Where does the main action of the novel take place?

The main action of The Great Gatsby takes place on Long Island, New York, during the summer of 1922. The novel’s central settings are the fictional communities of West Egg and East Egg on Long Island’s North Shore.

Nick Carraway, the narrator, rents a modest house in West Egg, a community associated with newly acquired wealth. His neighbor is Jay Gatsby, whose mansion becomes famous for its huge parties. Across the bay, Daisy and Tom Buchanan live in East Egg, which represents inherited wealth and established social status.

The story also includes important scenes in Manhattan and in the Valley of Ashes, an industrial wasteland between Long Island and New York City. Those locations matter, but they are connected to the novel’s primary Long Island setting rather than replacing it.

Readers sometimes answer “New York City” because Nick travels there for work and several major scenes occur in Manhattan. However, the recurring homes, parties, confrontations, and final tragedy are rooted in Long Island. Thus “Long Island, New York” is the standard, canonical answer.