Personal Opinion

Blog # 5: Personal Review

            Known as the “Great American Novel,” The Great Gatsby, is Fitzgerald’s literature at its finest. As I soon came to realize, the book was not centralized on a complex love story, but instead on the decay of traditional values that the American Dream had once embraced. It is essentially a story of love thwarted by greed, hypocrisy, cynicism, materialism, and battling of social classes. While the story was eloquently composed of elevated syntax, the high levels of pessimism were much less appreciated. The plot itself is well written and well executed, and Fitzgerald does a superb job at taking the reader deep into the novel so as to make it a first hand experience. This may be true, but a majority of the plot was dull and dreary, making it a book that would be better suited as a beach read rather than one required by the school district. That being said, I can see that the novel’s rich language and syntactical composition lends itself to be a timeless classic. While I may have never met any people like those depicted in the novel, I felt that I, to some extent, personally knew the characters since they were so well portrayed. Equally important is the fact that with all the attributes of the characters, readers could make connections with them.

            Other aspects of the novel that were enjoyed were its historical significance. The time period of the novel is basically represented in the following quote: “Gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession.” Fitzgerald did tie this idea into his novel, especially seen in Jay Gatsby’s parties and other characters’ complex, confusing romances. What I particularly enjoyed most about the book was its significance in the fact that it served as a transitional piece of literature crafted to represent the first depiction of the “Lost Generation,” or generation of people overly obsessed with money and materialistic culture.

            Arguably the most frustrating aspect of the novel was its conclusion. The end was incredibly predictable and cliché with the murder of one of the many people involved in the affairs. Does this novel need be suggested to others? Truthfully, yes. There are countless books today that lack the language, syntax, and importance that is in The Great Gatsby, but, to be honest, it will most likely be left on my bookshelf to collect dust.