THE GREAT GATSBYTRAGEDY IN CHAPTER ONEBy Helena Trenkić, Leon Hughes and Harry Judge

WHAT HAPPENS IN CHAPTER ONE AGAIN??

We meet our narrator, Nick Carraway, and find out about his background. He introduces us to the setting of 1920s New York, where he has come to find his fortune as a ‘bonds man’. He has rented a tiny island on West Egg, next door to a colossal mansion owned by the mysterious Mr Gatsby

Nick goes to East Egg to visit Daisy, his second cousin once removed, and her husband Tom Buchanan, whom he went to Yale with. He also meets Jordan Baker, Daisy’s friend. Jordan and Nick briefly mention Gatsby, which shocks Daisy. During dinner it is revealed that Tom is having an affair. After this, Daisy and Nick take a walk and talk.

Nick returns to West Egg and notices his neighbour, Mr Gatsby, staring out at the green light that shines across the bay.

AND… WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF A TRAGEDY AGAIN????

Aristotle defined 6 main elements of a tragedy. In order of importance, they are:

1. Plot 2. Characters 3. Thought 4. Diction5. Melody6. Spectacle

As this is the first chapter, many things are introduced and not fully developed.

POINT ONE:THE PLOT IS HINTED AT WITH...FORESHADOWING

The novel takes the form of a metafiction narrative – the narrator is aware he is writing a novel, and he names Gatsby as ‘the man who gave his name to this book’. This hint at either an elegy or a eulogy suggests the fate of Gatsby to the reader from the very beginning

Jordan and Daisy are both ‘in white and… rippling and fluttering’ until ‘Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows’ with ‘a boom’ and ‘the caught wind died about the room’

Daisy’s voice is described as an ‘arrangement of notes that will never be played again’

This helps set up a cathartic ending as we know something bad will happen already

POINT TWO:THE CHARACTERS ARE INTRODUCED… AND THEY ARE PRETTY TRAGIC

“All characters should be morally good, realistic, true to themselves and consistent, necessary and idealised.”

All of them are liars of some sort, but some lies are more serious than others.

Is Tom morally good? Is Gatsby morally good? None of them are relatable enough, apart from

perhaps Nick Gatsby is idealised as a perfect man, but he soon

reveals he is just as commanding as Tom

POINT TWO:THE CHARACTERS ARE INTRODUCED… AND THEY ARE PRETTY TRAGIC

THE WILTING FLOWER: A weak character, often a young woman, who lacks the fortitude to get what she wants. Whilst the character may be sympathetic and we will them on, they also irritate us (perhaps in reflection of our own weaknesses). 

‘”Alright… what’ll we plan?” She turned to me helplessly: “What do

people plan?”’ “Do you always watch for the

longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the

longest day of the year and then miss it.”

“I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

‘Well, I’ve had a very bad time, Nick, and I’m pretty cynical about everything.’

POINT TWO:THE CHARACTERS ARE INTRODUCED… AND THEY ARE PRETTY TRAGIC

THE VICTIMVictims are the ones who get caught up in the action and endures suffering.

THE TRAGIC HERO: This character in tragedies is the main protagonist. The tragic hero will often achieve his goal, sometimes involving his death in the end. Aristotle describes this character as someone who tries to overcome an endeavor that is nearly impossible to complete.

THE FATALLY FLAWED:Tragedies do not allow for everyone to be perfect in their stories. There are characters that have major flaws in their lives that ultimately leads to their death. Heroes can also have these fatal flaws. These flaws allows characters to appear more "three dimensional," or more life-like to us.

THE FOOLISH:There is always a foolish person in a tragedy. This character has the description that is fitting for the name it has. He or she may make careless decisions and may end up getting into all kinds of scrapes and tragic circumstances. 

POINT TWO:THE CHARACTERS ARE INTRODUCED… AND THEY ARE PRETTY TRAGIC

“In my younger and more vulnerable years…” “I’m inclined to reserve all

judgments…”

“Gatsby… represented everything for which I have unaffected scorn.”

“I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of

moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous

excursions with privileged glimpses into the human

heart.”

“in the bond business”

POINT TWO:THE CHARACTERS ARE INTRODUCED… AND THEY ARE PRETTY TRAGIC

“an extraordinary gift for hope”The American Dream, foolish

“Personality… he (was) related to one of those… machines that

register earthquakes ten thousand miles away.”

Destruction imagery, sensitivity“what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams… closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of

men.”

“I decided to call to him… but I didn’t call to him, for he gave

the sudden intimation that he was content to be

alone”“When I looked once more to Gatsby he had

vanished.”

SPECTACLE

“The spectacle should be appropriate to the theme of the play.”

Themes: temptation, the American Dream, futility… 1920s America: full of greed, temptation, luck West and East Egg: connotations of rebirth and new life,

but demonstrates the separation of the rich and the stigma of the Newly Rich

The bay represents the separation of Gatsby and Daisy, and the green light represents the temptation of Daisy, like a syren.

THOUGHT, DICTION AND MELODY