THE GREAT GATSBY: F.Scott Fitzgerald

 

Source: The Great Gatsby ebook

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

RATING: 2.5/5
GENRE: FICTION, TRAGEDY
DATE OF PUBLICATION: April 10, 1925
AUTHOR: F.Scott Fitzgerald

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896, at
Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. He was an American novelist, essayist, short story and screenwriter. He was best known for his novels depicting the boldness and audacity with some spice of the Jazz Age—a term which he widely popularized.

He published four novels, four collections of short stories, and 164 short stories. But he gained a worldwide appreciation for his work only after his death.

He died on December 21, 1940 (aged 44) in Hollywood, California, U.S.

His other notable works are:

(1920) This Side of Paradise

(1920) "Bernice Bobs Her Hair"

(1922) "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

(1922) The Beautiful and Damned

(1922) The Diamond as Big as the Ritz

(1922) "Winter Dreams"

(1925) The Great Gatsby

(1931) "Babylon Revisited"

(1934) Tender Is the Night

(1941) The Last Tycoon

INTRODUCTION:

The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature. The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City. Narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious multi-millionaire Jay Gatsby is portrayed in the novel. Gatsby's obsession to reunite with his former long lost lover, Daisy Buchanan is where the novel keeps revolving around.

ANALYSIS:

This novel is a highly recommended novel to have a rich mindset especially after a major failure in life to attain something. The only positive thing that I found.😦
The narrator urges the readers to take criticisms in a positive way for the advantages that we have now can never be with all the other people of the world.
The narrator of the novel is a Yale University graduate Nick Carraway who has come to live amongst the richest to invest in bonds.
He becomes fascinated by his neighbour Mr Jay Gatsby who throws lavish parties and is known all through New York yet still seems dissatisfied with his lifestyle. After observing him staring longingly at a green light across the bay, Nick learns Gatsby has been pining after Daisy.

Daisy happens to be the narrator's cousin who is married to Tom. But she is unhappy and unsatisfied in the materialistic world.  Fitzgerald uses the historical context of the ’20s.
He describes in a very detailed way the atmosphere that we can breathe in this period in America around twists and turns, betrayals and murders. If you are willing to learn of the historical age then this is the book.

CRITICISM:

This novel portrays the American Dream as unachievable. Even though you tend to be the richest you are the most unsatisfied person. You are not able to fulfil every dream that you see.
Most of the novel is incomprehensibly lame and bland. There is the introduction of unnecessary relationships and murders that instead of making the novel more exciting actually makes it boring.I was never fully introduced to the root of the affair that existed between Gatsby and Daisy. And the whole part is dedicated to Gatsby's unattainable love.
The plot of the novel is weak along with Daisy's boring docile character. She is not able to stand up for herself at any time of the novel. 
There are still a lot of Shallow and meaningless characters like Mrs Willow. There is no reason at all to introduce her and kill her for no reason.

MY CLOSING THOUGHTS:

This is my least favourite classic which is hardly comprehensible. The plot and characters are randomly placed. The story doesn't take place in chronological order. This is the hardest page turn over classics till yet. Still, it is overhyped. 

HAPPY READING💞

BY SANJITA NAPIT