60 Second Recap | The Great Gatsby | 2: The Overview

With The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald set out to tell a story, not just about individual characters, but about the era in which they lived. When Gatsby was first published in 1925, America was caught up in visions of giddy prosperity. Those with the cash flaunted their wealth. Those without the cash fended for themselves. And everyone, whether rich or poor, was obsessed with the pursuit of more.

That, in a soundbite, is The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald created a novel about the pursuit of more—and the price we pay for what often turns out to be “fool’s gold.”