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The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

List Price: $21.95
Your Price: $21.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Read it once, twice and then a third time
Review: I currently finished reading the novel The Great Gatsby for the first time. I found it to be a novel which opened my eyes and made me realize the kind of society we are living in. With all of the friends Gatsby has, very few payed respect to him. Is that what society is coming to? Don't get me wrong, I was extremly confused during the first few chapters of the novel but don't give up, keep reading. After you have finished the book, go back to the first few chapters and read through them, everything will tie together. With a little help from a teacher I was able to appreciate the novel more. Read it once, twice and then a third time. You won't regret it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Gatsby is a hidden treasure.
Review: Although F. Scott Fitzgerald's book "The Great Gatsby" may seem a tad superficial upon the first reading, it really is quite a gem when examined closer. There are many important and significant symbols that are so intricately and subtly woven into the story, that only a careful reader would be able to catch them all. Fitzgerald makes excellent use of colour symbolism in things such as Gatsby's clothing and car, and the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, place symbolism, in regards to East Egg, West Egg, and the Valley of Ashes, and time symbolism, which can be caught when one looks at the timeline that the book follows. Fitzgerald's seemingly shallow depiction of five characters in the roaring twenties is really a symbolic masterpiece and a classic novel of the twentieth century. A must-read for any deep reader, or anyone who wants to become one.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stick with it through the first few chapters.
Review: My first thought when I was reading the first two chapters of "The Great Gatsby" was to put it down and stop reading. Lukily I didn't! This was one of the best books I have read. It is full of symbolism and heartbreak. This is one of those books that needs to be read a little slower than most books. Special attention needs to be paid to colour symbolism in order to understand some points. If you haven't already read this book, go out and buy it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Gatsby is for anyone, any age, any place!
Review: The Great Gatsby, a book about love, wealth, triumph, and tragidy, was written by Scott F. Fitzgerald (1896-1940). Fitzgerald's original purpose for writing was to become wealthy and to impress his new wife, Zelda Sayre. Soon after his first book was published, he realized that he liked writing so much, he would make it his life-long profession.

The Great Gatsby is a book that tells us the way of life and love during the twenties. The book's main character, Nick Carraway tells of life, from his 30 year old male's perspective. Nick, living in the lower middle class, moved east to New York in search of riches, but what he finds, is an unexpected wealth that will change his view of life forever.

Fitzgerald wrote this book to present the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age. The twenties marked the decade where the American economy, and status levels, peaked. The rich were very rich, and the poor, very poor. Fitzgerald compared and contrasted these two groups very well. I believe what enabled him to do this was that during his life-time, he experienced both being rich, and being poor. Throughout the book, Fitzgerald contrasts the rich and the poor's status level. Through Nick, he talks about how the rich were looked up to and the poor were looked down on, with the exception of Nick's very wealthy next door neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Nick admire's Mr. Gatsby, he tells us this by writing about him, "He has an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again." In the same way, Mr. Gatsby treats Nick like he treats everyone. He is able to see past status and money, and look straight into the heart. As the story continues, Nick becomes Mr. Gatsby's best, and only true friend.

This book also illustrates the racism and rivalry between blacks and whites during this period. Nick tells us about this as he is driving in Mr. Gatsby's Rolls Royce. "As we crossed Blackwell's Island a limousine passed us, driven by a white chachauffuer, in which sat three modish negroes, two bucks and a girl. I laughed aloud as the yolks of their eyeballs rolled toward us in haughty rivalry." Fitzgerald emphasized the race struggle many times during the book. One time, near the end, a fight breaks out over love. Jordan, exasperated at the immaturity of the two men, intently said, "Come on, we're all white here!"

After Mr. Gatsby's death, Nick Carraway decided to travel back to his homeland in the west. As he was reflecting on the past few years, he suddenly realized that Mr. Gatsby had not only been a good freind, but also an excellent mentor. Mr. Gatsby had been trying to teach him by his example that money has little or nothing to do with wealth. Wealth comes from your heart, not your pocket.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed the book, Fitzgerald's writing was very new to me. At times, it was confusing or did not seem complete. I must say however, Fitzgerald did an excellent job at answering all of the many questions that were brought up during this story. I now understand why his books were chosen to "Speak for the 20's!"

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a sensory experience
Review: The language of this incredible book is rich and tangible. As the background of each scene is subtly created through descriptions of colors, tones and textures, all the strange and brightly colored building blocks of a masterpiece are set in place. It is a book full of the dismal philosophy of early 20th century America and full of the irridescent vitality of human passion and pain. I was hesitant to read it at first because of its overexposure--it seemed as though everyone had the same things to say about it. But last year, as a junior, I did finally read it and now that I have, I can only heartily agree with everything I've heard--this is one of the greatest books of our century.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: boring!
Review: I was forced to read this book for school. I hated every page of this book. It was boring and had no point. Even though it is apparently one of the greatest Am. novels from the twenties, it is bad. I dont like any of the characters. They should all be destroyed b/c they are all awful people who would rather party than actually face their lives. I dont think that teachers should force students to read it b/c just because it happens to be by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Big whoop.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Mans hopeless search for the unobtainable American dream.
Review: The Great Gatsby is an incredible book and is truly a classic. It starts out slow and then the action hits you like a cannon ball. Fitzgerald's themes and characterization are remarkable. The emotion felt reading the book is overwhelming. Fitzgerald offers a unique view on life and society. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who is a romantic or who wants to reevaluate life.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A good book by a dead white guy.
Review: This book is great. I saw the movie in my 20th Century American Literature class last year as well as reading it over the summer for my AP English class. The two are not even close to being the same. At first I didn't know what to think of the book, it was strange and confusing and then it was romantic. Over all it was a very emotional book for me. After reading the book I did a research project for the book. I discovered that this book is so similar to Fitzgerald's life. He reminded me of each one of the male characters in some sort of way. Tom had the affair just as he(Fitzgerald) did. Gatsby felt left out at all the infamous parties just as Fitzgerald did. This book is definetly worthy of reading! I suggest it to all!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It was good I guess...
Review: It was a good book I guess. Some parts were pretty boring but other parts were really good! So read the book if you want! I was forced to read it at school!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fitzgerald The Great
Review: The Great Gatsby's deceptively ephemeral story is not so much the deserved masterpiece of one of our most gifted writers as it is the stunning illusion of a great magician. In that, it is a literary portal that allows us to peer into the narrow lives of a small band of the bored and privileged. It is both a metaphor of its age and an uncanny prognostication of our current malaise. So where's the magic? When one steps back from the book, there's no plot, the characters are rather bland, they don't do anything particularly interesting, and what they do accomplish in the very short timespan we spend with them is so trivial or mean that we are left wondering why we enjoyed the book so much. The answer lies in the fact that magic is never about the rabbit; rather, it is about the empty hat. Fitzgerald The Great's magic wand is the English language, his scarf the shadows cast by limelight, and we, his vaudville audience in our straw hats and bowlers, are mesmerized by his amazing show.


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