Story Skeleton—The Great Gatsby

I was recently discussing what I refer to as Passive Protagonist Syndrome on social media. This is something developmental editors commonly encounter in manuscripts by new writers. A passive protagonist floats through a story, propelled by the actions and decisions of other characters, rather than providing the plot momentum that is so important to emotional draw—the quality of a narrative that keeps readers engaged, anticipatory, and most importantly turning pages.

During this discussion, someone pointed to The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald as an example of a successful novel with a (supposedly) passive protagonist, as if that was proof enough that no new writers need concern themselves with active causality. However, there is nothing passive about Fitzgerald’s protagonist. While The Great Gatsby has at first glance an unusual narrative structure, it does not in fact break any craft fundamentals.

What Does It Mean for a Protagonist to Be Active?

When I talk about action or activity in terms of narrative structure, I am not necessarily referring to fight scenes or car chases. Instead, activity is about causality. A protagonist is active when they make choices and take risks that in some way shape what will happen next. For this reason, a protagonist needs a goal that is clear, specific, and relatable. This goal crystallizes in the inciting incident and is resolved one way or another in the climax. Rising action flows out of the protagonist’s efforts toward achieving this goal and creates that nice, neat trajectory from inciting incident to climax that gives a novel cohesion.

Carraway the Detective

Here’s where F. Scott Fitzgerald was doing something interesting with the narrative structure of this novel. The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, but the protagonist is in fact Jay Gatsby. Carraway is the “view from a single window” that unearths Gatsby’s story in both the present and the past.

As the narrator, Carraway is not obliged to provide the plot momentum. That job belongs to Gatsby, the protagonist. However, while there is a passive element to Carraway’s window into these events, he is active in his own way—his quest is one of social investigation. He is a detective trying to figure out what the heck is going on with his cousin Daisy Buchanan, which in turn leads him to seek the truth behind Jay Gatsby’s past and his efforts to convince Daisy to leave her husband, Tom Buchanan, and marry Gatsby instead.

Carraway’s investigation mostly involves hanging out and talking to people or listening, but he actively makes himself available so that he can discover these truths. Since Daisy’s former connection to Gatsby is part of the unhappiness in her marriage, the two plot questions become intertwined, especially once she begins her affair with Gatsby. Essentially, Carraway finds himself in the midst of someone else’s story, and what his investigation ultimately reveals is the first half of the tragic love affair between Gatsby and Daisy years earlier.

Bit by bit, he unearths the story in reverse: Gatsby’s rising action (his efforts in pursuit of wealth, such that he might win Daisy back), the inciting incident, and finally Gatsby’s stasis and backstory. Indeed, Gatsby’s inciting incident and stasis are the mystery behind what drove Daisy and Tom apart, much of which is delivered at the end in a final conversation between Nick and Gatsby in a way very similar to the summary of a murder investigation delivered by the sleuth at the end of a detective novel. Classic mystery resolution.

Let’s zoom in to examine Gatsby’s plot in full.

PLOT POINTS

Stasis

Keep in mind, a story’s stasis can include anything leading up to the inciting incident. It is the protagonist’s normal life before they set out on their quest. For Gatsby, this includes his youthful desire to be wealthy, to stake his claim on the American Dream. But it also includes his initial romance with Daisy. Young Gatsby and Daisy meet and fall in love when he is a soldier. The potential for marriage and lifelong love constitutes the stakes—that which Gatsby is desperate to hold on to.

(As noted earlier, the stasis, inciting incident, and initial rising action are a mystery for Nick Carraway to uncover. The novel doesn’t start until the midpoint.)

Inciting Incident

While Gatsby is deployed overseas, Daisy grows tired of waiting for him to return and marries Tom Buchanan instead. When Gatsby finds out, he is fueled with a desire to win her back. His narrative goal has solidified. He always wanted to be rich—that is integral to his character. But now he has a clear, specific, and relatable reason to become wealthy. Gatsby believes that if he can ascend to Daisy’s socioeconomic standing, he will convince her to leave her husband and marry him instead.

Rising Action

Gatsby works hard to succeed in business. He wants to be on comparable economic footing with Daisy’s husband, Tom. He achieves this in part through some shady business relationships and by selling bootleg liquor through pharmacies. Eventually, when he has amassed enough of a fortune, he moves to Long Island, across the bay from Daisy, and hosts frequent parties in the hopes that she will one day attend. It is at this point that Gatsby hits a roadblock—he throws party after party, and while he makes the acquaintance of Jordan Baker, Daisy’s good friend, his love never shows up at his mansion.

Midpoint

A new opportunity arises for Gatsby when Nick Carraway rents a bungalow next door to Gatsby’s mansion. Jordan, whom Nick is dating, informs Gatsby that Nick is Daisy’s cousin, and thus Gatsby makes a point of engaging Nick, getting to know him, and eventually arranging a reunion with Daisy at Nick’s bungalow.

False Victory

In a traditional (comic) narrative structure, this would be an all-is-lost moment. However, Gatsby’s romantic quest is a tragedy. So it is at this point in the story that he seems closest to victory. He and Daisy have declared their love for each other, and the truth is soon to come out.

Climax and Plot Twist

The affair between Daisy and Gatsby progresses until Tom gets suspicious, and then Gatsby and Tom argue in a Plaza Hotel suite. This is Gatsby’s opportunity to pull Daisy away from Tom once and for all. However, Gatsby is overly insistent that Daisy has never loved Tom, which isn’t the case, and Tom reveals that Gatsby’s wealth has come through shady connections and bootlegging. By the end of the conversation, Daisy’s opinion of Gatsby has soured. Tom, now cocksure that his wife will not leave him, asks Gatsby to drive Daisy home so they can talk it over. When they leave, Daisy insists on driving.

Earlier, Tom borrowed Gatsby’s distinctive yellow car, so when Gatsby and Daisy are on their way back from the Plaza Hotel, Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress, sees the car and runs out to flag Tom down. They have all been drinking, and so Daisy loses control, hitting Myrtle and killing her, then flees. Gatsby accepts the blame. Later, when Tom visits the scene and talks to Myrtle’s husband, George, he reveals that Gatsby owns the car, thereby implying that Gatsby was Myrtle’s lover and the cause of her death. This drives George into a rage in which he murders Gatsby and then kills himself.

Resolution

In the climax, once Nick learns that Daisy was the one driving and that Gatsby was taking the fall for her, he finally comes around to fully empathizing with the self-made millionaire. After the murder-suicide, he dedicates himself to getting in touch with anyone who might attend Gatsby’s funeral. Eventually he meets Gatsby’s father and thus fills in the final pieces of the Great Jay Gatsby’s backstory.

Why Is The Great Gatsby a Classic?

Is The Great Gatsby an example of a novel with a passive protagonist? No, certainly not. Gatsby perfectly fits the bill of an active protagonist who drives the momentum of his own story from beginning to tragic end. The novel explores universal themes: the American Dream, the decline of morality, the destructive nature of greed, and the elusive nature of happiness. All of these themes resonate with readers in any era.

In Summary: A Protagonist in Disguise

Keep in mind that story structure is more about convincing readers to keep turning pages than it is about how to write a novel. Within the dimensions of narrative structure, there are limitless possibilities. Think of narrative structure as a painter’s canvas. Even though the edges of the canvas are defined, an author still has full creative potential when it comes to what happens within that framework. Structure—how we play with it, how we use it to tell a story—is an integral part of the art form. 

But you have to know the rules before you decide to break them. Fitzgerald’s decisions are the result of careful manipulation rather than sloppy judgment. He uses structure to create mystery, thereby also increasing emotional draw. Through Nick Carraway, we enter Gatsby’s story at the midpoint. The protagonist’s stasis, inciting incident, and half of his rising action all happen “off-screen” and are therefore revealed as backstory. But the foundational plot elements are there, even if they appear in an unconventional arrangement.

Passive Protagonist: A passive protagonist is a main character who does not actively influence the plot through their decisions or actions. Instead, they are carried along by events initiated by others. This can lead to a narrative in which the protagonist lacks agency, making it challenging for readers to engage with their journey. In contrast, an active protagonist drives the story forward with clear goals and decisive actions. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is not a passive protagonist. He actively orchestrates his reunion with Daisy Buchanan by acquiring wealth, hosting extravagant parties to attract her attention, and involving Nick Carraway in his plans—all of which propel the plot.

Causal Trajectory: An active protagonist is a character whose deliberate choices and actions create a chain of cause and effect that moves the narrative forward. This causal trajectory follows a logical sequence where one event leads to another: an action occurs, causing a consequence, which prompts another action, and so on. Plot causality is essential for building momentum and maintaining reader interest. An active protagonist’s pursuit of their goals generates conflict, tension, and progression—and it also demonstrates who they are, what matters to them, and what they are willing to do (or not) to get what they want. Thus, causality is also integral to strong characterization.

Narrator Versus Protagonist: The narrator is the voice or character who tells the story to the reader, as per their distinct perspective and analysis. The protagonist is the central character whose actions and decisions are the primary focus and driver of the story’s plot. While the narrator and protagonist are often the same person, they can be distinct. Note that we saw this in Melville’s Moby-Dick, in which Ishmael is the narrator while Ahab is the protagonist—and we will also see it in Wuthering Heights. In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway serves as the narrator, offering his observations and interpretations of the events and characters. Jay Gatsby, on the other hand, is the protagonist whose pursuit of Daisy Buchanan drives the plot. Nick’s role as an observer and confidant allows readers to explore Gatsby’s world through an external lens: the “view from a single window.”