‘Gatsby’ provides old-time thrills, new contemplation of real world
All Things Literary
I picked up "The Great Gatsby," by F. Scott Fitzgerald the
other day for my American literature course and nearly put it back down
after reading the first sentence. It’s an American classic, if not
a ubiquitous high school novel. I had, after all, read the novel in eleventh
grade — I could remember major plot points. I could even remember
the theme: the American dream.
In eleventh grade, we read to discern the relationship between the quest
for the American dream and the characters. I read this time to understand
how a few years of college courses and the impending doom of the "real
world" would affect my perceptions.
The novel opens with a naïve Nick Carraway moving to Long Island,
N.Y., to begin work in the financial business. He catches up with his
cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and meets his terribly eccentric neighbor, Jay
Gatsby. Through Nick, we learn that Gatsby is a less-than-respectable
businessman who has spent the better part of his life amassing a great
fortune. Gatsby then spends this fortune trying to buy the affections
of the woman he has loved for many years: Daisy Buchanan. Small problem
— Daisy is married.
Nick narrates through Gatsby’s lavish parties — the sparkling
glitz Gatsby provides to attract Daisy — and the seedy undercurrent
of rich people participating in his self-destructive behavior.
I oversimplified the plot, but, at just over 200 pages, "Gatsby"
isn’t a long novel. What detracts from the story is that none of
the characters are noble individuals — even our narrator, Nick, participates
in a Gatsby-like scheme. Nick arranges for Daisy and Gatsby to meet for
the first time in a long while, and this meeting serves as a catalyst
for the novel’s tragic, fatal ending.
Nor is "The Great Gatsby" a positive, uplifting story. All
of the characters Fitzgerald designs — though thinly veiled —
are sad and pathetic. The bright lights of Gatsby’s parties fail
to hide the tragic lives of the partygoers.
The most comforting message of Fitzgerald’s masterpiece also is the harshest of all — Gatsby has such faith that he can buy Daisy, and that he can buy his American dream. He can’t — his life is wasted on a vision, and you can’t buy vision — not even with the type of money he has.
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