Critiquing the Classics: The Great Gatsby

Summary:

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is set in the 1920s and follows the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby through his life and obsession with the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. The novel, narrated by Nick Carraway, explores the themes of love, wealth, and the pursuit of the American Dream. Gatsby throws lavish parties every night in hopes that Daisy, married to Tom Buchanan, will show up. Gatsby’s relentless pursuit of an idealized past ultimately leads him to heartbreak and tragedy. 

Important Characters:

Jay Gatsby: A wealthy, mysterious, charismatic man with a history in the military, who is obsessed with recreating his past with Daisy.

Daisy Buchanan: A beautiful, privileged woman who’s also portrayed as indecisive and shallow. She represents Jay Gatsby’s idea of the American Dream. 

Tom Buchanan: Daisy’s wealthy and aggressive husband. He’s unfaithful to his wife, controlling, and at times physically abusive.

Nick Carraway: The observant narrator who befriends Gatsby and serves as a third-party offering the outsider’s perspective of the world he’s drawn into.

Jordan Baker: A friend of Daisy's. She is a confident and modern professional golfer.

Myrtle Wilson: Tom Buchanan’s mistress. She is ambitious and desperate to escape her lower-class life. 

Review:

When reading this book, I was transported directly into the life of a man romanticizing his past and trying to bring it into the present; Jay Gatsby grapples with love and wealth in the lavish setting of the 1920s. His obsession with Daisy consumes his thoughts for years, resulting in the growing desire to relive and rekindle the love he once felt. This is all masterfully told through the lens of an unreliable narrator, Nick Carraway.

Authentically written in the time period in which it was set, F. Scott Fitzgerald excellently creates a culturally significant piece of literature that is still relevant one hundred years later—specifically regarding the themes of wealth and its connection to power. While the book itself is written in a captivating manner, the ideas and storyline throughout kept me hooked until the very last page. The use of foreshadowing and leaving traces and hints throughout the book leads to an explosive ending, in which everything is tied together brilliantly.

I honestly can not recommend this book enough. The complexity of the characters, the unique setting, and the pure voice of the work all contribute to a genius tale, critiquing the concept of the American Dream through showing greed, illusion, and the utter unattainability of it all.