Plot Flaws in The Great Gatsby: Scott Fitzgerald, was a novel that epitomizes the time in our history known as the roaring twenties. It was a time of great extravagances and frolicsome attitudes. The novel also revealed the darker side of this time with its underlying themes of greed and betrayal on the part of many of the characters. The novel as a whole seems to be a very well thought out piece of literature with little or no flaws. However, if studied a bit harder several defects can be spotted. These include such things as shifts in setting, sequence manipulation, and shifting of narrators. The setting of a novel is very important to the overall plot. It can help define the mood and can give some aspects of where the story is headed. The majority of the story takes place in “East and West Egg” of Long Island, New York. These locations were where the majority of the main characters lived and interacted with one another. That was until chapter seven of the novel. Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby have been invited to tea at Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s home. This was a very critical portion of the plot due to the increasing pressures Gatsby and Daisy are feeling about their relationship, and when they will tell Tom of their affair. It was very hot and all present were obviously uncomfortable. Suddenly Daisy asked, “Who wants to go to town?”(125). They eventually agree and all go to town. They end up getting a hotel room in downtown New York City which was just as hot if not hotter than where they had already been. Daisy and Gatsby tell Tom of their encounters and then they all decide to go home. Why did this needless act that could have occurred back at the Buchanan’s occur? Its only purpose was to set the stage for the hit and run incident that takes place on the trip home. It was merely an easy, but awkward way to get the characters where Fitsgerald wanted them. Another flaw in the plo...
