The Great Gatsby Timeline By: Andrea Recalde, Ana Sophia Avila, and Joaquin Guerrero
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Tom Buchanan is born to a very prominent family in Chicago
We know this because he is 30 during the summer when the novel takes place. "Now he was a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner." (Fitzgerald, Chapter 1, pg 19).
It is important to the plot because it is a way to introduce the character. Now we know that Tom is very rich and he has always been that way because he was born into a rich family. -
Nick is raised to be very neutral and to not pass judgement
"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had" (Fitzgerald, Chapter 1, page 1).
It is important to the plot because we are able to portray a better image for his actions and we can foreshadow upcoming events due to his politeness. -
Myrtle marries George Wilson
"I married him because I thought he was a gentleman," she said finally. "I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe….The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake” (Fitzgerald, Chapter 2, pgs 112-116).
It is important to the plot because we are later faced with Tom's affair with Myrtle and this explains the reason why she does it. George didn't fill her expectancy and she desired Tom's wealth more than himself. -
Myrtle and George Wilson move into the apartment above the garage in the valley of ashes
"They've been living over that garage for eleven years. And Tom's the first sweetie she ever had" (Fitzgerald, Chapter 2 pg 117).
It is important to the plot because it gives a better perspective of their relationship and how vulnerable Myrtle becomes to Tom's materialistic charms. She desires a wealthier life, a producitve and respected life but she doens't so she, in my opinion, has this allusion of a better one with Tom. -
Gatsby is penniless but has learned polished manners and how the rich operate
"I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West-- all dead now" (Fitzgerald, Chapter 3 pg 65).
It is important to the plot because we can see that Gatsby has not always been rich. He was once very poor and he still managed to be successful. This enriches our introspection in his actions throughout the book and the care he gives to certain things but others he doesn't. -
Jordan Meets Gatsby
"The officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at sometime, and because it seemed romantic to me I have remembered the incident ever since. His name was Jay Gatsby"(Fitzgerald, 1925, Chapter 4 pg 129-133). It is important to the plot because Jordan connects with Gatbsy and she is the only one that can make him open up to someone else. She becomes a close person with him, something not much accomplish. -
Gatsby leaves for Europe to fight in WWI
"Wild rumors were circulating about her—how her mother had found her packing her bag one winter night to go to New York and say goodbye to a soldier who was going overseas" (Fitzgerald, 1925, Chapter 4 pg 134).
It is important to the plot because we are learning more and more about Gatbsy. Throughout the story he is very mysterious who never lets people into his life, so knowing this about him allows us to define his personality. -
Daisy formerly loved Jay before Tom
The officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at sometime, and because it seemed romantic to me I have remembered the incident ever since. His name was Jay Gatsby" (Fitzgerlad, Chapter 4 pgs 129-133).
It is important to the plot because we now know that Daisy always loved Jay even when she was in a relationship with Tom. This lets us understand why she was so easily influenced to leave her life with Tom and have getaway with Jay. -
Daisy marries Tom Buchanan
“Tell 'em all Daisy's change' her mine. Say 'Daisy's change' her mine!'."She began to cry—she cried and cried…Next day at five o'clock she married Tom Buchanan without so much as a shiver” (Fitzgerald, 1925, Chapter 4 pg 140).
It is important to the plot because here we can see how Daisy is marrying Tom but she doesn't truly love him. This is foreshadowing the upcoming events that will lead to the bare disbandment of their marriage. -
18th Amendment
The 18th Amendment goes into effect and prohibits most kinds of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition spurs widespread underground organized crime (represented by Meyer Wolfshiem and Gatsby in the novel). It is important to the plot because it was an impactful occasion which lead to the contrabanding and illegal spur of alcoholic beverages. In the book we may see that most characters abbused of it and led to many misbehaviors. -
Tom starts an affair with Myrtle Wilson
“When we came into the station he was next to me and his white shirt-front pressed against my arm—and so I told him I'd have to call a policeman, but he knew I lied. I was so excited that when I got into a taxi with him I didn't hardly know I wasn't getting into a subway train” (Fitzgerald, 1925,Chapter 2 pg120).This is important to the overall plot because now we see how Tom was also cheating on Daisy. This means that their relationship was more complicated than we thought and barely making it. -
Nick decides to learn bond trading in New York
Nick has lunch with the Buchanans (Daisy is his cousin), and meets Jordan Baker. Nick has a brief relationship with a woman from Jersey City."I even had a short affair with a girl who lived in Jersey City and worked in the accounting department, but her brother began throwing mean looks in my direction so when she went on her vacation in July I let it blow quietly away" (Fitzgerald, Chapter 3 page 155).It's what brings him to the egg and back to his cousin's life. He makes knew acquaintances. -
Motif #3 Luxury/ Wealth
“His family were enormously wealthy--even in college his freedom with money was a matter of reproach--” (Pg. 6). This quote explains how Tom was always a rich man and never had a problem with money so he had a perfect live always with nothing missing at all. They even tell us he had a lot of money in college were in this period of life people don't have that much of money or they don't produce a lot, telling us that he always had an advantage on people. -
Motif #1 Gender
Women weren't given credit for anything; they didn't gave them their worth for the anything they did. Whatever they said or did was worthless for men. We can say that they were even seen as an object or a belonging just to get marry with them because of their physical appearance. “Tom is getting very profound,” said Daisy…”He reads deep books with long words in them. What was the word we--” “Well, these books are all scientific.” insisted Tom” -
Motif #2 Dr. T. J. Eckleburg’s eyes
“Blue and gigantic- their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose…his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain, brood on over the solemn dumping ground” (pg. 23). His look is so powerful it's able to view everybody's truth. In my opinion, this eyes represent a God-like figure since they know it all and vieweverything from above. They see the transformations and lies.