Just upon hearing the title, I was intrigued to read The Great Gatsby from the beginning. From start to finish, this novel is brilliant; it is filled with vivid imagery, precise diction, and stylistic syntax that work together to create this relishing story. Although it is a love story, it is far from stereotypical soap operas of its era.
In many ways, I feel the book was enjoyable because relating to the characters and events was not too difficult. Fitzgerald manipulated my feelings towards individuals like Tom Buchanan—he made me dislike the audacity of men in the 1920s and their ability to be so egotistical and heartless. The character of Jay Gatsby himself also captivated my attention; the idea of the guy next door with a hidden past could not have been more intriguing—I was eager to uncover his identity with the turn of each page.
Unlike many books, The Great Gatsby does not close with a fairy tale ending; in fact, it was quite the opposite. Fitzgerald’s storyline in a lot of ways mirrors the realism of the early twentieth century, which I personally find more relatable versus the traditional and cliché “happily ever after.” Also, I was thoroughly impressed by the author’s perception of dreams and how they are sometimes unattainable, communicating the romanticized idea of the American dream and its true face on the American people.
It’s not a rudimentary task to discover a truly magnificent novel—however, this book is a must-read for all the hopeless romantics, as well as every individual who has “paid a high price for living too long with a single dream” (161).
I refuse to accept that The Great Gatsby is a novel about love. To me, it's a novel about obsession. Gatsby is not in love with Daisy, but obsessed with the idea of her and the future they could have had. Never are the emotions between them described or quantified, they are spoken of in an abstract manner. It's because they are not they feeling current emotions, but remembering old ones. He does not lose interest in life due to heartbreak, but because the real Daisy and his contrived Daisy fail to match up.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about it in that way, Alec, but I do agree with you. In a way I also agree with Alyssa that a love was shared between two characters. As teenagers, I think that Gatsby was in love with Daisy. Flashing back on the times that they shared and how their feelings were described when they first saw each other again, can give the reader a feeling of love. But, as time went on, Gatsby's love did turn into an obsession in that he only wanted to have the feeling of having a lover. If he had Daisy near him, his need would be fulfilled and his life could continue.
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