Title : The Great Gatsby

Author : Francis Scott Fitzgerald

Setting : The story takes place in Long Island's North Shore and New York City during the summer of 1922. It is an era well-known as the "Jazz Age" when American society enjoys unprecedented level of prosperity and the economy is thriving after the shock and chaos of World WarⅠ．

Main characters and plot: One of the main characters is Jay Gatsby : a young , mysterious millionaire living alone in a luxurious mansion on Long Island Sound. He is a loney man loving a woman with a whole-heart. Every other weekend he throws lavish parties hosting hundreds of people . His aim is weird : to attract the attention of a young woman , Daisy Buchanan, who lives on the other side of the bay. The trial pays when a man named Nick Carraway appears. And it turns out that the young woman Gatsby thinks of day and night used to be his lover when he was a young officer in World WarⅠ. With the help of Nick , Gatsby finally meets with Daisy. He is nervous and upset at the first sight of Daisy: "Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes." Actually, Gatsby was born low-classing and poor instead of a German aristocracy as the rumor says. As for this reason, he couldn't win the love of Daisy and had to leave her. But he is an arduous man.After years of hard working , he made great fortune by having shady business connections. Finaly, his high financial status enable him to have an approach to Daisy. Unfortunately, Daisy loves him for his money and origin. So when his husband reveals the real identity of Gatsby , Daisy show no hesitation to leave him. As for Gatsby, his obsession and concern for Daisy stay firm. At the beginning I dislike Gatsby for his hollow lifestyle and his unreasonable crush for the hypocritical woman . "There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights." He neither enjoy the music nor the party. He like to stay away from the crowds and the music, taking time to miss his lover. His money bring him nothing but blankness and degeneration. Later on, when his father recall the childhood of Gatsby, "Look here, this is a book he had when he was a boy. It just shows you.""Underneath: Rise from bed: 6:00 A.M. ;Dumbbell exercise and wall-scaling 6:15-6:30 ;Study electricity,etc  7:15-8:15...... ". It can be seen that he was a determined and well-disciplined young man. Just like what his father says "Jimmy was bound to get ahead."And I like him for his resolution.

Conflict : Will the married woman, Daisy, accept Gatsby and abandon everything to stay with him?

Incident : One uptight incident occurs when a conflict between Gatsby and Thomas Buchanan was aroused by Thomas on their travel to New York. They quarrel with each other and want to find out who Daisy really love.At first, Gatsby was quite sure that Daisy never love anybody but himself. He tells Tom that Daisy never love him and she just married him. Later, the truth turn out to be on the contrary through the words , anxiety, hesitation from Daisy. However, Daisy still insist her faint love towards Gatsby at the same time she does not deny her love for her husband. Gatsby is very disappointed at her unpredictable reaction.It was just a beginning, for Daisy just start to realise herself little by little. With the exposure of Gatsby's business and family, Daisy understands that she wouldn't live with someone without fame and fortune. She understands that she was wrong and her love for Gatsby is a mistake.

Resolution of conflict : On their way back to Long Island Sound from New York. Daisy drove the car and bumped a person to death. She just left the responsiblity to Gatsby and set him up with her husband. After the death of Gatsby, she goes abroad with her husband and never mentions Gatsby or send a flower to the tomb. She didn't love Gatsby. All the things are a game for her, in which Gatsby paid.

Opinion: This book was very authentic. It encouraged me in some extent and disappointed me in other extent.In a hand, the author assured the possibility of the success in the young pupils with American dream. On the other hand, the book made a doomed unfortunate fate of the main character: Gatsby, who made his good life out of his own hard work. It really worried me a lot when Gatsby lost his aim of life after made his fortune. It seemed to him that nothing was meaningless except the regain of Daisy. It is this innocent attitude of love that finally puts an end to his life. I was quite shocked at such an ending.And I got to know what life is really like. Life is really cruel.