Tom’s Investigation: The Development of the Surveillance Theme in the Composition of The Great Gatsby

This article traces the composition history of The Great Gatsby from manuscript through galley proofs to the published novel, indicating how Fitzgerald intensified conflict between Gatsby and Tom by making Tom the investigator of a bootlegger rumored to have been a German spy during World War I. It shows the conflict to be a displaced reprise of American anti-German sentiment during the war, which provides a gloss on the billboard of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and the tale of the brewer who built Gatsby’s mansion. It cites Nick Carraway’s rhetorical tendencies as evidence of the war’s persistent effects and contrasts them with Fitzgerald’s social criticism.