The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925) – The mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby, throws magnificent parties for the glitterati of the Jazz Age. Among the people swept into his life is his neighbor Nick, a young bond trader from the Mid-West, and Daisy, the great love of Gatsby’s life.
This was the first
time I’d ever read this book. I can’t explain how I managed to
avoid reading it. It was never on any of the reading lists through
my academic career. In fact, until last year, I had never read any
F. Scott Fitzgerald. The first piece I read, the short story “A
Diamond As Big As the Ritz”, I hated. Given Fitzgerald’s
stature, I thought I ought to give him another chance. The short
story collection “Flappers and Philosophers” turned me around on
him.
time I’d ever read this book. I can’t explain how I managed to
avoid reading it. It was never on any of the reading lists through
my academic career. In fact, until last year, I had never read any
F. Scott Fitzgerald. The first piece I read, the short story “A
Diamond As Big As the Ritz”, I hated. Given Fitzgerald’s
stature, I thought I ought to give him another chance. The short
story collection “Flappers and Philosophers” turned me around on
him.
So, it was time to
read his best-known work.
read his best-known work.
As I have come to
expect, the writing was beautiful. Fitzgerald uses language
effortlessly. There is never a feeling that he is trying to impress.
It simply flows with an elegance as he weaves the story for you.
expect, the writing was beautiful. Fitzgerald uses language
effortlessly. There is never a feeling that he is trying to impress.
It simply flows with an elegance as he weaves the story for you.
In Jay Gatsby, he
creates a quintessentially American character. Gatsby is a self-made
man in every sense of the word. Like all of the people that the
narrator Nick Carroway meets, Gatsby is a façade. Every one of
them, including Nick, live behind masks. These are shallow,
narcissistic people pretending to be someone else. The tragedy that
underpins these seemingly glittering lives comes from the dishonesty
that forms the foundation of each existence.
creates a quintessentially American character. Gatsby is a self-made
man in every sense of the word. Like all of the people that the
narrator Nick Carroway meets, Gatsby is a façade. Every one of
them, including Nick, live behind masks. These are shallow,
narcissistic people pretending to be someone else. The tragedy that
underpins these seemingly glittering lives comes from the dishonesty
that forms the foundation of each existence.
In Gatsby,
Fitzgerald creates a character that both spotlights the American
Dream of rising from the bottom of society, while still exposing that
lives like these are often gilt rather than gold. None of the
characters here have any idea how to make their apparent lives real.
Fitzgerald creates a character that both spotlights the American
Dream of rising from the bottom of society, while still exposing that
lives like these are often gilt rather than gold. None of the
characters here have any idea how to make their apparent lives real.
The end is both
tragic and inevitable.
tragic and inevitable.
I’m left in the
curious position of not liking these characters while understanding
the place of this novel in American literature.
curious position of not liking these characters while understanding
the place of this novel in American literature.
Why You Will Like
It: – A uniquely American story told in a uniquely American voice
It: – A uniquely American story told in a uniquely American voice
Rating – ***** Must
Read
Read
Stories Are My Life 
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