Rating: 
Summary: A not-so-often-acknowleged meaning of The Great Gatsby
Review: As I was reading through the other reviews, I noticed something. Nobody was able
to really say "why" they liked the book. The reason (as I believe it
to be) is that the Gatsby shows characteristics that we all
have inside of ourselves, that all our descendants will have, and that all our
ancestors had. We all have
a yearning to return to the past and to avoid the mistakes that we made. To return to the
Garden, and avoid giving into temptation. To find a new land
(i.e. America) and have a new beginning (as the dutch sailors
tried to do and as Gatsby fails at). We all believe in the Myth of Edenic possibilities
(the belief that one can return to his/her past and avoid the
mistakes that they made) and so does Gatsby. But that's not the
entire reason readers are fascinated with Gatsby. Throughout the entire novel, F. Scott
Fitzgerald debunks the American Dream of going west to start
over. He does so by having Gatsby go east, and making it so
that he can't be successful without going outside the law. But throughout the novel,
Gatsby never gives up. He's like the man who was standing
in the trash after one of Gatsby's parties. Just as this man
refused to acknowlege that he couldn't live in the past, so Gatsby refuses. Gatsby refuses to
acknowlege that he can't go back to when he first met Daisy, before she married
Tom. There is a lot more to this book than what others have
said, and there is still a lot more than what I have outlined. Although, I hope that this
will allow some people to realize that The Great
Gatsby is more than just a love story between two people. Every
time I read it (I've read it at least 5 times), I pick up new symbols and archetypes
which allow me to see this masterpiece through new lenses.
It truly is an American Classic, which everyone should read.
Rating:
Summary: The Great American Novel.
Review: As an English major I've come across numerous examples of excellent literature. Fitzgerald's _The Great Gatsby_ is, in my opinion, THE definitive American literary classic. The author's use of language, characterization, and subtle symbolism is simply amazing! The last line of this novel has become one of the most hauntingly beautiful lines in literary history. Do yourself a great favor and read this novel--my highest possible praises!
Rating:
Summary: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Review: At this point a wide variety of teachers have been teaching me English, in one form or another, for the last 12 years or so. I have often heard some of those teachers describe "The Great Gatsby" as an American literary classic, but I haven't had the opportunity to read the story until now. One reason is that a novel like "The Great Gatsby" written in 1925 didn't exactly appeal to the average teenager at these earlier stages of education. Another, more valid, reason is that we probably wouldn't have understood it anyway.
At first sight "The Great Gatsby" seems to be a long story about nothing in particular except for an obscene amount of parties. It turns out though that the story contains multiple levels of observation on the American society during the "roaring twenties", as well as more general reflections over human nature and even philosophical and theological points.
A thing I find interesting about "The Great Gatsby", is the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, because this says a great deal about Gatsby. During the story three different images of Gatsby are transmitted to the readers. At first Gatsby is portrayed as a decent and noble Oxford man who has made himself a fortune in ways unknown to us and with a lot of things going on. He gives great parties and even though several of his guests perceive him as a somewhat mystical figure who isn't quite what he seems to be - some even suggest that he killed a man or acted as a German spy during the war - he stands out as the perfect host. Later it turns out that he actually does have a lot of things going on, though not exactly of the reputable kind.
The truth is that he participated in the war and came out as a highly decorated officer. After the war however his decorations could not buy food or clothes and by coincidence he met Meyer Wolfsheim, who had just the right thing for him...
So Gatsby is actually in the business of bootlegging. Having established that, it would be easy to write him off as a liar and a common - although wealthy - criminal. This image of him is softened though by the observation, that he did it for love. In fact it seems that everything in his life revolves around one person, namely Daisy.
It turns out that Gatsby and Daisy know each other from five years earlier, when they were a couple and were actually going to marry each other. Gatsby was madly in love with Daisy and she loved him too, but when he was in Europe during the war, she eventually got a little bit desperate and wanted her life to take on a steady and reassuring direction - I would imagine that her parents had something to do with it as well. Consequently she married Tom Buchanan, who was extremely wealthy and an impressive physical presence as well. This explains Gatsby's actions to a certain extent, since it is obvious that the only purpose of his extravagant house is to impress Daisy.
This is seen in the situation where Gatsby has Nick Carraway arrange a meeting with Daisy at Nick's - a rather embarrassing session at first that ends up with Gatsby giving Daisy the super-extended deluxe grand tour of his house. During the tour Gatsby perceives his own home through Daisy's eyes and generally does everything to seem interesting, for instance when asked how he can stand living in the house alone: "I always keep it full of interesting people, night and day. People who do interesting things. Celebrated people." It is not a coincidence either that he bought his house with a view across the water to where Daisy lives. At the end of the dock she has a green light that shines all night, which takes on a great deal of significance since it symbolises the distance between Daisy and himself.
The span of water between Gatsby and the light (also great symbolism in itself, isn't it?) could be compared to the actual distance in emotion and time. Now he has met with her, talked to her and touched her. She has seen his home and given her approval, so the gap has closed and the light is just a light again. Or is it? The light could be any colour, but it is green which has always meant "full speed ahead". So since the distance between Gatsby and the light has closed due to his recent entering the same high social class as Daisy, he is now worthy of her love, in his own eyes and apparently hers as well.
So the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy has come full circle. Jay Gatsby's appearance towards his surroundings is built up on lies upon deceit and e.g. the large and wild parties are only meant to capture the attention of Daisy.
Another thing that I find interesting in this story is the mentioning of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. After the death of his wife George Wilson states that "God sees everything" while looking specifically at the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg indicating that Eckleburg should or could be interpreted as God. He is, however, just an old billboard advertising for an optometrist - faded after not having been painted for a long time and brooding over a dumping ground . The symbolism is pretty clear. The presence of God is faded in the society described and the society as seen by God i.e. those who believe, is deranged - a dumping ground.
As for George Wilson he says: "...you can't fool God" and "God sees everything" but the question he must be asking himself is, if God sees everything, why did he not stop Myrtle Wilson from running out in front of the car? Maybe that is why God is symbolised only by a pair of huge eyes - because He let go of the steering wheel years ago and has now retreated to the role of the observer. Omnipotence replaced by omniscience. Anyway Wilson decides to lend God's eyes a pair of hands, but manages - with a little help from Tom Buchanan - to kill the wrong man.
Importance is in the mind of the beholder - a historian would find other aspects of "The Great Gatsby" interesting than I have. Interpreting this story, I found it exciting to work with the whole relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. The story of how his love for her gave birth to his ambitions and consequently his wealth hold faint reminiscence of Greek tragedy. It stands parallel to Fitzgerald's own life, where he could not marry Zelda Sayre until he had achieved some success and wealth , and even Fitzgerald's description of the wild life is somewhat autobiographical. In the story Daisy moves away with her husband, while in real life Fitzgerald was separated from Zelda because she was suffering from a severe mental illness.
The passages about T.J. Eckleburg are a fine way of giving a hint that this wild life and social shallowness is actually leading nowhere - also illustrated by the fact that only three persons attend Gatsby's funeral - his father, Nick Carraway and the man with the owl-eyed glasses. He is the only other person who has taken the time to scratch the surface of Gatsby as a human being, symbolised by his opening the books in Gatsby's library instead of just assuming that they would be empty shells . This suggests that a man's legacy could be measured by the number of people by his grave rather than in parties or hard currency.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the greatest American novel of all time
Review: Simply put, this may be the greatest masterpiece ever written by an American author. F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing is superb during the classic tale of Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and the other supporting characters. Fitzgerald's masterpiece is depressing, and it is much like Romeo & Juliet, in that happiness is never attained. However, it is his writing style that saves this book. The eloquence of F. Scott Fitzgerald has never been more clearly shown than in this book. Readers can literally see the hours he spent poring over his manuscript, for every line, word, and phrase is carefully thought out. Concise, witty, and lyrical, Fitzgerald's writing style quickly captures the reader through sheer humor through the first 50 pages, and leaves the reader breathless through the last 3/4 of the book, detailing his romance with the problems that arise from it. The true brilliance is not the story, for the story has been told before. This novel is a vehicle for Fitzgerald's skill as a writer. The book must be read more than once, for Fitzgerald pieces together his story very carefully, giving the reader hints of the outcome before the ending, hints that are easily missed on the first read. Every word in every sentence is carefully thought out, a phenomenon clearly seen after reading the novel more than once. It is that unquestionable brilliance as a writer, that amazing style and eloquence, that gives this book its greatness. Fitzgerald has never been this witty, this dry, this powerful, this sarcastic, and this thrilling. Are there flaws? Absolutely. The book is ambiguous on the ending, and the book must be reread in order to be fully appreciated. Yet, the book is so good that those flaws are ignored easily. The wittiness, the humor, the sarcasm, all mixed with the sadness and depression, creates an atmosphere of life breathing through the pages. The characters are timeless, the writing brilliant, the story simple, this is a book for all time.
Rating:
Summary: Off the scale
Review: This book can't be shoved into a 1-10 rating. Goes beyond that. Simple the best American novel ever written. Achingly beautiful. Best "last page" ever written, bar none.
Rating:
Summary: BOOK OF THE CENTURY!!!
Review: The Great Gatsby is the best short novel of the twentieth-century. Fitzgerald's portrayl of Jay Gatsby focuses on his own life in many aspects and that is what makes the book so real. The book contains much complexity, reflecting the era of the roaring twenties.
Rating:
Summary: Jay Gatsby's Timeless, Tragic Journey
Review: By avoiding period references, Fitzgerald's brief fable of doomed love and the American psyche takes on a dream-like, ageless quality. His attention to details of characterization, rather than setting, avoid dating the book and help give Gatsby as much significance in our time as it had in the Roaring 20's.
Reading this novel, one is struck by the references to disturbing trends in our own times: the "nouveau riche" and their desperate search for meaning in their lives, shady fortunes won and lost on the stock market overnight, and the frenzied quest for personal satisfaction while ignoring the needs of those around us.
Yet Gatsby is redeemed -- as we all are, as America has been for over 200 years -- by his belief in a better future, a perfect life that is always just around the corner. It is this quality which ultimately makes us understand and love Jay Gatsby. It is most certainly what draws me back to this slim, quiet book year after year, with so many other bigger, louder books clamoring to be read.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Supergreat beyond compare. A Fun book.
Rating:
Summary: Never underestimate Fitzgerald
Review: In my life, I have read many books; however, none has affected me as much as _The Great Gatsby_. When I read reviews that claim it is over-rated or trivial, I almost take it personally. How can anyone miss the beauty, eloquence, and depth of this novel?
Fitzgerald creates some of the most magnificent characters and scenes in the history of literature in this book. Gatsby is the embodiment of the American dreamer. He is so insecure that he shrouds himself in glitter. He wants one thing he can't have so much, he surrounds himself with every other possession. He finds that getting what you want is often the worst thing possible, and that, to be very cliche but borrow from Fitzgerald's own images in this book--everything that glitters is not gold. The character is classic because a part of him exists in so many people.
Daisy and Tom are also classic characters. Haven't we all met this shallow type that takes what it wants at whatever cost and leaves the world to clean up their messes? Sure we may feel sympathy for Daisy in some more tender scenes, but isn't that how people like her get away with hurting others?
Finally, Nick is a wonderful character because he is so like the reader. He is the man who can't help but stand on the side of the road watching an imminent disaster. There is little we can do but watch and once it happens, we can't force ourselves to turn away. These characters are incredibly developed, and because they are so universal, so archetypal, we can identify society through them.
I have failed to touch on the unity of effect of the novel, the poetic prose, or the incredible theme that permeates the novel, but I hope that readers will find these for themselves. Let Nick take you for a xfat drive through East and West Egg; you won't be sorry you took the trip.
Rating:
Summary: Great Gatsby, Great Book
Review: A masterpiece about the American Dream. One of the best novels ever written, but don't take my words for it. The uses of symbolism are brilliant, such as the green light on the dock, the Valley of Ashes, and the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg. I especially cherish the ending, it was so beautiful. I recommend reading this book, and then read it again, and again
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