The Great Gatsby
Ten essential scenes from The Great Gatsby, with context and links to related quotes and exam prompts.
Scene #1 · Chapter 1
Nick Carraway dines at Tom and Daisy Buchanan's East Egg mansion, where he encounters the couple's wealth and restlessness. Daisy speaks in…
Scene #2 · Chapter 2
At the New York apartment Tom rents for his affair, Myrtle Wilson grows increasingly drunk and animated, playing the role of a…
Scene #3 · Chapter 3
Nick attends one of Gatsby's lavish parties, where hundreds of uninvited guests consume champagne and gossip about their mysterious host. Nick searches…
Scene #4 · Chapter 4
Jordan Baker tells Nick the story Gatsby shared with her: five years earlier in Louisville, young officer Jay Gatsby fell in love…
Scene #5 · Chapter 5
Gatsby nervously reunites with Daisy at Nick's cottage, initially awkward and almost knocking over a clock. He then leads Daisy and Nick…
Scene #6 · Chapter 7
In a stifling Plaza Hotel suite, Tom confronts Gatsby about his relationship with Daisy, demanding to know what he wants. Gatsby insists…
Scene #7 · Chapter 7
Myrtle Wilson, locked in her room by her husband George, sees Gatsby's yellow car approaching and breaks free, running into the road.…
Scene #8 · Chapter 7
After the accident, Gatsby stands watch outside the Buchanans' house in the darkness, hiding in the shrubbery to ensure Tom doesn't hurt…
Scene #9 · Chapter 8
George Wilson, driven mad by grief and Tom's misdirection, arrives at Gatsby's mansion believing Gatsby killed Myrtle. Gatsby floats on a pneumatic…
Scene #10 · Chapter 9
Nick arranges Gatsby's funeral, but almost no one attends the rainy ceremony. The hundreds of party guests who enjoyed Gatsby's hospitality stay…