Before going to see the new Baz Luhrmann movie, I wanted to re-read The Great Gatsby. I was amazed with how much I had forgotten since high school. Honestly the only thing I remembered was Gatsby was obsessed with some green light. I found my old high school copy at my parent's house and dove right in. I loved it! I finished it in less than 24 hours. Sure, there were still parts that were hard to understand, but overall I thought it was an amazing book. Why had I forgotten this wonderful story? High school wasn't that long ago!
I recently read Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick (also an amazing movie!) and in this story, the main character Pat is reading through all the books his ex-wife (who is an English teacher) has her students read. I decided I wanted to do the same thing. I want to go back and re-read (and read for the first time) some classic books taught in high school English. (Why yes, I am a huge nerd. Thanks for asking!)
Now, since I am also trying to write/blog more, I have decided to combine the two! After I finish a book, I'll answer a few questions about the book and share it with you. Hope you enjoy! Oh, and feel free to leave any suggestions for more books I should read.
Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
My Synopsis: Nick Carraway moves to New York and winds up living next door to a mysterious millionaire named Gatsby. Nick also lives near his cousin Daisy Buchanan. She is married to Tom who attended Yale with Nick. Nick meets Jordan Baker, a legendary golfer, through Daisy. Nick soon learns that Tom is having an affair with a married woman named Mrytle. Nick eventually receives an invite to one of Gatsby's parties and becomes friends with him. Gatsby asks Nick (through Jordan) to arrange a meeting between Daisy and Gatsby. Apparently Gatsby and Daisy knew each other years before and were deeply in love, but since he was penniless at the time, they did not marry. Gatsby changed his name and earned his fortune in an effort to impress and win Daisy back. After an awkward first meeting, Gatsby and Daisy are reunited and begin an affair. Later, Daisy, Nick and Tom attend one of Gatsby's parties and Tom becomes suspcious of Gatsby. Even though Tom is having his own affair, he is furious when he begins to suspect Daisy is being unfaithful to him. One day when Gatsby is visiting Daisy at her house for a luncheon with Tom, Jordan and Nick, Tom suggests they all go to the Plaza to have a drink. At the Plaza, Tom and Gatsby fight about who Daisy truly loves and things get tense. Tom declares that Gatsby is a criminal and Gatsby tries to get Daisy to admit she never loved Tom (which she can't). Tom sends Gatsby and Daisy back to their house in Gatsby's car. As Tom, Jordan and Nick are driving home, they find out that a woman was struck by a car and killed. The woman turns out to be Myrtle, Tom's mistress. Nick finds Gatsby later and finds out that it was Gatsby's car that hit Myrtle and that Daisy was driving, but Gatsby is going to take the blame. Tom tells George, Myrtle's husband, that Gatsby was driving the car and he was most likely the man Myrtle was having an affair with. George finds Gatsby at his house swimming and shoots Gatsby dead and then shoots himself. Nick helps arrange a small funeral for Gatsby and hardly anyone attends. Nick moves away from the East Coast feeling disgusted by the people surrounding Gatsby and his tragic end.
Favorite Character(s): Nick Carraway - I'm usually drawn to the narrator of a story. They are the person who allows you to peek into their lives completely and it is through their eyes that you see the rest of the characters. Nick seems like a genuinely good guy in that he doesn't try to take advantage of Gatsby as everyone else appears to. He has a strong moral compass when it seems like everyone else lacks any morals at all. Nick is also a true friend to Gatsby - he plans his funeral and is one of the few people who actually shows up. I feel so sad for him at the end of the book.
Least Favorite Character(s): Tom and Daisy Buchanan - Even though Myrtle's husband is the one who pulled the trigger of the gun that killed Gatsby, I completely blame these two for his death. They are horrible, self-absorbed people. Daisy seems vapid and superficial to me. I honestly don't understand what Gatsby sees in her.
Favorite Quote(s):
“He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.”
“And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”
“Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.”
“Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can!”
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”
“He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.”
“And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”
“Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.”
“Can’t repeat the past?…Why of course you can!”
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”
Should you read this?: YES! I know my synopsis sounds depressing, but it is an amazing book! The language and plot development is just incredible. I am so glad I read this again!
**Now a side note on the movie. I have heard a lot of mixed reviews, but I personally really enjoyed the movie. And ladies, if you only go see the Great Gatsby to see the lovely Leo, it will be worth it. I mean, c'mon, look at him!
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Coming Up Next: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
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