The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald | Coleman’s Notes A Level Student Guide

Wealth. Reinvention. Desire. Illusion. And a dream that can never quite be reached.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is one of the defining novels of twentieth-century American literature. Set amid the wealth and excess of the Jazz Age, the novel uses Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy Buchanan to explore far larger questions about class, identity, ambition, love, morality and the American Dream.

Through the retrospective narration of Nick Carraway, students encounter the mysterious Jay Gatsby and the glittering world of West Egg, East Egg and New York — a world in which extraordinary wealth exists alongside carelessness, dishonesty and profound social division.

This Coleman’s Notes® guide helps A Level students move beyond the story to examine how Fitzgerald constructs the novel, how symbols and settings develop its ideas, and how different interpretations can be turned into convincing examination arguments.

Inside This Guide

• Complete Plot Summary
• Detailed Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis
• Essential West Egg, East Egg & New York Reference Guide
• Main Characters & Relationship Map
• Jay Gatsby in depth
• Nick Carraway
• Daisy Buchanan
• Tom Buchanan
• Jordan Baker
• Myrtle & George Wilson
• Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship
• The American Dream
• Wealth, Money & Materialism
• Class & Social Division
• Old Money versus New Money
• Love, Desire & Obsession
• Illusion versus Reality
• Identity & Self-Invention
• The Past, Memory & Time
• Morality, Carelessness & Responsibility
• Gender & Relationships
• Loneliness & Isolation
• The Jazz Age
• Prohibition, Consumerism & 1920s America
• East Egg, West Egg and the Valley of Ashes
• The Green Light
• The Eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg
• Cars, Parties and Other Symbols
• Nick as Narrator
• Narrative Reliability & Perspective
• Structure, Imagery and Symbolism
• Fitzgerald’s Language & Literary Methods
• Historical, Social & Literary Context
• Key Quotations & Analysis
• Essay Planning
• Model Answers
• 25 Exam & Revision Questions
• Quick Recall Revision
• Key Episodes for Close Analysis
• Critical Debates & Alternative Interpretations
• Exam Technique
• Final Revision Checklist

From Gatsby’s Dream to Fitzgerald’s America

Why does Gatsby reinvent himself? Is his love for Daisy genuine, or is she inseparable from the idealised future he has constructed? Can Nick really be considered an impartial narrator? What does the green light represent? Why is the Valley of Ashes positioned between the Eggs and Manhattan? And what does Gatsby’s fate suggest about the promise of the American Dream?

The guide helps students turn these questions into clear, evidence-based A Level arguments, connecting character and theme with Fitzgerald’s narrative choices, imagery, symbolism, structure and context.

Perfect For

A Level English Literature students • examination revision • essay preparation • coursework support • teachers • tutors • independent learners

Coleman’s Notes® Student Guide Series

Designed to help students:

UNDERSTAND • ANALYSE • REVISE • SUCCEED