The
Great Gatsby, may be great to others, however, it is not one of my
favorites. I understand when people say they like the way that Fitzgerald wrote
it, and the tragic love story between Daisy and Gatsby. To me, that is not my
cup of tea, the book lacked excitement and conflict, two things I think
completes a climax. Plus I dislike it for the sheer reason of stirring up a
debate, or may I say, causing conflict. In my opinion, the climax worked up
with the death of Mrs. Wilson, and the tension increases as Mr. Wilson figures
out who killed his wife. That is when the zenith of the story should have
continued, following Wilson on his mission to kill Gatsby, and included a
dialogue of Gatsby valiantly giving his life for his love, Daisy. Now that is a
“Great Gatsby”, however some may enjoy the mystery of what happened and may
like to make up the scene themselves as I have just done. Or maybe they believe
that would ruin the style of the book, removing some of the mist surrounding
Gatsby’s life and death. On a good note, I did enjoy the subtle humor and the
other emotions evoked in me from the text. Such as the smile that was slapped
on my face from one of my favorite quotes on Gatsby “First he nodded
politely, and then his face broke into that radiant and understanding smile, as
if we’d been in ecstatic cahoots on that fact all the time.”(Fitzgerald 154). This
quote to me really captures the essence of a good friend, and it really
emphasizes the relationship between Nick and Gatsby. It reminds me of my childhood
friend and neighbor, but that is a different essay. I commend Fitzgerald on his
excellent ability to make these characters so real, that they can make people
feel happy or sad based on his words. That ability is an amazing one to possess
which brings me to my conclusion. Like I said before the book may not be my
favorite, but it is still a great story.
I like how you stated that Gatsby's life was vaguely described and that there was "mist" surrounding his death. I definitely think that it contributed to Fitzgerald's style, but I also think that the vagueness and uncertainty of Gatsby's character, and the book in general, was to hightlight the world of the wealthy...how it is a never-ending parade of parties and fun that seem to clump together into one unclear idea. The mystery of his death also illuminates the idea that these people who called Gatsby their friend truly didn't care about him at all, and that they didn't really know who he was or try to know who he was. They simply knew of him because of the huge, lavish parties he threw...which is incredibly sad.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the conflict was not as exciting as other novels, for the conflict in "The Great Gatsby" was slow-developing, not reaching its climax until the very end. I also like how the author made the characters seem so real that anyone can compare to them and this was emphasized through his diction and other rhetorical strategies as well as his syntax. This make the novel unique, for it was fiction based on true event such as the "Roaring 20s".
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