[Music] hold on to your hats our narrator nick carraway has some hair-raising things to share about life and love in the 1920s was it the roaring 20s or the rotten 20s you'll have to stick around to find out old sport nick's an honest kind of guy who people tend to confide in which is why he has lots to tell us about what happened in 1922. of all the people nick met that year the one who made the biggest impression on him was gatsby ah gatsby it all began in the summer nick had recently moved from america's midwest to take a job in new york city he'd also rented a cottage on long island's west egg right next door to gatsby's mansion nick's second cousin daisy buchanan lived across the bay in the more fashionable east egg where the old money resides one evening daisy invites nick over for dinner nick receives a warm welcome from daisy but her friend jordan baker is standoffish although jordan does know who nick's neighbor is who's gatsby nick went to yale with daisy's obnoxious husband tom buchanan the unhappy state of tom and daisy's marriage is showcased during dinner when tom's mistress calls twice poor daisy is clearly miserable when he arrives back home nick sees his neighbor gatsby standing out on his manicured lawn in the moonlight gatsby hold his arms out towards a green light that flashes in the distance what's he doing a short time later tom introduces nick to his mistress myrtle wilson she lives in the valley of the ashes an industrial wasteland that lies halfway between the eggs and new york city she's married to george wilson who owns a garage george doesn't realize that tom visits his garage to see myrtle not discuss cars later that afternoon they all end up at tom and myrtle's love nest in the city myrtle invites a few people over and it turns into a party but the shindig ends abruptly when tom breaks myrtle's nose for repeating daisy's name what a brute but that wasn't a proper party only gatsby throws real parties soon enough nick is formally invited to one jordan baker saves him from social isolation and they go on a mission to find the mysterious gatsby inside they find an owl-eyed man in the library but no gatsby at around midnight gatsby finally introduces himself to nick they chat briefly before gatsby takes a phone call and then asks to speak to jordan alone is gatsby trying to steal nick's date it turns out that gatsby had pulled jordan aside to tell her something amazing but nick must make a date with her if he wants to know more so nick starts dating jordan even though he hasn't officially broken up with his girlfriend back home one morning gatsby drives nick into the city in his big yellow car on the way gatsby tells nick his life story apparently he comes from a wealthy midwest family is a decorated war hero was educated at oxford and was affected by a very sad thing that happened in his past it all sounds like a lie until he pulls out a medal and photo to corroborate it gatsby also says that jordan will fill nick in on the very sad thing ah so that's what jordan and gatsby were discussing at the party maybe gatsby is legit at lunch gatsby introduces nick to his longtime business partner maya wolfsheim bit of a shady character that one an awkward moment also occurs when nick bumps into tom buchanan at the restaurant gatsby vanishes after nick introduces him to tom what's all that about later that afternoon jordan gives nick the scoop five years ago back in louisville daisy had a steamy love affair with a young army officer named jay gatsby but then gatsby went off to war and daisy married tom buchanan gatsby has been pining for daisy ever since he even bought that crazy mansion to be close to her he throws big parties in the hope that daisy will show up to one but she hasn't so now it's down to nick gatsby wants nick to invite daisy to afternoon tea at his cottage but daisy isn't to know that gatsby will be there being a dutiful friend nick invites daisy over a few days later gatsby shows up an hour earlier looking sleep deprived when daisy arrives gatsby runs out through the back door and knocks on the front door as if he's just arrived fashionably late cool moves old sport the lover's reunion is super awkward at first daisy hardly knows what to say but eventually the atmosphere shifts until daisy and gatsby are absolutely absorbed in one another gatsby then takes daisy and nick next door for a tour of his jaw dropping house goodness knows how he earned the money to buy it in only three years as the evening draws in nick decides to leave them to it they don't need him anymore after this nick doesn't see gatsby for a few weeks so he uses this interval to tell us more about the great gatsby jay gatsby was born james gatz the son of poor farmers from the midwest but gatsby had big dreams and reinvented himself at age 17. his career officially began when he introduced himself as jay gatsby to the millionaire dan cody cody became gatsby's employer and mentor teaching him how to be a man of substance nick visits gatsby one sunday afternoon tom buchanan and his posh riding buddies also drop in as if gatsby's house is a pub the way these east egg toffs treat gatsby is quite rude although gatsby makes a point of telling tom i know your wife sure enough tom and daisy show up to gatsby's next party except daisy doesn't enjoy herself west egg just isn't her scene at the end of the night tom announces that he's going to find out who gatsby really is uh-oh a short time later nick jordan and gatsby are invited to the buchanans for lunch it's not long before tom sniffs out the affair instead of exploding then and there he decides they'll all go into the city so tom drives nick and jordan in gatsby's car while gatsby drives daisy in tom's blue coupe on the way tom stops by wilson's garage for gas while george fills gatsby's car he tells tom that he and myrtle are leaving town for good nick sees myrtle staring down at the car from an upstairs window will tom lose his wife and mistress on the same day after they reach the plaza hotel tom confronts gatsby about his affair with daisy gatsby rises to the challenge but tom quickly gains the upper hand when daisy loses the nerve to end her marriage tom goes for the jugular he reveals how gatsby makes his millions from organized crime with maya wolfsheim gatsby tries to deny it but daisy shuts down she wants to go home tom's so sure of his victory that he tells gatsby to take daisy home in his own car this time when myrtle wilson sees gatsby's big yellow car coming she runs out onto the road to flag it down but the car doesn't stop it hits myrtle killing her instantly by the time tom pulls up at wilson's garage a crowd has gathered tom soon realises what's happened a policeman is recording details about a big yellow car so tom acts quickly he grabs george sits him down and denies any personal connection to the car on the drive home tom sobs quietly blaming gatsby for myrtle's death but by the time they reach tom's house he's pulled himself together as nick waits for his taxi gatsby emerges from the bushes nick tells gatsby that the woman he hit on the road was killed gatsby admits that daisy was driving but he'll say he was driving if anyone asks for now he's waiting in the garden in case tom hassles daisy about the ugly scene at the plaza hotel nick is suddenly concerned what if tom finds out that daisy killed myrtle nick peers through a window to check on them but all he sees is tom and daisy talking they look united almost as if they're conspiring nick assures gatsby that daisy is fine but gatsby stays just in case gatsby returns home at dawn having waited for nothing nick goes to see gatsby and tells him to leave town for a while but gatsby wants to stay until he knows what daisy wants to do meanwhile george wilson is on a mission to find the owner of the big yellow car deranged with grief and lack of sleep he'd started walking towards west egg just after dawn at some point on his journey someone gives him gatsby's name he reaches gatsby's house at around 3 p.m and finds gatsby in his pool sensing trouble nick rushes to gatsby's house after work but he's too late he finds gatsby lying dead on his inflatable pool mattress george wilson's body is sprawled in the grass nearby when no one comes forward to handle gatsby's affairs nick becomes gatsby's champion it seems that no one else cares with radio silence from daisy and a cowardly refusal from maya wolfsheim nick is disgusted with everyone but then gatsby's father shows up henry c gatz left minnesota as soon as he read about his son's death in the newspaper even though gatsby or jimmy had walked out on his parents many years prior henry was still very proud of his son once he became successful gatsby was generous with his parents only one more unexpected person attends gatsby's funeral the owl-eyed man from gatsby's library of gatsby's legions of guests allies is the only one who pays his respects soon after this nick decides to return home to the midwest when he meets jordan baker to break things off she coolly informs him that she's already engaged to someone else ouch a short time later nick encounters tom buchanan on the street nick refuses to shake his hand he assumes tom was the one who gave gatsby's name to george wilson tom admits that he did but he'd basically done it at gunpoint besides tom believed gatsby deserved it for being a liar and for killing myrtle like a stray dog it seems that daisy hasn't admitted to being the driver what a bunch of rotten careless snobs on nick's last night he sits on gatsby's beach gazing across the bay he imagines how hopeful gatsby must have felt when he saw that green light at the end of daisy's dock but gatsby failed to realize that his dream of a life with daisy belonged to the past it was over perhaps we all have a touch of gatsby in us with our relentless pursuit of dreams and bright futures but to nick we're more like boats beating against a current that pulls us back gatsby's beautiful dream crumbled into a delusion and ended as a nightmare his epic failure might be a lesson for all of us then again maybe we could all just dream big work hard and avoid rotten crowds like the buchanans what do you think we hope you enjoyed this schooling online production for more easy lessons check out our other videos