The Party Ends

The novel sold fewer than 25,000 copies in Fitzgerald's lifetime, and he died in 1940 believing it a failure. It was rediscovered when the Armed Services distributed 155,000 copies to soldiers during WWII, transforming it into the most taught American novel.

Gatsby's tragedy is ultimately one of misplaced faith. Daisy was never what he imagined — she was a real, flawed person he transformed into a symbol. The American Dream demands that the future redeem the past, but time moves in only one direction.