“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Length: 144 pages
Genre: Classic Literature, Fiction
My Rating: 4.5/5
My Age Rating: 14+
Content Notes: infidelity, outdated language, innuendo, murder, death, suicide, substance abuse, domestic abuse, graphic violence, prejudice, emotional themes
“Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Synopsis:
Enter the dazzling world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, a tale of wealth, ambition, and the elusive American Dream. Set in the opulent 1920s, the story follows Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, who pursues his unattainable love, Daisy Buchanan. Amidst extravagant parties and societal excess, Fitzgerald weaves a narrative of love, betrayal, and the dark undercurrents of the Jazz Age. Through vivid prose and complex characters, the novel explores themes of disillusionment, class divide, and the relentless pursuit of an idealized past. With its timeless exploration of human desires and the consequences of unchecked ambition, “”The Great Gatsby”” remains a literary masterpiece that resonates across generations.
The pursuit of love. The price of ambition. The ghost of a dream.
Review:
It’s no secret that Classic Literature can be hard to digest, but this book was a fresh breath of air in the world of Classics.
I had just finished reading the depressing story of Heathcliff and Catherine, which by the way, is not a romance no matter what anyone else says, and I was expecting to be swept into the same kind of dense old English again. This book was nothing like that.
The Great Gatsby is not as old as some of the classics you commonly hear about, in fact, it was written almost 80 years after Wuthering Heights was published. And therefore, the language used is much easier to understand. In fact, I found the writing in the book rather poetic, which is my favorite type of writing style, and I really enjoyed reading it because of that extra factor.
Another thing that made this book easy and enjoyable to read was the fact that it’s under 200 pages, so really, if you wanted to, you could read this book in just a few hours. And because of these factors, I would consider this book an amazing place to start if you wanted to get into classic literature.
There are a lot of good life lessons hidden in the pages of this book. And looking closer, I discovered there are 3 main lessons that I can clearly see. Here they are.
Riches do not buy you happiness, nor security
Most of the main characters are rich, the most memorable being Mr. Gatsby. He throws lavish parties throughout the entire book, yet the guests don’t even know who he is or how he got his large bank account. Though he has everything you would seem to need, he dies alone and unhappy, proving that money can’t buy real happiness or save you from death. Even the characters who come from old money are constantly searching for more than they already have. Which goes to show that the things you want or desire are not always what you truly need.
Lies always come to light
This book is built upon a spiderweb of lies. Affairs, cheating, and secret tendencies that all come to light eventually, and not in a very pleasant manner. The secrets kept lead to a massive explosion of truth that in the end led to the death of three people. Hiding the truth from those close to you is never going to lead to a good outcome, no matter how beneficial it seems at the moment. Especially when it comes to marriage. Throughout this book you see how a few simple decisions could have caused so much hurt and anger to be avoided.
The danger in toxic nostalgia
Obsessing over an unrepeatable past will not only get you nowhere, but will destroy the present and harm your future. Mr. Gatsby is trying to obtain the past that he never moved on from. But when he finally gets what he has spent his whole life pursuing, he eventually realizes that what he was actually searching for will always be in the past. Yet he can’t see the reality of his situation because he is stuck in it, and it leads to his downfall, quite literally in this case. This book clearly shows that you cannot repeat the past, no matter how hard you try.
So as you can see, this is a very rich book, packed with strong lessons that are still truthful today.
Let’s move on to the content notes. The content in this book isn’t too extreme, with the worst and most notable note being the constant infidelity throughout, which is a huge part of the plot and discussed in almost every chapter. There is no strong language in this one, though there are some outdated slurs, and the sexual content is clean other than some innuendos and slightly inappropriate jokes. Other than that there are themes of murder, death, suicide, substance abuse, one example of domestic abuse, and lots of prejudice, both racial and class related. There is also a scene where a woman’s dead body is described rather graphically, though it is short.
Because of these notes I would say that this book would be best suited for ages 14 and up, and it’s a great place to start if you are looking to get into classics.
If I had to find one flaw in this book it would be the ending. It was honestly quite a letdown, and after doing some more research I found I was not the only person who felt this way. If you read this book you will understand exactly what I mean. The pizazz and excitement that rang through the book comes to a sudden stop in the last few chapters and the book becomes much bleaker. Not only that, but there is a complete lack of justice, something I found quite frustrating. Still, I would suggest reading this one. You might have an entirely different view on the ending, who knows?
Overall this book was quite the adventure and a very enjoyable read. The poetic, energetic style of writing, apparent life lessons, and controversial ending made an amazing book. So get ready for this short and sweet read, a book that will begin your journey into the world of classic literature.
Happy Reading,
Ava
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