The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby takes place in the summer of 1922, primarily in New York—specifically on Long Island (in the fictional towns of West Egg and East Egg), as well as in nearby Manhattan and Queens.

The story unfolds during the height of the Roaring Twenties, a period marked by economic boom, lavish parties, and a sense that anything is possible. That atmosphere shapes nearly everything in the novel: Gatsby’s extravagant parties, the characters’ obsession with wealth, and the reckless choices that ultimately lead to tragedy.

By setting the story in a single summer, the novel intensifies its sense of urgency. Gatsby spends years building his fortune and identity, but the dream he’s chasing—winning Daisy back—rises and collapses within just a few months. That compressed timeline mirrors the era itself: dazzling, fast-moving, and already heading toward its own collapse.