The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

First Impressions

It’s a classic—and you should read classics because they make you smarter (or at least appear smarter). More importantly, The Great Gatsby is one of those books that never seems to age. Even if you read it decades ago in high school, coming back to it as an adult reveals new layers. And as an adult, you better understand the futile chasing of the American Dream. 

Story Overview

Set in the Long Island’s Jazz Age, (Fitzgerald has been called The Voice of Jazz),  the novel follows Nick Carraway, a young man renting a modest house next to the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby. Gatsby throws lavish parties every weekend in hopes of attracting Daisy Buchanan, the woman he loves but lost to another man. What unfolds is an intense story of obsession, illusion, and disillusionment.

Character Focus: Jay Gatsby

You should form an image in your mind of what Jay Gatsby looks like before you see Leonardo DiCaprio play the part in the movie. Gatsby is a dreamer - a man who builds an empire from nothing to win back a woman who symbolizes everything he cannot have. He is optimistic but also doomed.

The Vibe & Reading Experience

As someone who loves the jazz age, I was transported to that time by Fitzgerald’s writing. You can smell the gin, hear the jazz, and feel the humid summer nights.  His language is descriptive and has been described as musical,  using metaphor, simile, and symbolism.

“In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.”

The symbols Fitzgerald uses have become epic-  the green light, the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg, the valley of ashes. Each carries meaning that the author leaves the reader to interpret. The iconic book cover of the floating flapper eyes and red lips alludes to the “Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg,” from the billboard that stands watch over the proceedings of the novel. They symbolize the eyes of God, or maybe the reader, witnessing these events. The themes of the fleeting nature of youth and beauty run throughout the novel. The song, “Young and Beautiful” by Lana DelRay used in the movie version, movingly exemplifies this.

Favourite Quotes

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

“I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness.”

 Final Thoughts

The Great Gatsby is a short yet haunting novel that has stayed with me from my first introduction in high school to several rereads as an adult. At its core is a tragic love story set against the iconic backdrop of the Jazz Age. You should read it not only for the story but also because it’s  one of the most elegantly written novels in American literature.

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