Final answer:
F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel follows traditional literary structure, with a rising action that builds tension around Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy, a climax marked by Gatsby's confrontation with Tom, followed by a falling action and resolution that reflect on the summer's events and their meaning.
Step-by-step explanation:
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the plot is structured around the traditional elements of narrative literary analysis, which includes the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. During the rising action, the story builds tension and introduces secondary conflicts, such as Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy and the unraveling of their past romance, Nick's fascination with their world, and the complicated relationships among the characters in East Egg and West Egg.
The climax of the novel is widely considered to be the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom Buchanan over Daisy, a precipitous moment that brings the characters' tensions and allegiances into stark relief. The falling action then follows the aftermath of this confrontation, leading to the tragic outcomes for several characters, and the resolution ties up the loose ends of the narrative, as Nick reflects on the events of the summer and his experiences with Gatsby.
To accurately chart the most important events of the novel, one must consider each part of the story carefully, noting how Fitzgerald builds the narrative through Nick's perspective, creating a story that is both specific to the Jazz Age and universal in its themes of aspiration, love, and loss.