The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. The book takes place in 1922 and follows the life and misfortunes of Jay Gatsby; a wealthy man who is living the ‘American Dream’.  According to the Random House dictionary, the “American Dream” is the ideals of freedom, equality and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American.

Jay Gatsby’s idea of the “American Dream” was to win his one and only love, Daisy, by  creating a lifestyle that she couldn’t resist.  An environment with a mansion, a swimming pool and parties every other night. At the parties he would serve finger bowls of champagne, have food, drink, dancers, all the finest entertainment and everyone who was anyone would be there. He created this environment, hoping that Daisy would leave Tom and choose the picturesque life Gatsby had created.

I think that Fitzgerald was trying to say that Gatsby’s idea of the “American Dream” could never happen.  Gatsby had built up a fictional ideal in his mind, and he soon comes to realize that Daisy has changed and is not who she used to be. Gatsby’s “American Dream” is an empty dream. Fitzgerald shows us that money and riches are not the key to happiness, but friends, kindness and love are. In the end, Gatsby doesn’t have any of those. He dies alone. Not even Daisy shows up for the funeral.

I absolutely loved reading ‘The Great Gatsby’. It was an exciting fast paced read that left you wanting more after every chapter ended. My favorite part of the book was the descriptions. Fitzgerald describes things so plain and ordinary, such as a billboard, as something so beautiful and whimsical. The descriptions of Gatsby and his mansion and his parties were over the top, outrageous and fantastic. I loved reading about the people at the parties and what they were wearing, eating and drinking. Fitzgerald makes you feel as if you are there with Gatsby throughout the whole book. My favorite character in the book is Daisy. Even though she turns out to be mean and selfish, Daisy is a great character. You can never quite figure her out and you can tell that she is putting on a facade. Her character is an enigma, left for you to decide who she really is. That’s my favorite part about her; Fitzgerald leaves it up to you to determine if she’s good or bad, mean or nice, selfish or selfless. ‘The Great Gatsby” is one of my favorite books that I’ve ever read. I would definitely like to read more books by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the future.