Mapping the Action in The Great Gatsby
By Shannon Gilstrap, Ph.D.
Fitzgerald's novel and the play based upon it are both characterized by movement. Fitzgerald even has Nick describe Gatsby at one point in the novel as follows:
"He [i.e. Gatsby] was never quite still; there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand" (68).
The swift scene changes and locations are meant to both mirror the flurry of the "Jazz Age," but they are also, to appropriate Shakespeare's Hamlet, a lot of sound and fury, signifying a deep nothing at the book's heart.
Although the novel is a work of fiction, Fitzgerald grounded his piece in 1920's America, specifically New York City and Long Island. Visually capturing where the novel's action takes place, as well as what happens in each locale, helps both a reader and play-goer understand the novel's plot and many of the novel's themes. Please follow the link to the map below. Through it you can follow the events you are watching on the stage and see how this work of fiction is grounded in reality. Who knows - you may even want to visit some of these places!
"He [i.e. Gatsby] was never quite still; there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand" (68).
The swift scene changes and locations are meant to both mirror the flurry of the "Jazz Age," but they are also, to appropriate Shakespeare's Hamlet, a lot of sound and fury, signifying a deep nothing at the book's heart.
Although the novel is a work of fiction, Fitzgerald grounded his piece in 1920's America, specifically New York City and Long Island. Visually capturing where the novel's action takes place, as well as what happens in each locale, helps both a reader and play-goer understand the novel's plot and many of the novel's themes. Please follow the link to the map below. Through it you can follow the events you are watching on the stage and see how this work of fiction is grounded in reality. Who knows - you may even want to visit some of these places!