The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Book Reviews of The Great Gatsby
Book Review: A not-so-great American classic
Summary: 2 Stars
Alright, as you can probably figure out, I wasn't so fond of Gatsby. I went in, as most high-schoolers do, forced to read and understand yet another "great" novel, one of the other classics, and steeled myself for the worst. 'This book can't be that bad', I thought. 'I mean, it's a classic. People the world over rave about it, it's been a top seller for the last couple decades. That has to mean something.'
Now that I've read it through I find myself disappointed. Yeah, I understand that Gatsby is about the rise and fall of the American Dream and not getting caught up in the past and even how much our past affects our future. But other than that, to me it reads like a biography of Fitzgerald's life, with himself in the starring role. I mean, really: the young man who started life poor, who worked his way to the top and falls in love with a beautiful, rich, and not-all-there socialite who turns down his love in favor of a life of luxury. It doesn't seem surprising that this was written only a few years after his marriage to Zelda - who nearly did not marry him because he couldn't offer her the security and luxury of wealth! It disappointed me very much to think that this classic of literature is a loose story of FItzgerald's life. I understand writing what you know, and I've written enough to see the power of writing the stuff you understand, but that's just ridiculous.
The language of this book doesn't really read like a true view of Nick Carroway, the supposed narrator - instead, to me it felt more like I was watching a home video shot over Nick's shoulder with Nick providing occasional narration. Fitzgerald over-characterizes certain characters, giving them true form and personality, almost to the point of nausea - in the first chapter alone he has dedicated an entire paragraph and a half to a description of how wonderful Daisy was and how men all over fell in love at the sight of her - and this is supposedly from the mouth of her cousin! I didn't get much of an inage of Tom either, but Gatsby you knew to the point of wanting to slap him every single time he said "old chap" because it just gets annoying. As for Wilson and his wife, the catalysts and the reason for the book's ending? Didn't get much of a description of them either.
Fitzgerald's skill with emotion is supposed to be one of the reasons that this book is so well-known and loved. But the ending is the only bit that got a good reaction. I was disgusted by the rest of the story, and I hated it. He did have skill with emotion, he did make you connect with the story, but it is good to have such pure and total disgust of something?
That's pretty much the sum total. If you want to really, really feel with a story, Gatsby can do it. Love it or hate it, you'll be at the extreme, I'm finding. If you want a story chronicling what is typically considered to be the American Dream and it's ups and downs, this book also is probably a good choice as well. But I would definetely not recommend it for reading outside of those two reasons, whether those be for school or work or just curiousity. If you want a good classic, read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or Gone With The Wind or even The Odyssey or Iliad, but not this book.
I hope this review helps somebody.
Book Review: Decline of the American Dream
Summary: 5 Stars
The American Dream. It is something which Americans have always vied for. Perhaps not as significantly in recent years, but it is still an important facet of our culture. It is the idea that everyone and anyone can attain prosperity and wealth in this country, even if you are penniless. This dream, however, does not hold as validity as it used to. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald sharply criticizes a materialistic society by juxtaposing the lavish lifestyle of Gatsby and the more commonplace existence of the character of Nick, illustrating the decline of the American Dream.
Along with his current extravagant living arrangements, Gatsby's original rise to fortune also contributes to Fitzgerald's social criticism. Gatsby is first introduced as what may seem to be the paragon of American prosperity--living in complete and utter opulence. However, as the novel progresses, it is revealed that Gatsby, in an attempt to win the heart of Daisy, had become prosperous by bootlegging alcohol and by trading stolen securities. Prosperity is the epitome of what the American Dream can amount to, and, while most accomplish their objectives through hard work and integrity, Gatsby illegally finds his way around to immediately gain that elite status. Fitzgerald illustrates Gatsby's illegal rise to fortune as a reflection of the American mindset of that time, sharply criticizing society of cheating its way towards fortune. Nick advocates Fitzgerald's beliefs of American society through his judgment of the higher class. Nick is always the bystander of the social scene, as he is Gatsby's neighbor and watches the festivities from his own home, suggesting him to be more of the everyman than the decorated man. It is Nick who notices the socialites are ruthless in their undertakings to attain fortune, and it is also Nick who criticizes them for it, asserting that it is their doing that the American Dream has diminished in integrity. Gatsby and Nick both characterize the common American mindset of the 1920s. Where Gatsby is depicted as the end result, however, Nick is more of the everyman who judges socialites for their lavish behavior and ultimately exposes the decline in the integrity of the American Dream.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is often dubbed as the great American novel and has been considered a classic for many generations. After reading it, I can surely see why. Many of the books that we are required to read for school are easily dull and hard to interpret. The Great Gatsby, however, is an interesting read and more importantly, it is interesting to read again and again. While it can easily be deemed a period piece, reflecting upon 1920s society, the major theme of the novel can greatly be relevant to today's materialistic culture. I have always interpreted the American Dream as being the concept of working hard and doing whatever it takes to achieve prosperity. Perhaps now, you don't need to work hard. With corruption, politics, and immoral actions in today's society, many people only have their eyes on the prize, and not on what it takes to get there. Fitzgerald only saw the start of an ongoing downfall when he forecasted of the decline of the American Dream.
Book Review: Not So Great Gatsby
Summary: 1 Stars
The subjects of the book, The Great Gatsby, are Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchannan. If you are rich and money if no object to you then you would see it as a non-fiction story. But if you are like the majority of other people around the United States, then it would be fiction. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote this "great" novel that everyone proclaims it to be, which by some and sometimes many will tell you the opposite.
The greatest book ever written in American Literature is just a man (Gatsby) who claims to be in love, but looks to be more obsessed, and is trying to win back his lost love (Daisy). Nick Carraway tells the story in third person. He tells of his summer spent in Long Island, New York with the rich and the richer. Nick describes in a very wordy way how each major event of the summer unraveled and played out. With love, suspense and heartbreak, Nick takes you in and even when you try your best to pull away, you just cannot.
It is not so much the book is great as it is addicting. As human beings we are all curious, and one proverb states that curiosity kills the cat. People love drama, and that is what Fitzgerald perfectly describes in his novel. After fulfilling your curiosity with such descriptive and sometimes complicated wording, some might come to realize that there was nothing great about Gatsby all along. Sure the book maybe interesting but that is because people cannot keep their nose out of their own business. People are curious about other relationships and flings and try to dig deeper into them. So just as in the Great Gatsby, you find yourself digging in for more dirt on the romance of Daisy and Jay.
Once completing the novel, you can see the resemblance to Jay and other people in the modern world. Mr. Jay Gatsby was the pioneer of rich people who swoon the females with his money. He is not great; he is just a bootlegger and a liar, just like a lot of people you might be familiar with in Hollywood. And Daisy Buchannan, what is there really to love about her? She is a shallow, gold digging swine that seems like she needs a taste of what it feels like to have no money. If you watched the movie like I did, then you'd hope she was poor to begin with. Jay Gatsby is nothing but a fool in love and Daisy is just a fool in love with money. Nick Carraway, well he is just a fool who cannot keep his nose out of where it doesn't belong.
The ending had me wanting more though, wanting to know what in the world just happened. A relationship ended abruptly with no closure, well if this in fact is take from certain events from Fitzgerald's life then I most certainly feel sorry for the many. The end could have been as worded longer and complex just like the rest of the book. But in my opinion Mr. Fitzgerald just got lazy and decided to end the book at that.
The Jay Gatsby was as great as claimed to be, then so is everyone who hustles for a women (Donald Trump, me and every other rich non-attractive male with an overly-attractive partner) is great. And if that is true then so be it. I would like to be known as a great person too and have my memory forever etched in the annals of American Literature.
Book Review: A realistic portrait of the descent of the American dream.
Summary: 4 Stars
A portrayal of the glamour and superficiality of the Roaring `20s, The Great Gatsby focuses on the tragic love story between millionaire Jay Gatsby and young beauty Daisy Buchanan. Narrated by Daisy's cousin, Nick Carraway, the first half of the tale traces Gatsby's past--how he met Daisy, left to serve overseas, and how she married harsh but practical Tom Buchanan in the meantime. The book traces this event as the inspiration for Gatsby's wealth: we witness his numerous, lavish parties thrown in vain attempt to attract the attention of Daisy, who lives in a different sector of New York. He resents the fact that Daisy feared marrying him due to his financial status. We learn that he obtains his money through shady means, thus underscoring the values of a goal-oriented society. Gatsby, with the help of Nick, is eventually reunited with Daisy, yet Tom grows suspicious of their close relationship, leading to Gatsby's tragic demise.
Throughout the novel, the reader sees the extravagance and excessiveness of Gatsby through his reckless lifestyle, yet as we look closer we see a certain emptiness pervading it. For example, although he lives in a gigantic mansion, only a few people live with him. At his funeral, only four people show up, and Daisy is not included in that number.
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby in order to illustrate the American dream as a vain, empty journey without progress, exposing the tragic flaws of an achievement-oriented society. Fitzgerald is essentially criticizing society's tendency to concentrate on the goals, rather than the new experiences and learning we ought to gain from the journey. Thus, he asserts that the entire point of the American dream--freedom, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness--has been lost to the new cynicism, extravagance, and greed that now characterize it. Gatsby, though a seemingly friendly and gracious individual, undergoes his downfall due to his lack of integrity in his pursuit of wealth.
We can see that The Great Gatsby mirrors Fitzgerald's own tragic love story with his lover, Zelda. In his state of disillusionment after losing Zelda, Fitzgerald wrote the book in order to emphasize the decline of the American dream; Gatsby's willingness to cheat and swindle his way to riches marks a shift in the American dream in the 1920s from integrity and individualism to extravagance and greed. Though he tried to hide his past from Daisy, it eventually caught up to him, establishing another of the book's themes: the inescapability of the past.
Although this novel does not make for the most entertaining or action-packed read, I completely recommend it to everyone. The characters, in truth, are not at all likeable, yet this is exactly what Fitzgerald was aiming for: flawed individuals. From first-hand accounts, he has tremendous insight into the faults of humans in a goal-oriented society. There is also abundant symbolism, allowing for a very in-depth analysis of the novel's purposes. I advise any potential readers to fully chew and digest this novel for full enjoyment, as it is no hollow work.
Book Review: This book is probably Fitzgerald's life in a couple hundred pages.
Summary: 3 Stars
When I first heard that my English teacher gave us the opportunity to read "The Great Gatsby," I had an open mind and frankly, I grew with such anticipation. The first few pages immediately begins with the narrator, Nick Carraway, a rather timid man from the mid-west, who becomes quite interested into all the glamour and glitz of the New York, along with the wonder of his uncanny neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Nick is definitely not your average narrator. He generally judges all his surroundings by its cover, and basically has something to say about everything. And with Fitzgerald as the author, all that is being judged is extremely detailed as it can get. Some may say detail is good, but I say, too much detail can get others thrown off and indifferent toward the novel.
As the novel progressed in content, I began to grow uninterested. I felt that I wasn't as into the novel like others had appeared to be, and my mindset toward the book wasn't quite as good as I hoped. To be honest, the novel's storyline wasn't half-bad; it was typical, a so-called "classic," but nonetheless it was rather acceptable. Fitzgerald focuses on a plethora of different characters dealing with their lives of betrayal, love, and sometimes even death; doesn't that sound quite alluring?
Charm is brought into this tragic tale as Fitzgerald adds his romantic side into play. He shows how one character loses his love and strives to regain his love back. It is certainly reasonably endearing, but it appears to show originality on Fitzgerald's part. To me, I feel as if it has already been done. Uniqueness is the basis to any story, in order for the reader to stay fascinated, the author must create something that is out of the ordinary, therefore keeping the reader more than satisfied. I don't agree with Fitzgerald's title for the story. To my knowledge there was nothing great about Gatsby. He used people to his advantage like the way he used Nick to get to Daisy. To get Nicks help he would even in a manner, bribe him. Was it because he was rich and famous? He became rich through illegal activities such as bootlegging with shady figures such as Wolfshiem and he was just as famous as rumors about him were. There is nothing great about that struggling man. A more appropriate title would be "The Late Gatsby". He is dead inside.
However this novel does not end in fairy tale. It is more of a Shakespeareans play, a tragedy. Although I'm more partial to happy endings, the twist in the story does very well suit it. The story is pieced together well, in stormy plot, but lacks excitement towards the ending. Maybe Fitzgerald was headed in the direction of simplicity but that wasn't the case here.
All in all, Fitzgerald's "Best American Novel of All Time" unfortunately isn't at its best. As a reader you should consider these factors as to how to judge this so called "classical" novel written by the infamous and supposed great writer, F. Scott Fitzgerald for yourself. But truthfully, if you, as a reader, define Fitzgerald's archetypal storyline as great as its title; that is beyond me.