Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Question Two: The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby: Yea or Nay?

After reading the entire novel... so, what do you think? Was this book worth your time, or was it the worst literary pain ever inflicted on you? Did it remind you of any other books you've read or movies or tv you've watched? Did it seem archaic, or was it fairly relevant to our society today? You don't have to answer all of these questions, but tell me your honest thoughts on the book. If you loved it, gush over it and tell me why. If you hated it, (respectfully) rant about it. If you thought it was merely mediocre, explain what you did and didn't like about it. Interact with the novel. I just want your honest opinions, here!

This response should be at least 350 words.


You will respond to this question by leaving a comment on this post. 
Remember: you must respond to at least 4 questions per novel. 
Extra credit will be awarded if you respond to more than 4 questions.

*and remember, this is a blog--write with good English and use your inner intellectual, but speak casually!

17 comments:

  1. In the beginning of the book i found it hard to get into it, however, as i read more i found myself getting sucked into the things that were taking place. There were some places in the book that i found it hard to follow, like in chapter seven before and while Tom, Daisy, Jay Gatsby, Nick and Jordan Baker went to town. i did like the scenario where Jay Gatsby finally told Tom that he was in love with Daisy and that she never loved Tom, but loved him instead. this situation must have been very awkward for Nick and Jordan Baker, who were standing by watching the feud. they looked on as Tom and Daisy's relationship began to unfold. this same scenario can be seen in many relationships today. it is not uncommon to hear about a husband and a wife getting a divorce because one of the individuals is in love with another person. a lot of times this happens because the marriage is rushed. in other words, instead of dating for a long period of time like one or two years to make sure they are in love, they date for few months and then right out of high school they get married. sometimes they are even forced to get married because they have a baby on the way. i also noticed that all throughout the book, Fitzgerald used "half an hour" as a measure of time. for example he uses it on page 98 "...Informed Cody that a wind might catch him and break him up in half an hour." He also uses this expression on page 88 "There was nothing to look at under the tree except Gatsby's enormous house, so i stared at it, like Kant at his church steeple, for half an hour." This sentence also contains one of Fitzgerald's many examples of a simile "so i stared at it, like Kant at his church steeple". Another example of a simile that Fitzgerald used can be seen when Nick invited Jay Gatsby and Daisy over for tea. Jay is embarrassed about being there with Daisy because he hasnt seen her in five years. Nick told him "You are acting like a child." overall i thought the book was pretty good but again hard to follow at times.

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  2. Hey Sister. I personally thought that this book was everything you said and more. It is a timeless story-- The pains of love. Everyone can relate to many aspects of the book. Gatsby obsesses over Daisy, he has a big mansion just across the pond from her, just so that he could "run into her" one day and show off his fancy mansion, capture her heart, and steal her back from Tom Buchanan. I think that a lot of people do this in today's society--just not to the extent of Gatsby. He is a helpless romantic, and that is an attribute that everyone can at least understand, if not relate to. I particularly loved the way that this novel was written. It wasn’t one of those hard to read, gotta focus all the time on what I’m reading kind of books. However, it was not an easy, wanna-be literature novel. Fitzgerald successfully told his timeless tale with beautiful and poetic syntax. Everything flowed so nicely, and made it easy to read. I kind of felt like my head was floating on air, just because it was so pretty and poetic. I wish I could write like him, and make everything into beautiful imagery, and stuff. Clearly I can’t. He even made it sound beautiful when Nick tells Jordan that she sucks at driving. That was actually one of my favorite parts. This story definitely reminded me of a classier, more sophisticated (but not too sophisticated since daisy does run someone over) Gossip Girl. It is definitely not an archaic novel. Clearly it isn’t, only the good classics get not one, but two or more movies made after them-- Which we must go see after Christmas break as a class. Otherwise I will boycott your class. This book was most definitely worth my time. I read it in a day, and am planning on reading it again. At least once more . Now I am worthy to be your sister, truly, because I absolutely love your favorite novel, and I respect Fitzgerald’s writing techniques. He writes so eloquently. I expect you to teach me how to write beautifully like that, Ms. Johnson! (:< Look at me. Already over achieving slightly because I typed 360+ words.

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  3. The Great Gatsby is a very well written book however is somewhat difficult to read. It was very popular earlier on in the previous century, which I am sure is what has made it a timeless classic, but it was one of the harder books for me to read despite the fact that is a very small book. The plot was hard to get hooked on and it was difficult to find out the specific character details of many of the characters. For instance, it took me a while to understand the history of Gatsby’s wealth and where he got it from. I at first knew that Gatsby was a fun loving playboy that threw parties every weekend to impress his wealthy guests at his mansion and that he told everyone that he got his money from his family but then later the reader finds out that that is not the case and that he receives his wealth from selling illegal alcohol. But that was probably how Scot Fitzgerald meant the reader to perceive the situation, by making Gatsby seem like an honest man who wants to please everyone but later his secret is revealed to show that he is not as honest as he seems. The largest problem for me in reading The Great Gatsby was understanding the smaller details which later on turned out to be the most important. Once I found out that I had to write a blog about the green light in the story I was totally confused wondering if I read the right book. I passed over the passage about the green light about three times looking for it until I finally had to reread the entire chapter again. One thing that I did like about the book was how it can easily be relevant to society today. There was a lot of drama in the book especially when Gatsby professes his love to Daisy and later on when Gatsby gets shot. Today, drama is everywhere. Humans, especially Americans, obsess over drama. Gossip is everywhere and we waste our times watching shows like Jersey Shore. But then again there always was drama since the beginning and there will always be drama till the end.

    Edward Amos

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  4. The Great Gatsby was a very interesting book. I thought it was well written. I thoroughly enjoyed how Fitzgerald captured the insight and realism in the “Roaring Twenties”, or “Jazz Age”. It was definitely an interesting read for historical verity. What helped keep the book interesting to me was how Fitzgerald kept Gatsby quite cryptic throughout the whole book. This peaked my curiosity to who exactly Gatsby was and what put the word “Great” in The Great Gatsby. I could never really tell what would come next in the story or what would happen. The plot was well hidden and surprising. With that being said, I probably wouldn’t read this book again. It wasn’t exactly a waste of time, but the plot was my favorite. Yes, like I said, the plot was well written, however just personally, I wasn’t “gushing” over it or crying uncontrollably because the book ended. I wasn’t sobbing and crying on the floor either for when I had to read it either (not that I’m saying that that’s happened before…). The Importance of Being Earnest wins. The Great Gatsby style wise was a cross between The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin by Mark Twain. With all things aside, The Great Gatsby is a timeless classic and was probably a literary breakthrough in its day. In today’s age of entertainment I see a lot more love drama’s where the guy how everything you could ever wish for except for the girl he loves and eventually pursuing that girl means that he will lose everything. The book is relevant but I feel not as original as what it used to be when it first came out due to “copycat” writers and directors. That is my honest opinion of the book, but compared to what I have had to read for other school book assignments….. Ms. Johnson, you rock! It is obvious you tried to pick out a literary enriched, timeless classic, but with a contemporary spin that is interesting for young adults. You succeeded. Fitzgerald also succeeded in writing a tale that has yet to be forgotten throughout the span of time. People still read and love this book from all ages.

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  6. Well, in all honesty, this book is one of the best symbolic novels I’ve ever read, even if I’ve only read a handful! The Great Gatsby was incredible and is timeless, nothing short of literary genius. The way Fitzgerald captures social movements and class clash (no pun intended), not only of his time but of ours, attributes to this genius. The book is certainly very original, though that is arguable for many people, and is unique and progressive. Fitzgerald put his social views into the book, but hid them well. Currently the world is going through speedy changes especially in civil rights. Fitzgerald’s character Nick Carroway represents order and civility on the exterior but beneath is a somewhat unique and curious person. The book hides within its bindings the message of gay rights. At the time to write about such a thing was grossly inappropriate and an abomination. So the voice is hidden behind certain actions that Nick and other characters partake in. Understand that this is my opinion and may or may not have been Fitzgerald’s. In chapter two we are introduced to Mr. McKee who is a very frail and feminine man, who according to his wife statements isn’t, “fit to lick my shoe”, and “…isn’t one for breeding.” After she says this to another women at a party Nick spends the night at McKee’s house, and as they leave the next day in the elevator Nick narrates a scene that happened: “Keep your hands off the lever,' snapped the elevator boy. 'I beg your pardon,' said Mr. McKee with dignity, 'I didn't know I was touching it.' I believe that what is meant hear is that by saying he wasn’t aware his hands were on it is suggesting that he by birth is gay and never choose to be that way.

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    1. The relevancy of this and the application to today’s time is that many are against gay rights and share a certain adversary towards those people. Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby in its distinct diction is basically say that being gay is ok. This debate will continue on for many more years, but Fitzgerald was far past his time for recognizing the importance of equality.

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  7. In my opinion The Great Gatsby had a deep interesting plot but it was difficult to get through. Fitzgerald used period language that has different meaning today than it did in the twenties. This book is a classic as it is still talked about today and of all the classics I have read this one was defiantly the best and most interesting. The Great Gatsby is F Scott Fitzgerald’s best work and rightly so as it accurately portrays the lifestyle of the 1920’s and gives a window into the lives of people living during that era. I very much enjoyed the intricate symbols in the novel including the green light and the billboard. This book shows that the good guy doesn’t always win a theme rampant in current movies and TV shows. Fitzgerald does an excellent job with character development and personalities. The way he describes characters with their many flaws and defects made me feel as if I knew them myself. He also did a wonderful job describing the places and scenery especially the city. This book is a amazing look into the 1290’s and how people lived in that time and how people lived in New York. As the back of the book says “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession” and I don’t think Fitzgerald could have done a better job in the novel reflecting that. This book was well written and flowed well. It will be interesting to see this as a movie when it comes out. I was interested through the entire book always wondering what was coming next. The most surprising part to me was Myrtles murder and the effects of it. I also liked how even after the story really ended in chapter eight Fitzgerald continues writing about what happened after Gatsby’s death and how Nick was the only one who really stuck around and went to Gatsby’ s funeral. This book is a satire on the American dream and how we as humans can never have enough. Gatsby had everything in the world that most of us would have ever dreamed of but he was still trying to get that one thing he couldn’t have.

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  8. The Great Gatsby is, in my opinion, a very good book. The whole story is very well laid out and overwhelmingly relatable to our society today. Wealth and love, and the believed, yet consistently disproved, correlation between the two is a key element throughout the entire book. Today's society is constantly barraged with the falsity that money is everything, and this book does a very thorough job of showing why it is not. The Great Gatsby demonstrates that love cannot be purchased. Love is a divine entity whose existence is only true through fate. "Love" achieved through worldly possessions is not really love at all, and Gatsby is, by the end of the book, a vivid example of this truth. The Great Gatsby shows many other instances of universal truths that help the reader grow a realistic point of view throughout the book. Though the book was skillfully laced with good flow and clever syntax, I found it very difficult to follow at times (and would be lying if I said I didn't use the Internet as an occasional guide). The main point of this book, much deeper than initially expected, is definitely timeless. I think that it is a great tragedy that I was forced (not by you, Ms. J, but by procrastination) to read this book at such a fast pace. I look forward to the day that I can sit down and read cover to cover at my own leisurely rate. I'm sure that I will absorb much more and realize how much meaning I have overlooked the first time. I like how F. Scott Fitzgerald kept Nick, the narrator, as an outsider to most of the Drama. Though he was present for most of it, he wasn't really a part of it which gave the reader a very unbiased viewpoint. Overall I think that The Great Gatsby was a worthwhile read and a good choice for summer, which seems to be a great contradiction to my usual attitude towards mandatory summer reading.

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  9. I enjoyed The Great Gatsby to a point. It had complex characters and ideas. I felt like the character of Jay Gatsby was very interesting and telling of the age in which this book takes place. However, I did not like any of the characters. It’s not that they weren’t interesting or entertaining to read about; they were. I just didn’t like any of them as people. First off, I don’t think that the Great Gatsby is an incredible love story. Once, again I’m not saying that F. Scott FitzGerald attempted to write an amazing love story and failed, I just don’t think that was his purpose. What Gatsby shows toward Daisy does not seem to me to be love, but more of an obsession, bordering on selfishness. He returns to America after the war to find that his long lost love has moved on without him, and he cannot accept this. He buys a mansion directly across the lake from her and stares at it night after night, hoping that he will somehow run into Daisy. When finally the opportunity comes to reunite with Daisy, Gatsby is much too desperate and pushy. In the climactic scene when Gatsby confronts Tom, his attitude does not seem to be that of a humble lover trying to be with the women he loves, but of a panicky rich man who is terrified of losing the prize he had his eye set on. He is much to direct and sudden in expecting Daisy to leave the life she has lived for the last five years, not to mention her husband , for Gatsby’s promises of love, glitz, and glamour. While Gatsby most definitely has some sort of strong love for Daisy, as proven by his sacrifice for her when the car accident occurs, I think this love is rooted in selfish flaws in Gatsby’s character. Gatsby is, in some respects, the ultimate poster boy for the American dream. However, he represents a sort of twisted version of this Dream, because he gained his wealth by illegal means. Gatsby was always a dreamer who wanted to live the high life. He was ashamed of his poor past, even to the point of covering it up by changing his name. I think that, to him, Daisy represents the final phase in his transformation from poor to rich. He fell in love with Daisy when he was still a simple, poor man, and he feels that he lost Daisy because of his social status. When he finally gains the social status he desires, he feels that the transformation is not complete until he also has Daisy. While this all makes for a very interesting book, I just ended up feeling slightly depressed and disturbed.

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  10. I absolutely loved this book. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t one of my favorite novels. I’m not one to just pick up a classical book and start reading. Although, I’m extremely glad that this book was one of the ones assigned! It is definitely worth the read! It was very well written with a great story line. I didn’t find it difficult to read at all. In fact, I didn’t want to set it down. The characters had very interesting lives and I enjoyed reading about them. However, I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with them in real life. It’s like watching Gossip Girl or PLL. (Side note: I think we should refer to Scott Fitzgerald as Mr. Fitz. Ha! Just kidding.) They have crazy stories to tell but I would never want to be involved in their lives! The characters are greedy and selfish. They haven’t the slightest clue of what a marriage should be like. Nick Carraway was one of the only characters that developed somewhat sensible morals. It’s not like this book is some fantastic love story with a happy ending either. That is what makes it so interesting. It’s not like all the problems are solved in the end and everybody lives happily ever after. I think the book would have been terrible if it had ended that way. Fitzgerald managed to keep the story interesting at completely pointless parts and even made them sound pretty. He had a poetic style of writing that made it easier to read and enjoy.

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  11. The ever-increasing amount of time that passes from when I closed Fitzgerald`s novel to the present seems to correspond perfectly with the solidifying of my feelings towards it. This is unfortunate, since they are negative feelings, and quite a bit of time has passed since I finished the novel. The book was full of entertainment, kind of like the life of a high-school drop out who finds himself filling each day with sex, drugs, and all the other worthless things that make for a good party. Unlike "How to Read Literature", I was not constantly trying to find ways to shove my nose back into the book. However, this interest was as temporary as the events inside it. Because the plot was full of love affairs, parties, pompous chat, and luxurious living, yet void of BIG themes, BIG character change, or a BIG message, I was largely unsattisfied, and, as i stated before, wonder where the creme filling went in this twinkie more and more as time goes on. I dont remember small things in a book. I remember a government rebel who searched the best he could for truth, only to be remade into a non-thinker, then shot. I remember an Old Man, rejected by society, who gave everything for the catch of his life. I remember the struggles of a Jewwish man to simply survive, and avoid the Night.As summer draws to a close, I vaguely remember reading some famous book on love and luxury. Your`e probably thinking, "no... hes missing the point. It was about much more than that." Yes I`m sure Fitzgerald had some great idea about the past and its presence in the future (see what i did there?)or the ceaseless presence of blah blah. No. Not how I feel. Fitzgerald did employ some killer rhetorical devices. His diction seems to match the elegance of his subjuct like a tie to a Ralph Lauren shirt. "The caterwauling horns had reached a crescendo and I turned away and cut across the lawn toward home." (p. 55)Fitzgerald IS an excellent author, I simply wish he would write something else. Instead of bringing Nick to New York to experience a network of lies and love between his friends, only to see it come to an end in literal and figurative death, have Nick DO something with his life for goodness sake. Of course this is all my opinion. All readers have a unique taste... and unfortunately the less experienced may say something like, "I`d be lying if i said it wasnt one of my favorite novels." Just kidding.

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  12. In all honesty, I really struggled with enjoying The Great Gatsby as I was reading it. I still have to admit, in hindsight, that this book just leaves me feeling empty. It is incredibly well written,uses complex diction, and contains interesting symbolism (such as the infamous green light on Daisy's dock and Doctor T.J. Eckleburg reminding us all of God's all seeing eyes) Still,I find that the plot is...empty of any substantial meaning. By this I mean that this book, in my opinion, only revolves around humanity's grotesque obsessions with sex, sinful love, cheating on spouses, and the desire to "hit it big" in society. It simply falls short of my expectations for it being "a great American masterpiece." Honestly, if this book is prided with being an American masterpiece,then America is more lost than I originally thought. While it does, sadly, reflect American society with striking, and at times disturbing, accuracy, as a reader, it only left me depressed about the state of America. I admit, the characters are complex and have been well developed by Scott Fitzgerald. I never would have guessed that Gatsby's entire motivation for moving to West Egg and living such a careless life was only to be closer in proximity to Daisy. But what the characters do have in emotional issues, they lack in quality character traits. For example, Gatsby continually seeks after a married woman to the point of obsession, and is involved in many underhand business deals. Tom and Daisy's marriage is riddled with dishonesty, adultery, and lust. Even our clever narrator believes that dishonesty and adultery are acceptable, which he proves by aiding Gatsby in having tea with married Daisy. To me, this book just further proves how depressingly sinful America, and modern society, is. If Fitzgerald wanted to capture this side of a fallen American dream in order to prove a point, he greatly succeeded. In that perspective, it teaches valuable life lessons about the emptiness of the American dream. But to me, this book at face value was a tragically depressing "love" story that fails to capture my attention and admiration.

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  13. I usually hate every summer reading book that I have ever read. My brother had told me that Jane Eyre and the Great Gatsby were his least favorites. But when i started Gatsby, I was just a little bit confused. The book seemed to draw me into it and it turned out that this was the best book for summer reading that I have ever read. I especially loved how when Miss J said, "This book is AWESOME! PEOPLE DIE!" it made me want to keep reading to see who dies and why this excited her so much. I liked how the narrator, even as drunk as he was, tried to explain what was happening around him and how he describes the characters in Myrtle and Tom's "getaway apartment." It sort of relates to our society today. You see all over the news how people are cheating on one another and lying and deceiving because they are unhappy with their spouse, even to the point of killing them! It keeps the feel of its time period, but still has elements that apply today. The 8th chapter just sort of shocked me the way the characters were just killed off. Relationships ended so quickly, like with Nick and Jordan. In away, Nick and Jordan had a similar event happen with them like Gatsby and Daisy had. They were in love and together and both Daisy and Jordan had gotten married to somebody completely different. The relationship between Tom and Myrtle was interesting as well. You would think that Mr. Wilson, though described as an idiot, would have caught on to the affair. The relationship between Gatsby and Daisy at first was very typical. You see it all the time in movies and books. The guy wants what he can't have. The guy wants the girl that is already with someone and is stuck wondering, "What if i would have chosen them instead?" The book was a good read and was in my opinion, MUCH better than The Importance of Being Earnest. I do in fact want to see the movie when it comes out! I just hope that they don't butcher the book like several other movies do.

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  14. I absolutely loved The Great Gatsby. I thought it was well-written, interesting, and all in all an amazing book. The character development is incredible. I just got sucked right into the book and literally could not put it down. It is the fastest time I have ever read a book. Most books that are set in the 1920’s bore me to death, but Fitzgerald put such an interesting twist on all the parties and all the social gatherings that I felt like I was there in the midst of all the glamour and gossip. It was very refreshing to enjoy a book that was assigned from school, especially over summer! At first, I loved Gatsby. I thought that he was a wonderful friend to Nick and he was so mysteriously attractive. Then, once I got into it he started to get a little fishy. The same thing happened with Daisy. The whole romantic side of the novel just made me fall head over heels in love with everyone, but then towards the end just be disgusted with human nature as a whole. What girl wouldn’t want someone so in love with them that they move close to them and throw parties on the off chance she might come to one?! At some point in this story, everyone can relate. There’s love, comedy, tragedy and everything in between. Fitzgerald knew exactly how to pull on my emotions, but he does it such a magnificent manner that I want to read his book over and over again. Mr. Carraway was definitely my favorite character. He just seems so chill and like such a normal person that got sucked into this crazy world of insane people. Tom made me so angry and I don’t understand how Daisy could love him, but I guess that’s life; people loving people that they shouldn’t. The end of the story in particular blew my mind. I did not see it coming at all. Gatsby was just so different and was so pure at some points yet so tainted at others. The only thing that I wish that would have been different is that Nick and Jordan end up together, but I guess that’s not a big deal. Anyways I loved it.

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  15. I regret to say that I did not enjoy the Great Gatsby. While I do respect what the author was trying to communicate throughout this story, it did not fully capture my attention as many other books I have read, have managed to do. This very complex book manages to capture and convey, to a direct point, our society in today’s time, though it is set in the 1920’s. Just as Daisy is a lady of wealth and has a very materialistic viewpoint of the people she meets and deems appropriate friends with on the climbing social ladder, we see this all too common in today’s society as many people marry and form friendships based upon materialistic foundations rather than a foundation set on the principles many were taught but seem to have lost focus on, such as the fundamentals of trust, friendship and true love. Fitzgerald manages to capture the “American Dream”, which is that of self discovery, at the highest peak legible of the social standing in America and all the meanwhile being financially wealthy as well. In the beginning of the story we learn of Jay Gatsby’s love and passion for the young and wealthy Daisy, but because of Gatsby’s poor social standing and not being of a wealthy family, realizes he cannot possibly be with Daisy, due to her materialistic views. Though she promises to wait for him, Daisy’s eye is caught by a wealthy and predominately known family name, Tom Buchanan. Thus begins the love triangle that ensnares and ultimately destroys Gatsby, Tom and Daisy as Nick watches on. Throughout the novel I noticed that all three, Gatsby, Tom and Daisy’s live were filled with constant misery due to their misconstrued views and outlooks on how life should actually be. Tom’s infidelity is brought to the light, as well as Gatsby’s and Daisy’s love for each other, creating a whirlpool of mixed emotions and drama throughout Fitzgerald’s book. While I did not care for this book, it did make me stop and reevaluate today’s society and how accurate Fitzgerald is when it comes to people and their materialistic views. Not all is conquered through money.

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  16. “The Great Gatsby” was a mediocre book to my personal taste. I liked the time period in which the book took place; however, the subject was not too appealing to me. It seemed to be too much about adultery, drinking, and at the end, murder. It was based on the lavish lifestyles of the 1920’s. This book reminded me much about the movie and play Thoroughly Modern Millie which is about a young woman who starts out her adult life in New York and conforms to the 1920's "flapper" style. Both this play and The Great Gatsby took place in the 1920’s in and near New York, having to do with wealthy people and people just starting out in the world in their career. Also in a very slight, and I mean slight, way did this book remind me of the Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe. Both talk about a large house, with mysterious aspects (Gatsby’s house had many rooms and a Gothic library) and an owner of the house that was a bit strange. Gatsby did not go mentally insane like in Usher but he did have many things about him that were and eventually Gatsby died and his house was abandoned like the House of Usher fell to the ground representing and end. Archaic does not seem like an accurate word to describe The Great Gatsby because the 1920’s was a pretty modern time and was just only about one hundred years ago. On subject matter, the story was very modern; wealth, adultery, murder, and businessmen all are relevant to today so I would say this book is very relevant to current society. I really liked how this book commented on and basically revolved around the social circumstances of the 1920’s. That was very interesting. The ending to the book was also very much unforeseen to me. It added an extra spark to the story plot. I really liked the use of symbols like the doctor’s eyes on the billboard and the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. They gave a deeper meaning to the story. The unexpected ending of the book made it memorable and interesting to figure out the reasoning of the characters’ actions.

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