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There's a reason they called it the Lost Generation: the world Fitzgerald lived in, and the world his characters inhabit, is one without connections, friends, or family. People may come together in The Great Gatsby, but they always end up falling apart in the end. Only Daisy and Tom stay together in the end, and is that really togetherness?
Questions About Isolation
- Who is lonely in this book and why? Are there any characters not alienated from others?
- Jordan remarks that she prefers large parties because they are more intimate than small parties, where there isn't any privacy. What does this say about the nature of isolation and intimacy in The Great Gatsby?
- Nick comments on an "unmistakable air of natural intimacy" around Daisy and Tom after Myrtle is killed. Do these two share intimacy? More so than Daisy and Gatsby?
- Does Nick see himself as part of the rich crowd? What about his comment that they're all westerners who don't belong in the East—is this his way of finding commonalities to share? Does he want to be a part of them?