The Great GatsbyFitzgerald's most famous novel has a great deal of hype to live up to. Fortunately for the reader, it delivers.
The title of the book is the key to the heart of the story. Gatsby isn't "Great"; Gatsby is an illusion - he is a persona, worn, like his beautiful shirts and his pink suit, as a mask and a shield. Gatsby is successful and popular and is the epitome of the superficiality of the era he lives in. Consumerism is rife, and Gatsby fills his house with wild parties, movie stars, and the bright young things of New York society. Our middle-class narrator, Nick Carraway, is smitten with the lifestyle, the wealth, and the friendship offered by Gatsby, even while he suspects that all is not what it seems.
Of course, even among the super-rich upper-classes, there is a hierarchy at work. And Tom Buchanan, husband of Nick's cousin Daisy, sees his place as well above Gatsby. Born into fabulous wealth, Buchanan is a big man, defined by his brutish physicality. For all his claims of superiority and civility, Tom lacks self-control; he breaks his (married) lover's nose when she annoys him. His casual violence and personal amorality are so at odds with his view of himself, that he is exposed to the reader to be as much a fraud as Gatsby. At least Gatsby can lay claim to both self-inventiveness and self-awareness.
Fitzgerald is the master of the empty superficiality of the Jazz Age; his portrayal of a social class obsessed with style over substance, of things over self, a society rushing headlong into an inevitable crash is second to none. Although this novel is set during the prohibition years, alcohol infuses every page; fast cars play a key role; telephone conversations abound. In a present-day novel, drugs and private jets and shiny, shiny technology would be the order of the day. But the hollowness of the lives of the deeply superficial are not defined by time or era, and there's much that's as recognisable to a modern reader as to a contemporary one.
I've always thought reading F Scott is like reading silk. He has such an elegance to his writing, deftly combined with wit and yearning. His writing just shimmers. Reading anything written by him is a treat - reading The Great Gatsby is a privilege.
Posted at 12:38 - 21.08.09 by kittyfondue
Absolutely. The Great Gatsby more than delivers with respect to the hype still surrounding it.
The Jazz Age is exemplified in this novel. In fact, the details, settings, and characters almost make The Great Gatsby a time capsule preserving this particular age in American history. There are times when the novel is taught in high schools as both an example of modern literature and as a history lesson. It’s almost as if the Jazz Age and The Great Gatsby are synonymous with each other. For more on the historical background and The Great Gatsby quotes, visit Shmoop.
Posted at 15:30 - 06.10.09 by JasonStyris
I had to laugh the other day as I was reading what books that people have demanded in America to have banned - this was one of them. Obviously some people don't like good literature.
Posted at 18:25 - 08.10.09 by martin
My problem with the Great Gatsby is the narrator's complete passiveness. It's almost like he's not even there in the story as he simply recounts what he observes. He just seems too much like an invisible figure observing the events around him.
Posted at 03:54 - 16.12.09 by rnbguru
I think that what you said about the narrator being almost invisible helps the story rather than detracts from it. He isn't really passing an opinion, and this makes the story that bit more powerful, and more memorable.
Posted at 19:32 - 18.12.09 by martin
JiuJiang AuTai Rubber and Plastic Co.,Ltd is a crystallization of China PTFE and Teflon, owns manufacturers of AUTAI Co for High Quality Teflon and PTFE, Extruded Teflon and PTFE, Skived Teflon and PTFE, Molded Teflon and PTFE, Filling Teflon and PTFE, Graphite Teflon and PTFE, Fiberglass Teflon and PTFE, Carbon Teflon and PTFE, Bronze Teflon and PTFE. Autai multitudinous products with 5 series can satisfy various demands.
PTFE Teflon Rod
Insulated PTFE rod : Expanded PTFE Rod ; Molded PTFE Rod ; Expanded Square PTFE Rod ; Graphite Fill PTFE Rod ; Glass Fill PTFE Rod ; Carbon Fill PTFE Rod ; Bronze Fill PTFE Rod.
Extruded PTFE Rod. 5mm~200mm;
Molded PTFE Rod. 20mm ~ 300mm
PTFE Teflon Sheet
PTFE Film Tape; Thin PTFE Sheet; Molded PTFE Sheet ; Round PTFE Sheet ; Graphite Fill PTFE Sheet ; Glass Fill PTFE Sheet ; Carbon Fill PTFE Sheet ; Bronze Fill PTFE Sheet.
Skived PTFE Sheet 0.1mm ~ 6.0mm, Width 100mm ~ 1500mm
Molded PTFE Sheet 3mm ~ 100mm, Size 1200x1200mm
PTFE Teflon Tubing
Expansion PTFE Tubing ; Molded PTFE Tubing ; Graphite Fill PTFE Tubing ; Glass Fill PTFE Tubing ; Carbon Fill PTFE Tubing ; Bronze Fill PTFE Tubing.
Extruded PTFE Tubing ID 20mm ~ 510mm
Molded PTFE Tube ID 20mm ~ 400mm
PTFE Teflon hose
PTFE Hose ; Medical PTFE Hose ; Medical FEP Hose ; FEP Hose ; Braided PTFE Hose.
PTFE Hose Size ID 2mm ~ 22mm
Other PTFE Teflon
PTFE Gasket ; PTFE Packing; Expanded PTFE Cord Gasket; PTFE Gasket; PTFE Parts.
Posted at 16:17 - 07.01.10 by autaiptfe
Http://www.autai.com
Posted at 16:18 - 07.01.10 by autaiptfe
The American League Central mlb jerseys is a fine, upstanding division. cheap mlb jerseys In fact, I will admit cheap mlb jerseys to being pretty fond of it mlb jerseys for sale , having lived within its precinctscheap mlb jersey for most of my life.The ballparks buy mlb jersey are good. The people wholesale mlb jersey are friendly. Players will tell you they like mlb baseball jerseys the relatively easy travel among the five cities China wholesale clothing . And everyone wants to spendChina wholesale suppliers their summers at the lake, right?I'm usually quick to defend Baseball's Big Ten China wholesale market in comparison with the sexier coastal divisions. (Trusty talking point: The AL had a Midwestern champ made in China in 2005 and 2006 — and almost in 2007.) But I'm not going to tell you 2009 was a good year for the AL Central.
Posted at 12:33 - 16.01.10 by tradesino
Its a great book. Every one should read it
Posted at 08:22 - 25.01.10 by sexywallpaper
Reading F Scott gives me a totally different feeling.
Posted at 09:43 - 04.02.10 by jake1496
The Count Of Monte Cristo
Reviewed by kelly-r
Comments (9)
Penguin Great Ideas: On The Suffering Of The World
Reviewed by wwhyte
Comments (4)
The Varieties Of Religion
Reviewed by GMorrison
Comments (5)
The Annotated Lolita
Comment by Brownbear101
Michel De Montaigne, The Essays
Comment by Brownbear101
The Last Of The Mohicans
Comment by Brownbear101
The Count Of Monte Cristo
Comment by johnchris
The Count Of Monte Cristo
Comment by jake1496
© 1995 - 2010 PENGUIN BOOKS LTD
Registered Number 861590 England, Registered Office: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL
TERMS AND CONDITIONS | PRIVACY POLICY
A great review for a great book. I know that it may not be the easiest story to really get to grips with, but if you look at Fitzgerald's relationship to Zelda his wife you can see a direct corelation between the two. After that the story will fall into place and become unforgettable.
Posted at 17:47 - 23.03.09 by martin