The Great Gatsby Timeline

The Great Gatsby Timeline This timeline is more inclusive than the 30 items found on your worksheet. 1892 ƒ James Gatz is born in North Dakota. 1910 ƒ Gatz attends St. Olaf College for two weeks. ƒ James Gatz changes his name to Jay Gatsby. ƒ Gatsby acquires work on the yacht of his future idol Dan Cody. ƒ Gatsby sails with Cody to the West Indies and Barbary Coast. ƒ Cody dies and his mistress Ella Kaye uses legal devices to take Gatsby’s part of the inheritance. ƒ Gatsby is penniless but educated. 1915 ƒ Nick Carraway graduates from New Haven (Yale University) and fights in World War I. ƒ Nick returns to the Midwest to begin a career. 1917/1918 ƒ Jay Gatsby and Daisy Fay fall in love in Louisville, but Gatsby leaves for battle. ƒ Gatsby receives medals in Europe for his service in the war. ƒ He also attends Oxford for five months. 1919 ƒ Daisy Fay marries Tom Buchanan. ƒ Tom has an affair with the chambermaid. ƒ The Buchanans move to Chicago, then to East Egg on Long Island, New York. 1922 ƒ Nick Carraway moves to West Egg on Long Island, New York, to learn the bond business. He rents a house which is next to Gatsby’s mansion. ƒ Nick visits Daisy (his cousin) and Tom Buchanan at their home in East Egg, where he meets Jordan ƒ Baker, a controversial professional golfer. ƒ Nick and Tom take Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, to Morningside Heights, an apartment in New York. ƒ They have a small party consisting of Nick, Tom, Myrtle, Myrtle’s sister Catherine, and the Mckee couple. Tom Buchanan slaps Myrtle for disobeying his orders. ƒ Nick has a short affair with a girl from Jersey City. ƒ Nick becomes involved with Jordan Baker. ƒ Gatsby throws another party and invites Nick. ƒ Nick meets Jordan Baker at the party and, in pursuit of Gatsby, they encounter Owl Eyes. ƒ Nick finally meets Gatsby, a “young roughneck.” ƒ Gatsby drives Nick to New York for lunch where Gatsby reveals his past to Nick. ƒ Meyer Wolfsheim, a con-artist, is introduced as Gatsby’s partner, which leads one to suspect Gatsby’s finances are derived by illegal means. ƒ Jordan Baker reveals the romantic history of Daisy and Gatsby to Nick. ƒ Gatsby asks Nick indirectly through Jordan to arrange a meeting for himself and Daisy. Nick agrees. ƒ Gatsby and Daisy are reunited at Nick’s house. ƒ Tom Buchanan and Gatsby finally meet at Gatsby’s house while Tom is riding with the Sloanes. ƒ Tom and Daisy attend one of Gatsby’s parties. They argue and Tom accuses Gatsby of being a bootlegger. ƒ Gatsby has Daisy for his own and calls off all the parties and dismisses all his servants. ƒ George Wilson finds out about Myrtle’s affair. Wilson wants to take Myrtle out West.

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lt is Nick’s 30th birthday. Gatsby, Nick, and Jordan visit the Buchanans for lunch. The Buchanan daughter, Pammy, is introduced. Tom witnesses the passion between Daisy and Gatsby. They go to New York for the afternoon. Myrtle sees Tom drive by in the yellow Rolls Royce. They rent a suite at the Plaza Hotel at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Tom confronts Gatsby with the knowledge of his affair with Daisy. Daisy returns to her husband and crushes Gatsby’s dreams. Daisy and Gatsby return home in Gatsby’s yellow Rolls Royce. Daisy hits Myrtle, instantly killing her, but keeps on driving. Tom discovers the accident upon his return home and tells George it was Gatsby’s car. Daisy and Tom reconcile and leave Gatsby by himself.

Fall 1922 ƒ Nick breaks up with Jordan Baker. ƒ Gatsby is shot by George Wilson while lying in his pool. George then kills himself. Late Fall 1922 ƒ Nick tries to find Gatsby’s friends to attend his funeral, but they have all conveniently disappeared. ƒ Henry C. Gatz, Gatsby’s father, arrives for the funeral as well as Nick, Owl Eyes, and some servants. ƒ Nick returns to the Midwest