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ordinary_kittens t1_ixwd13i wrote

Interesting that so many people here don’t like the book, which is fair. Personally, I read on my own while I was in university (not as part of a class, was just curious about it) and thoroughly enjoyed the book.

The book is arguably most famous for taking a pessimistic view on the roaring Twenties, during the 1920s. Fitzgerald had trouble with successfully becoming a writer during his own lifetime. But, after the depression and after WWII, people really looked at history and saw the 1920s in America as a kind of cautionary tale of how unchecked optimism and hedonism can lead to disaster. So Fitzgerald’s take looked a lot smarter in hindsight. Was he really a prophet or was he just a pessimistic alcoholic, bitter that he himself had trouble keeping up with the supposed “high society” of his day? Probably more the latter than the former, although I still enjoy his observations in the book.

I don’t know if the book would mean as much to a non-North American - a lot of the book (at least, in my opinion) has to do with how the main character, and really most of the characters in the book, are people from the west who moved east, only to be overwhelmed and disturbed by how shallow and self-absorbed the lives of the rich and successful were. At this time in the United States, the wealthy of the east would be sort of a new nobility in North America - full of families like the Roosevelts, rich families that had been rich for generations. Out west you would have “new money” types, people who may have become wealthy through their business endeavours, but they aren’t elite the way old money types in New York are elite. So again, you need a hell of a lot of money to fit in with that crowd, but you need more than that, you need old money. Or as Gatsby found, a carefully crafted mystique.

It’s sort of a “don’t meet your heroes” story that I can get onboard with. I don’t think anyone needs to enjoy it but it always stuck with me.

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Rahm89 t1_ixwgxd0 wrote

As a non-American, I really enjoyed the Great Gatsby and found it very relatable. It helped that we studied it in class and had the symbols and metaphors explained to us, otherwise I might have missed the depth it has.

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Suspiciously_Flawed t1_ixwumz3 wrote

The Great Gatsby is my favorite novel, and I'm a die-hard Fitzgerald fan. I disagree with the idea that the book is some critique about society, certainly that's in there but it's just a side effect of accurately describing society at that time.

The book is about the green light, it is about chasing a mirror image of yourself, Gatsby never wanted Daisy he just wanted the image of him that he dreamed about and she was a part of that fantasy.

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francisf0reverr OP t1_ixwf6x7 wrote

True!! We are looking at it "through the lens of tragedy" and we have to talk about "society as the antagonist" which leads to Gatsby's downfall. I think there is definitely a lot that can be said about it and I'm glad it resonated with you. When I'm done with this course I will look at some of his other work. I think it could be helpful to get a new perspective on it.

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deadnAme_ t1_ixy3a32 wrote

i do recommend at some point reading it on your own at your own pace. i used to hate the books we'd read in class, but then i'd reread them some years later and loved them

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jerrylovesalice2014 t1_ixy76as wrote

Gatsby is perhaps the most hated book among American school children and it's such a shame. It's a magnificent book, but you just can't be forced to read it at 13 years of age. You have to come to it in your own time on your own terms. I myself hated reading it in school (even though I was an avid reader). Coming back to it years later and with more experience under my belt, about class, love, work, money, and how it all bleeds into your identity, and I was completely blown away. It is my all time favorite book now.

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