The Great Gatsby

Why You Should Read It

1. It is a classic and you should read classics because they make you smarter (or at least appear smarter).

2. The movie is coming out soon and you want to be able to a) fill in the gaps that the movie will inevitably create and b) say "the book was better".

3. Re the movie: you should form an image in your mind of what you think Jay Gatsby looks like before you see Leonardo DiCaprio play the part forever etching that version of the character in your mind.

4. Fitzgerald's use of metaphor, simile, and symbolism make you remember, after a steady diet of self-help books and pop fiction, that the English language can be an art.

(This book cover is the most iconic one. The big flapper eyes symbolize the era when it takes place and also allude to the "Eyes of T.J. Eckleburg", an advertisement poster, that are a symbol for the eyes of God and the narrator overseeing the novel's events.)