F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby. This novel is about a connection between a man and a woman. This novel takes place shortly after World War II. One theme of the story is about finding the American dream, which was about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. It also talks a lot about social status. The West Egg represents new fortunes too recently to have established social connections and the East Egg represents old money and careless, heartless people.

Jay Gatsby, who is also referred to as Gatsby, is a key character in this novel. He is also the protagonist in the story. He was born on a poor farm in North Dakota. Gatsby had once attended Oxford College but after two weeks dropped out of school because he hated the janitorial job that he working so that he could pay for tuition. Working for a millionaire, Dan Cody, is what inspired Gatsby to dedicate his life to wealth. When Gatsby was seventeen he was a clam digger and a salmon fisher. He befriended Cody when he had warned him about an upcoming wind that would wreck his yacht. Cody then became fond of Gatsby and made him one of his employees, getting him involved in his illegal bootlegging.

He is now in his thirties and has come to New York in hope of once again obtaining the love of a woman named, Daisy. He is struggling to fit himself into a social group. They had met in Louisville. Gatsby was there training to be an officer. He was being shipped off to Europe for the war. Before Gatsby had left to go fight he had fallen in love with Daisy. She had promised to wait for him but once he returned he had learned that she had already married another man, Tom. Gatsby then came up with a plan to try to win her back. He buys a gigantic Gothic mansion in the West Egg which is directly across from the home of Daisy on the East Egg. He is a bootlegger and has committed crimes during Prohibition so that he could afford to buy this house. He tells everyone that he inherited his wealth from his blue-blooded family.