wolfsheim’s criminal connections hint at the underworld underpinning Gatsby’s fortune. The narrative shows how illicit pursuits threaten the living and accumulate in tragedy, as hatred, jealousy, and fatal misunderstandings collide. The deaths of Gatsby and the accompanying fallout expose a society where crime and consequence go hand in hand.