Review #14: "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Favorite Quotes:

"'Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'" -page 1

"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." 

-page 4

"And I hope she'll be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."
-page 17

"He hadn't once ceased to look at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes." -page 91

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." -page 118

"Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away." -page 177

About the Main Character:

Simply because I think everyone knows a lot more about Jay Gatsby than they do about Nick Carraway, I chose the narrator as the main character. Nick writes this account of his time with Gatsby two years after it occured. He talks about having taken some notes on a timetable that was withering away with barely legible notes by the time he returned to them to write this account. Nick is Daisy Buchanan's cousin and helps to reconnect Daisy to Gatsby. He represents normalcy and the reality of life in the very pomp and circumstance world that Gatsby lives in. He was from the "Middle West" as he called it and then went to Yale. He served in the war before moving to New York Ciry, Long Island's West Egg specifically, to sell bonds. His love interest is Jordan Baker.

Another Character to Note:

The conundrum of The Great Gatsby this time was Jordan Baker. I've read this novel several times and really never noticed or focused on her character until this reading. Jordan is a friend of Daisy's that she knew from her youth. She is a professional golfer whose closest relation is an aunt. Jordan carries herself in a very confident "I don't need a man" manner and she is unmarried. She becomes somewhat romantically involved with Nick, although extensive details are not given as the main love story is between Daisy and Gatsby. The reason I think she is noteworthy and frankly a little confusing is because I really can't decide why she is in the novel. She and Nick don't end up together. Her encounters in the novel are not monumental {she does help in connecting Gatsby to Daisy, but I think Nick could've been sufficient to make that tie.} The only thing I can think of is the contrast she provides to Daisy and the balance of male to female ratio she aides in. Daisy is rather silly and over-the-top. She was much sought after in her youth and holds no sort of position outside of her home or that of a socialite. Jordan is a competitive, unmarried athlete who doesn't throw herself on Nick in anyway. And there would be one less female presence without. I'm 100% open to other theories because this is all I got.
 

Plot Breakdown:

1. Nick Carraway pays his cousin a visit...and takes a peek at the unhappy marriage of the Buchanans.

2. Tom introduces Nick to his mistress...and they buy a dog and throw a really odd party/gathering. Also, I love Fitzgerald's description of Myrtle. Hilarious.

3. Nick meets Gatsby...at one of the parties that never end.

4. The History of Daisy and Gatsby...Nick and Jordan help Gatsby reunite with Daisy. And he's so awkward about it.

5. Tom, Daisy, Jordan, Nick, and Gatsby...all at the same party. Tom decides he needs to know more about this Gatsby fellow.

 

6. Say you never loved him...a hot day and a heated argument.

7. The "Death" Car...it was yellow in case you were wondering.

8.  An angry husband and a gun...Nick is the only one who stays behind.

 

 

Something Interesting to Note:

 

George Wilson, Myrtle's husband, realizes that she has been cheating on him for awhile and basically has a breakdown and locks her in their house. He yells at her that God knows what she's been up to and that He's been watching. Yet, the eyes he is referring to are the literal eyes of an advertisement for an eye doctor, specifically Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. These eyes are just across the street from his garage. Dr. T.J. Eckleburg knows that Tom and Myrtle are cheating on their spouses. And he knows what really happened with the "death" car. {No, I'm not telling.} I loved this very literal reminder from Fitzgerald that nothing that happens goes unnoticed. Someone always knows the secret.

 

Should you read The Great Gatsby before you die?

 

I'm a huge fan of this novel, so my vote would have to be a resounding YES! Fitzgerald perfectly captures the time he writes about. The 1920s were filled with flappers and liquor and happiness. The American Dream was thriving...only to be followed by the stock market crash of the 1930s. Gatsby had this idealized version of Daisy in his mind, just like many people idealized what their lives were going to be like. Both parties were disappointed.

It's just really, really good. I notice something new every time I read it.