Book Review #33 ~ The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald is considered such a great classic due to the brilliant combinations of individually captivating elements that the story possesses. Everything from Fitzgerald’s buttery and elegant writing style to the widely relatable issues that dictate the story provides the novel with its gripping nature that makes it the unforgettable classic it has been recognized as for decades. 

            The simple choice of the time period itself was an ingenious choice and one that highly contributes to qualifying it as the Great American novel. The time period of the 20s, the Roaring 20s, is an intriguing and widely discussed period. It is a time of excitement and freedom filled with indulgence, pleasure, and parties that many Americans only dream of one day being able to experience. The Great Gatsby is filled with extravagant parties where “men and girls [come] and [go] like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (Fitzgerald 31). Events such as these, which can only be described as somewhat magical, allow the reader to experience a time period filled with an opulence beyond one’s imagination. As Jeff Nilsson, a historian for The Saturday Evening Post remarked, “the 1920s is the most fascinating era in American culture.” This allows the reader to be wholly captivated by the story and the playing-out of the outrageously luxurious lives of the elite in this decade.

            The Great Gatsby’s ability to strike a connection with readers’ minds and hearts is also another reason that it can be constituted as such a great classic. The character of Jay Gatsby himself, although foolish at times, is one that demands the reader’s full attention and inspires intense emotion. His passionate love for Daisy is a quality that reveals the very human and very imperfect nature of Gatsby. His fairytale-like love for Daisy is one so deep that it makes all readers hope to one day experience something similar. Gatsby’s love is especially displayed in the way “He [doesn’t] once [cease] looking at Daisy, [revaluing] everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (Fitzgerald, Chapter 5). The fact that he is so deeply in love with an unforgettable admirer from his past arouses compassion and further lures the reader in until he becomes completely immersed in the storyline. As author Michael Westwood states, “Gatsby, in a transcendent sense, touches the imagination with his idealism.” Gatsby’s intense and heartfelt emotions that are so clearly revealed cause the reader to be wholly engrossed in the novel, making one both feel for and feel with Gatsby at the same time.

Yet another element that provides the book with its unique and definable quality is Fitzgerald’s use of universally experienced issues throughout the book. His elaboration on the beauty of the past, the high of anticipation, and the pursuit of the American Dream are all issues that people have personally experienced or have witnessed. These then allow the reader to not be a simple bystander to exciting yet irrelevant events taking place in the novel, but to be involved and connected as he draws comparisons from the characters’ plight to his own.

Take the example of the beauty of the past: it has been universally accepted over hundreds of years that people look back on the past with rose colored glasses. The past, slightly faded, is a nostalgic and often peaceful time that many draw back to in times of hardship. Gatsby’s desperate wish to turn back the time and live “just as if it were five years ago” (Fitzgerald, Chapter 6) is a common feeling experienced by almost everyone. Because of a very human tendency to reminisce and to regret, the past can seem to be a splendid and mystical place and can leave people with a sense of intense longing. These feelings towards the past are ones that Gatsby constantly struggles with throughout the book and are ones that very understandable to readers everywhere.

 The beauty of anticipation is also addressed many times throughout the book, and can also be a relatable topic for many. Often times the excitement leading up to the event is much more enjoyable than the event itself. It has been widely known that grandiose expectations can lead to an immense letdown, and it is these huge expectations that cause Gatsby to suffer greatly later in the novel. For example, after spending long-awaited time with Daisy, Gatsby realizes that “the colossal significance of [the green] light had vanished forever… Now it was again a light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one” (Fitzgerald, Chapter 6). This realization shows that although Gatsby got what he had desired for so long, he still felt some sense of sadness at the end of it. Because the process of waiting allows us to let our minds wander to imagine the greatest scenarios possible, anything that strays from our expectations can result in great disappointments. This realization is one that strikes a chords with all readers.

The pursuit of the American Dream is also a greatly relatable issue. The Great Gatsby is the classic rags-to-riches story of self-made success. As scholar James L.W. West states, “The Great Gatsby is a story of a Mr. Nobody from Nowhere who rises from obscure poverty to immense wealth.” This classic story is one that almost everyone has dreamed about. It captures the American that all Americans want to be. The novel “embodies the American spirit and the American will to reinvent oneself,” as author Maureen Corrigan recognizes. The fact that the story revolves around such a central, American theme that has been discussed for hundreds of years further makes the novel one that the reader can easily relate to and be absorbed in.

Finally, Fitzgerald’s iconic, entrancing writing style is a key element in making The Great Gatsby such a classic recognized all around the world. The book is written with Fitzgerald's lyrical prose that is brimming with imagery and symbolism that delight the senses and minds of readers. Symbols such as the green light, the white and gold that are applied to Daisy give greater meaning to her character and the theme of the greed and corruption of the wealthy class in the 1920s. From the very beginning to the famous last line of the book, there is not one flimsy sentence in the book. Any line out of any chapter can be considered a small work of art in itself.

The Great Gatsby can be considered one of the greatest classics of all time not because of certain separate elements such as universal themes and a beautiful writing style, but because of the way in which these aspects are seamlessly woven together. The way Fitzgerald has shaped his characters, and structured his plotline makes the novel so memorable and absolutely timeless.