English

Great Gatsby Book Review

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Fitzgerald's magnum opus had always appealed to me, and what with the new movie released last summer, I could hardly resist when choosing from this year's reading list. Having very little knowledge of the book's plot before diving in, I wasn't quite sure of what to expect, but I most certainly was not disappointed.

The story of The Great Gatsby may be entitled as such, but does not solely revolve around the enigmatic North Dakotan. In fact, there are several individual yet intertwining tales focused on throughout the novel.

Nick Carraway, a graduate of Yale and former World War I veteran, is our narrator. Having recently found employment and dwelling in the village of West Egg, he is soon aware of the aforementioned enigma living next door to him. After visiting his cousin, Daisy Fay Buchanan, and her husband, Tom, Nick becomes acquainted with Miss Jordan Baker, with whom he strikes up a romance. It is divulged unto him that Tom has a mistress (Myrtle Wilson), and he is soon brought by Tom to the apartment in to which they confine their escapades. This particular adventure is short lived as a dispute between Tom and his mistress results in Myrtle's broken nose and a shattered relationship.

Not long after the drama in New York, Nick finds himself finally attending one of Gatsby's infamous parties. All is normal until he and Jordan actually meet their host and discover that he had actually been in Nick's division in the war. When it is mentioned that he is a relation of Daisy's, Gatsby asks Nick to help him rekindle their old flame, revealing that they were romantically involved five years before, but has never quite stopped loving her.
Nick's efforts to reunite the pair are fairly successful, but that is not to say that things turn out well.

Though some may describe this book as a love story, I feel it focuses more on Gatsby's idealism, and the concept of the American dream. In my opinion, Gatsby was less in love with Daisy than he was with the idea of her - it was as if she was merely another valuable item for him to procure; to have her would be to feel complete. This, however, intrigued me further as I was interested in his interpretation of the meaning of happiness, and how he thought he could obtain it. In trying to achieve serenity, this man was only further destroying himself.

Not only was the character and plot development of this story fascinating to watch unfurl, but the cultural context was new to me. The story is not only set before my time, but also in a wealthy area of America. The language, although not difficult to follow, was quite formal and eloquently used. The description of scenery paired with this set the atmosphere perfectly, and it was easy enough to get lost in the story.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone my age as, it may have been written 90 years ago, it is still incredibly relevant today. We are brought up being taught that we have a certain purpose in life, and that there are set goals, (i.e finish school / get a job / fall in love / get married / have kids / grow old and spend time flipping wistfully through an old photo album and knitting) but the story of Jay Gatsby and those around him uncovers the truth in this belief.