The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

Hi, my name is Deven Galvez, and this is my second blog post on the Illiterete site. Whenever I would look for a new book to read, my mom would suggest, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. So, when I saw it at the store, I read the summary on the back of the book and found it interesting.  This article, like my previous one, will describe the plot, what I enjoyed and what I didn't like about the book. 

Plot

The Great Gatsby takes place in the 1920s in Chicago, IL in the East and West Egg. The East Egg refers to an area where people, who are very wealthy, live. Their money, however, comes from generations before them; in other words, they inherited old money that made them rich. The West Egg, however, is an area not too far away from the East Egg where people have earned their fortune. Since this book takes place in the 1920s, the people in the story are very impulsive in terms of their money, actions, their relationships, and how they talk.

This book is about a twisted romance featuring Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby. Tom and Daisy are married and live in the East Egg, which already tells the reader that they are rich from inherited money. Daisy is very moody because she talks ill of Tom behind his back but claims to still love him. Despite them being married, they commonly have arguments and are curt with each other. Gatsby and the narrator, Daisy’s cousin,  live in the West Egg, which again, tells the reader that they earned their fortune. Gatsby is the owner of a fabulous hotel in the West Egg and is very wealthy, in that, everyone from the East Egg was aware of his success. The narrator lives across from Gatsby and is liked by everyone because of his warmth and friendliness. Throughout the story, gossip is exchanged, stories are revealed, love receives a deeper meaning, and jealousy becomes a common emotion that leads to unforeseen situations.

What I liked

Although this book has the traits of a soap opera, there are deeper meanings that address life lessons encountered in the 1920s that still exist in our society today like impulsivity and relationships. I also enjoyed the author’s way of portraying events because it allowed the reader to make connections between each character’s actions and background. The author does a nice job with embedding subtle hints and details about motives, life lessons, and the connections each character makes in the story.  I was fascinated by this aspect of the book because it forced me to process, evaluate and identify the author’s mysterious intent.  For example, there is one scene where Tom is talking about Gatsby’s background. In the scene, you at first think that he is skeptical of how Gatsby made his money; however, after deeper analysis, you realize that Tom is angry with Gatsby and is trying to find something to criticize him with. I personally liked this writing style because it challenged the reader to figure out the puzzle the author created in the story. As a result, I was forced to keep in mind the underlying motives in the story which mirror aspects of real life, in that, people sometimes have secret motives to their actions and decisions

What I Didn't Liked 

One major aspect of the book that I didn't like was the end because I wanted the author to finish the story a certain way; however, instead he created a very sad and depressing ending. I also didn't like how the narrator doesn't reveal his identity. Despite the narrator not saying this directly, you are able to figure out his name and other interesting details indirectly through conversation in the book. As a result of this mystery, I was a little irritated throughout the book.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes drama, romance, and historical fiction.