Kandi Grey, Grade 11
UWCSA (Waterford)
We all know the feeling of sitting in class, reading a book. Maybe it’s for the lesson, maybe you’re bored, or maybe you have a free period. In my case, we had just started on our Critical Analysis of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a book I will admit is perhaps one of my favourites. It is also, possibly, one of the most misunderstood novels in a classroom.
“The Great Gatsby” is set in the boom of the 1920s, following Nick Carraway, a young man of high social standing. The focus on Jay Gatsby has been a source of interest for many, along with Daisy Buchanan; her husband; Tom Buchanan, a socialite, and professional golfer; Jordan Baker. Tom has an affair with Myrtle, a lower-class woman, married to a mechanic, Wilson. The novel is a critique of American society at the time, and this is where the analysis can become blurry. Everything in the novel can be questioned due to Nick’s unreliable, biased narration, we as the audience, see everything through his, and therefore also Fitzgerald’s view. Like wearing a pair of rose-coloured glasses, one doesn’t see the red flags as warnings; just flags.
Walking into English class that day, there were four posters in the corners of the classroom; Agree, Disagree, Strongly Agree, Strongly Disagree. Our teacher asked us to stand up from our chairs, and this is where it began. She read out statements, and we had to decide where we stood in relation to those statements. Most of them were regarding the book, like “Money isn’t everything” and “Love isn’t the most important thing in a marriage”. Those were interesting conversations, and they actually elicited a variety of responses within my class. I understood each point and gave my own views on them.
Money can make life easier. More bearable.
Money can also make life lonely.
Love can be toxic. It can cause harm where there is meant to be peace.
Love can be encouraging, beautiful and wonderful.
The last statement of the day was one that I found drew me away from the rest of my class; “My happiness is the most important thing to me”.
I strongly agree.
It seems like an inherently selfish statement, but within the context of “The Great Gatsby”, right after the first World War, that’s all people wanted to be happy. To forget the damage that had wreaked across the world and to be able to feel something again. That’s where the Roaring Twenties came from, the endless inventing, creating, and spending. That’s where Fitzgerald, so artfully, draws readers in and where it now resonates in modern times once more. My happiness comes from myself, my own pleasure stems from that, and that’s why it is so important to me.
When one reads “The Great Gatsby” the urge to enjoy life arises, and perhaps it is due to the way that Fitzgerald is able to weave words together to create such an alluring atmosphere. The possibility that with the beginning of a new decade once again upon us, to grasp the chances that are given to us, while we still have them. It brings into context themes like ‘hedonism’, ‘modernism’ and ‘surrealism’, in the book, and for modern times; where the line between reality and fiction becomes faint.
The want to just let go, to absorb oneself into the emotions that come with fiction, and especially in novels such as “The Great Gatsby”, where one can’t quite distinguish what makes the atmosphere of the book seem so frivolous, the critique comes into play, as it is both the shamelessness of spending without thinking, and looking out for oneself in a world that is set against it.
I learnt in that English classroom, that happiness comes from within and that stressing over life gets me nowhere. I stated that one’s happiness should be a priority, not in the eyes of society, but through your own. Where the afternoon sun glinted off the edge of the windows bathing us in an orange and red glow that felt almost cold; I didn’t disagree with what my peers thought. I understood where they were coming from, and I didn’t want to change their minds. “The Great Gatsby” sells the idea that the American dream is chasing one’s own happiness, but what the novel actually describes is that the American dream was the appearance of chasing one’s own happiness, and not actually grasping it.
That’s why I enjoy it so much, and what makes it so great. It paints this unattainable image which can only be seen once you no longer want it. “All the bright, precious things fade so fast. And they don’t come back.” So why not enjoy them?
“The Great Gatsby” is set in the boom of the 1920s, following Nick Carraway, a young man of high social standing. The focus on Jay Gatsby has been a source of interest for many, along with Daisy Buchanan; her husband; Tom Buchanan, a socialite, and professional golfer; Jordan Baker. Tom has an affair with Myrtle, a lower-class woman, married to a mechanic, Wilson. The novel is a critique of American society at the time, and this is where the analysis can become blurry. Everything in the novel can be questioned due to Nick’s unreliable, biased narration, we as the audience, see everything through his, and therefore also Fitzgerald’s view. Like wearing a pair of rose-coloured glasses, one doesn’t see the red flags as warnings; just flags.
Walking into English class that day, there were four posters in the corners of the classroom; Agree, Disagree, Strongly Agree, Strongly Disagree. Our teacher asked us to stand up from our chairs, and this is where it began. She read out statements, and we had to decide where we stood in relation to those statements. Most of them were regarding the book, like “Money isn’t everything” and “Love isn’t the most important thing in a marriage”. Those were interesting conversations, and they actually elicited a variety of responses within my class. I understood each point and gave my own views on them.
Money can make life easier. More bearable.
Money can also make life lonely.
Love can be toxic. It can cause harm where there is meant to be peace.
Love can be encouraging, beautiful and wonderful.
The last statement of the day was one that I found drew me away from the rest of my class; “My happiness is the most important thing to me”.
I strongly agree.
It seems like an inherently selfish statement, but within the context of “The Great Gatsby”, right after the first World War, that’s all people wanted to be happy. To forget the damage that had wreaked across the world and to be able to feel something again. That’s where the Roaring Twenties came from, the endless inventing, creating, and spending. That’s where Fitzgerald, so artfully, draws readers in and where it now resonates in modern times once more. My happiness comes from myself, my own pleasure stems from that, and that’s why it is so important to me.
When one reads “The Great Gatsby” the urge to enjoy life arises, and perhaps it is due to the way that Fitzgerald is able to weave words together to create such an alluring atmosphere. The possibility that with the beginning of a new decade once again upon us, to grasp the chances that are given to us, while we still have them. It brings into context themes like ‘hedonism’, ‘modernism’ and ‘surrealism’, in the book, and for modern times; where the line between reality and fiction becomes faint.
The want to just let go, to absorb oneself into the emotions that come with fiction, and especially in novels such as “The Great Gatsby”, where one can’t quite distinguish what makes the atmosphere of the book seem so frivolous, the critique comes into play, as it is both the shamelessness of spending without thinking, and looking out for oneself in a world that is set against it.
I learnt in that English classroom, that happiness comes from within and that stressing over life gets me nowhere. I stated that one’s happiness should be a priority, not in the eyes of society, but through your own. Where the afternoon sun glinted off the edge of the windows bathing us in an orange and red glow that felt almost cold; I didn’t disagree with what my peers thought. I understood where they were coming from, and I didn’t want to change their minds. “The Great Gatsby” sells the idea that the American dream is chasing one’s own happiness, but what the novel actually describes is that the American dream was the appearance of chasing one’s own happiness, and not actually grasping it.
That’s why I enjoy it so much, and what makes it so great. It paints this unattainable image which can only be seen once you no longer want it. “All the bright, precious things fade so fast. And they don’t come back.” So why not enjoy them?
Image Credits: “The Great Gatsby” 2013, dir. Baz Luhrmann
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