I read this book my Junior year as part of my AP Literature class. I was very excited when my teacher handed us her well-worn copies from the storage room for two reasons: a) I had heard it was a great book, and b) the cover intrigued me. "Who's the chick on the cover?" I asked myself. "Why are her tears green? And more importantly, how can she possibly be sad when she's hovering above a Ferris wheel?" I read the Great Gatsby fervently, searching for answers to my deep, philosophical questions.
Unfortunately, none of these questions were ever answered. If they had been answered by Mr. Fitzgerald, the book probably would have been a lot more interesting.
That's right, folks. I didn't like The Great Gatsby. At all. I thought it was a dreadfully boring book, due in no small part to the dreadfully boring lives the main characters lead.
The book is told from the point of view of Nick Carraway, a self-proclaimed outsider who is "inclined to reserve all judgments," a statement which I could spend a whole other post disagreeing with. He spends most of his time either bored at his cousin Daisy's mansion, bored at a party, or bored while commuting to New York City. In fact almost all of the main characters are utterly dissatisfied with their luxurious lifestyles. Dozens of pages are spent just explaining that the Buchanans are reclining on sofas in their living room and complaining about the heat. Pages that could have been spent describing the Buchanans' excitement from riding a Ferris wheel at an amusement park, perhaps.
The only characters of any interest are Myrtle and Jay Gatsby, and that's simply because I feel sorry for them. Both of them desperately want to fit in, and yet despite their connections (For Myrtle, it's her affair, for Gatsby it's his newly made fortune), they are forced to watch while the Buchanans have everything they want.
I understand that Fitzgerald's intention was to show the flaws in the American Dream. Money doesn't make the world go round. In the words of a British rock band, "Can't buy me love" (Which I, for the longest time, thought was "Can puppy love." Anybody? Nobody.) But I feel that there are better ways of showing the characters' discontent with their lives. Ways that don't involve the reader feeling discontent with her life.
That being said, I did like his use of color symbolism. Green representing envy or money. White representing the "holier-than-thou" attitude of the upper-class. It made the experience slightly more enjoyable.
But only slightly.
That's all for today. My next review will be A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. See you next time!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
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3 comments:
While I understand most of your sentiments, I feel like this is a book you could give another chance. I've had a few books where I thought they were terrible the first time through and then realized how much I like them later. On the topic of the green tear, I feel like the girl was probably Daisy (even if she is painfully vain) and the green had something to do with the green light that Gatsby's always watching. Is the only reason you didn't like the book because of the vanity of the characters? Or was there something about Fitzgerald's writing that you disliked?
Caz, you make a very good point. I should definitely give it a second chance, perhaps when I've let the disappointment in my first reading dissipate :)
I also realize that the color green has lots of meanings in this book: envy, money, jealously, misfortune. Things that are of great abundance in this novel. What I don't really get though is how that cover REALLY relates to the novel. Perhaps it's because I know that the cover for this book was chosen BEFORE the novel (and Fitzgerald actually wanted to build his story around the cover) that I think the meaning should have been a little more clear. I mean, he didn't even TRY to fit in the amusement park.
And on your point about "the vanity of the characters" vs. "Fitzgerald's writing style," it's really a mixture of both. I am guilty of liking books with somewhat relatable characters. These characters aren't always sympathetic (for instance, Raskolnikov and Bigger Thomas are two of my favorite literary characters), but I identify with some aspect of their personality or situation.
In The Great Gatsby, I had zero tolerance for any of the characters, except for Mabel and Gatsby, because I couldn't relate to them.
I also didn't particularly like Fitzgerald's writing style. It wasn't exciting enough for me, which I needed in order to deal with the lack of excitement in the characters' lives.
But like I said, I'm not one to hold literary grudges! Food grudges, yes (I'll never eat blue cheese again), but literary grudges, no.
I didn't know that about the cover relating to story. That's really interesting. Perhaps the amusement park was more of a metaphor for the partying of the Jazz Age than it was an actual.
I agree that the writing is slower tempo than most and I can identify with that qualm. I was required to read the book twice in high school and the first time I didn't finish it because I had a lot to do and it wasn't reading fast enough for me to get into it.
Aww blue cheese. While I know it's an aquired taste, you might try it on a small salad with a vinaigarette, chopped pecans and some craisins :)
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