It only seemed fitting that the the first novel I chose to talk about is The Great Gatsby. For those close to me or even those that I have talked about literature with, they know my deep love and admiration I have for this novel (and the fact that I have read it at least 15 times).
So welcome to the world of Jay Gatsby, told from the perspective of his neighbor Nick Carroway, and the sordid, terrible love story that is soon to follow. Nick's first glimpse of the elusive and mysterious Gatsby is at the end of his dock watching across the water way in Long Island, staring at a green light coming from the dock of the Buchanans. It is only at the end of the story that we understand just how significant that green light is.
Gatsby, through Nick's observation, continuously throws amazing parties, the most unbelievable parties during this time of rebellion and prohibition in the roaring 20's. The description is so detailed and elaborate, as the reader you can imagine standing in the midst of glitter and gold, with sparkling chandeliers and music and people surrounding you, becoming completely lost in the fantasy.
Nick also becomes reunited with a distant cousin, Daisy Buchanan, a beautiful heiress, and her narcissistic husband, Tom, comfy in their fortune, ignorant of the working man. Later, Tom is so arrogant as to take Nick along to meet his mistress in the city, making no attempt to hide the affair, nor showing any signs of remorse. His wealth and arrogance give him a sense of entitlement though he's never done truly honest or hard work in his life.
Gatsby soon makes it known that he has an interest in knowing his new neighbor, and then later reveals his true intentions: to get to Daisy. It is only after Gatsby and Daisy are reunited that their true connection is revealed; they were once madly in love. Daisy a rich heiress with men chasing her, Gatsby a poor soldier determined to win her heart. Once sent to war, Daisy eventually abandons hope and weds the rich and handsome Tom Buchanan.
Daisy and Gatsby rekindle their love affair, and he determines that she will leave her husband and they will live happily together in his mansion as he has also become wealthy. But how easily the fantasy can unravel. Tom, discovering the affair, is a hypocrite and reveals his knowledge of what is happening and then quickly, psychologically, works to destroy it, by undermining how Gatsby attained his wealth, as well as revealing what is most important to Daisy, her security (as in wanting immense wealth). Tom is quick to lose everything he deems he deserves, including his mistress (as her husband wants to move them away) and now grips to keep his life exactly how he wants it.
The reality of their lives has been exposed: marriages full of infidelity, those like Daisy and Tom living in the ignorance of the wealth they were born into, looking down upon those like Gatsby who attempt to achieve their goals with no remorse as to how that is attained. Gatsby, being of new wealth, would never be accepted into the same society of those that feel entitled through birth. The green light, sitting at the end of Daisy's dock, symbolized his ambition, his unrelenting determination to take what he wants, which was wealth, but most of all, Daisy. He knew love was never enough for her, that he had to become something greater in order to keep her. But even then, he would not have her.
In the end, Gatsby is dead, murdered by being falsely accused of killing Tom's mistress, and Daisy doesn't even come to the funeral. Nick, as the outsider, sees the audacity of these rich people, and states that Gatsby is "better than them all".
I was first told to read this novel my freshman year of High School by my English teacher. I have always loved reading but this story changed everything in my world, most notably, my ideas of what love is. As a teenager you are constantly told how you can't possibly understand the depth and complexity of the emotion. But on the contrary, what I learned was that just as Fitzgerald saw, we are all fools in love with the idea, never the reality. Fitzgerald wanted to reflect the time he lived in, and the divide between social classes. He is quick to point out their judgement, especially those who were given more privileges, yet are ignorant of what it really means to have a dream to aspire to. Yet, how unfulfilling it truly is, to never be satisfied in your wealth, to constantly need the lavish shallow parties, the materialistic proof of your fortune. Does any of this bring happiness?
For the dreamers, this novel is the reflection of the constant struggle yet unattainable nature of our desires. We reach and reach, yet it continues to elude us. Or life continuously chooses to throw new obstacles in our way. So does this mean we choose to leave those foolish dreams behind, accept what we have and be content? This idea alone spits in the face of the American dream. It is embedded in our culture that we continue to reach for the stars without our every breath.
Gatsby lived his life constantly trying to achieve his goal, his American dream. He can have no regrets for reaching for that green light.
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