The Great Gatsby (1974) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

West Egg and East Egg are neighboring Long Island communities that represent the divide between new money and old money. Gatsby's mansion sits in West Egg, symbolizing his self-made wealth and nouveau riche status. East Egg is home to the Buchanans, representing established aristocratic wealth and social prestige. The rivalry between these communities drives much of the novel's class tension.

• west egg
• east egg
• long island
• class divide
• new money
• old money

The movie is set in 1922 during the Jazz Age, a period defined by Prohibition, rapid social change, and extravagant wealth. The early 1920s era is characterized by lavish parties, excess, and moral laxity, which directly shapes the world Gatsby inhabits and the lifestyle he emulates.

• 1920s
• jazz age
• prohibition
• roaring twenties
• time period

Gatsby's fortune comes from criminal enterprises, primarily through his association with Meyer Wolfsheim, a gambler and gangster. Wolfsheim's underworld connections, including ties to a notorious World Series fix, hint at the illicit origins of Gatsby's wealth. This criminal foundation ultimately undermines his attempts to achieve social acceptance among old-money elites.

• gatsby money
• meyer wolfsheim
• criminal
• wealth origin
• gangster

The film critiques the American Dream by showing how Gatsby's relentless pursuit of wealth and Daisy leads to his downfall. His reinvention of himself and lavish parties represent the promise of self-making, yet the old-money world of East Egg remains inaccessible. The tragedy reveals that wealth alone cannot buy happiness, virtue, or true social acceptance.

• american dream
• wealth
• class
• social mobility
• aspiration

Daisy ultimately chooses Tom because his old-money status provides security and stability that Gatsby's new wealth cannot. While she is drawn to Gatsby's romance and idealism, she is fundamentally indecisive and gravitates toward the familiar comfort of her established position. Her choice reflects the novel's theme that the wealthy elite remain closed to outsiders regardless of material success.

• daisy buchanan
• tom buchanan
• choice
• love
• social class

The film contrasts Gatsby's carefully constructed persona, his refined manners, legendary parties, and mysterious past, with the moral decay beneath. Characters perform roles: Gatsby hides vulnerability behind charm, Daisy conceals indecision behind beauty, and Tom maintains a respectable facade while pursuing affairs. The glittering surface masks truth and vulnerability throughout the narrative.

• illusion
• reality
• facade
• performance
• deception
• glamour

Gatsby's fixation on rekindling his romance with Daisy represents his belief that the past can be recaptured and recreated. He has built his entire identity around an idealized memory of their relationship, refusing to accept that time and circumstances have changed. This pursuit of an impossible past ultimately leads to his destruction, as he cannot accept reality.

• past
• nostalgia
• memory
• daisy
• obsession
• reinvention

Nick Carraway serves as the moral observer and narrator, renting a cottage in West Egg to observe the drama. Coming from the Midwest, he provides an outsider's perspective on East Coast elite society. He describes the glamour and moral decay he witnesses while remaining somewhat detached, ultimately expressing disillusionment with the world he has entered.

• nick carraway
• narrator
• observer
• perspective
• moral center

Myrtle Wilson dies when Daisy, driving Gatsby's car, strikes her on the road. This tragedy connects the different social classes in fatal ways, Myrtle's attempt to escape her lower-status life through an affair with Tom leads to her death. It exposes how the wealthy carelessly impact those beneath them, driving George Wilson toward revenge against Gatsby.

• myrtle wilson
• death
• tragedy
• class
• consequences

Gatsby's extravagant parties symbolize both the excess of the Jazz Age and Gatsby's attempt to manufacture social status. The lavish gatherings are designed to attract Daisy and prove his wealth, yet the guests who attend largely ignore him. The parties represent the hollow nature of materialism, ostentatious displays of wealth that cannot purchase genuine connection or acceptance.

• gatsby parties
• mansion
• wealth
• excess
• symbolism

The story unfolds primarily on Long Island, specifically in the communities of West Egg and East Egg, with key scenes at Gatsby's mansion. New York City, particularly the Plaza Hotel, serves as a contrasting setting for confrontations and revelations. The Long Island Sound physically separates the ostentatious new-money world of West Egg from the established aristocracy of East Egg.

• long island
• west egg
• east egg
• setting
• new york
• plaza hotel

Meyer Wolfsheim is Gatsby's business associate and mentor in criminal enterprises. A gambler and gangster, he represents the underworld connections that enabled Gatsby's fortune. His presence in the novel hints at the illicit foundation of Gatsby's wealth and serves as a warning of the dangers that come with such associations.

• meyer wolfsheim
• gambler
• gangster
• criminal
• association

Tom Buchanan is Daisy's husband, representing old-money wealth and aristocratic privilege. He is arrogant, domineering, and physically vital, demonstrating entitlement and cruelty. While he maintains a respectable public facade, he conducts his own affairs and shows little regard for others. His contrast with Gatsby highlights the novel's exploration of how money and status shape character.

• tom buchanan
• old money
• arrogance
• character
• antagonist

Prohibition, which banned alcohol from 1920 to 1933, creates the backdrop for Gatsby's wealth. While ordinary citizens cannot legally obtain alcohol, the wealthy and criminal elements like Gatsby thrive by supplying and consuming it illicitly. This era of moral contradiction, public virtue versus private excess, parallels the film's themes of illusion versus reality.

• prohibition
• 1920s
• era
• context
• alcohol
• law