Five reasons 'Gatsby' is the great American novel
Deirdre Donahue, USA TODAY
It's time to revisit that ultimate literary
cage fight: Which classic deserves The Great American Novel victory belt. In
March, a Publishers Weekly poll crowned To Kill a Mockingbird by
Harper Lee. Other factions agitated for Moby Dick, Huckleberry Finn,
The Sound and the Fury and The Grapes of Wrath.
Set on Long
Island and New York City, The Great Gatsby is narrated by 29-year-old
Midwesterner Nick Carraway. After coming East to learn the bond business in the
summer of 1922, Nick reconnects with his cousin, a Southern debutante named
Daisy. She is the wife of Nick's racist Yale classmate, the staggeringly
wealthy ex-football star Tom Buchanan. Nick also becomes friendly with his
neighbor, a mysterious millionaire named Jay Gatsby. Gatsby's obsession fuels
this tale of longing and loss, of dreams and disillusion.
Here
are five reasons why The Great Gatsby should rank as The Great American
Novel:
1. It's the most American of
stories. Encoded at the very center of our national DNA is admiration for
the self-made success story, the mythic figure who pursues and fulfills his
dream — someone like Jay Gatsby, a "Mr. Nobody from Nowhere" who
rises from obscure poverty to immense wealth.
"It's
the Great American Dream," says Jeff Nilsson, historian for the bimonthly The
Saturday Evening Post. "It is the story that if you work hard enough,
you can succeed."
Leading
Fitzgerald scholar James L. W. West III agrees. He calls The Great Gatsby "a
national scripture. It embodies the American spirit, the American will to
reinvent oneself."
West
says it is no coincidence that The Great Gatsby is probably the American
novel most often taught in the rest of the world. "It is our novel, how we
present ourselves. ... [Fitzgerald] captured and distilled the essence of the
American spirit."
Yet
Gatsby also explores the dream's destructive power. "Americans pay
a great price for that dream," says Nilsson.
The
Great Gatsby also captures money's power to corrupt, to let the rich escape
from the consequences of their actions. Here's Fitzgerald's description of that
original 1% couple: "They were careless people — Tom and Daisy — they
smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money
…"
2. The romance of the Roaring
'20s. Fitzgerald was the poet laureate of what he named "The Jazz
Age," the most raucous, gaudy era in U.S. history.
"The 1920s is the most
fascinating era in American culture," says Nilsson. "Everything was
changing so much." Youth in revolt didn't start in the 60’s with Woodstock.
It
was the 1920’s flappers, cars, sex, movies, gangsters, celebrities, a stock
market minting money, everything awash in illegal booze. The wildest parties
and bad behavior among the rich and famous today have nothing on the
you-only-live-once hedonism depicted in The Great Gatsby.
3. It remains relevant. It
offers complicated characters who can be interpreted in fresh ways for new
readers. Is Nick in love with Gatsby? Could Gatsby — the other, the outsider —
actually be a black man? Often dismissed as a selfish ditz, is Daisy victimized
by a society that offers her no career path except marriage to big bucks?
At
a recent press conference, the most recent actor to play Gatsby noted its
relevancy today. "It is one of those novels that is talked about nearly
100 years later for a reason," says DiCaprio who first read Gatsby
when he was 15. "It's incredibly nuanced and it's existential and at the
center of this movie is this man who is incredibly hollow."
4. Crazy love.
What makes Gatsby magical is his motivation. Although he's made his fortune as
a bootlegger and gambler, greed doesn't drive him. Rather he's on a quest to
reclaim Daisy.
Still,
The Great Gatsby isn't a romance about how a nice millionaire almost
wins back the girl of his dreams. It's about a narcissistic obsession with the
past. To Gatsby, Daisy isn't a married woman with a daughter. She's an object,
something he lost and wants back. Which makes his actions — such as buying a
mansion across the water from the Buchanans so he can stare at the green light
at the end of their dock — well, kind of creepy and stalker-like.
5. Imperishable prose.
Forget the critics, the theories, even the characters. For Fitzgerald's fans,
it's the language. "Fitzgerald had a pitch-perfect ear," says West.
"There's not one flabby sentence," says Nilsson.
For
evocative beauty, what can ever beat the last line of The Great Gatsby,
which is engraved on the grave Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda share. "So we
beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
-Do
you agree that The Great Gatsby is
“The Great American Novel?” Why or why not?
-If
not, then what novel do you think should be considered for that title?
-According
to this article, how does The Great
Gatsby relate to this idea of The American Dream? And does the book believe
in the dream or critique it?
While, indeed, The Great Gatsby can be considered to be one of America’s most great novels, I don’t think that it’s the best out of all of them. In fact, I don’t think that there’s really any novel in the world that outshines the others overall. I think, having different novels with different topics regarding history can make a category dedicated to being “America’s Greatest Novels”, rather than just having one novel to outshine the rest of the novels. For example, another great novel that I think could be considered maybe just as good as The Great Gatsby could be To Kill a Mockingbird; there were plenty of good points in that novel, and it was just a good read overall. It was apart of American history. Part of African Americans getting the same rights as everyone else and treating every person as an equal. There are probably of plenty other books that can be considered a Great American Novel, as well. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Night, etc. Although, I’m not discrediting The Great Gatsby as also being a great novel, maybe even a classic. After all, it’s still a novel that is required for most high school students to read. And I understand why, it’s a very good book, though maybe kind of difficult to read and understand. Not only that, but it talks about history; the 1920’s, women fighting for their rights, and what was going on during that time period.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I don’t believe that there should be only one novel that is to be considered the “greatest” out of them all. If anything, certain novels maybe can complement one another at being “Great American Novels”. There’s not just one that should be the best out of them all, there should be categories that have novels that talk about historic moments in time, or speak about rights for certain groups of people and how they achieved those rights.
The Great Gatsby, yes, does have elements of the american dream, but it is certainly not centered around the american dream. Much like The Death of a Salesmen, it speaks of wanting to make it big and make a lot of money, having the dream job and the dream family, but that’s not what The Great Gatsby is all about. It’s also about equal rights for women, and it speaks about what the 1920’s were all about, showing the reader how it was back then, etc. I think, in the book, though, it more critiques the American dream. Daisy is married to Tom, a man she’s not really in love with and a man that abuses her. Tom, on the other hand, is cheating on her with Myrtle who wishes to marry Tom, but Tom doesn’t feel the same way. In fact, he lies to Myrtle saying Daisy is a Christian, so he can’t divorce her in order to marry Myrtle. Not only that, but he also abuses Myrtle, as well. It shows the reality of the american dream; showing how things aren’t always what it seems to be.
I agree with you about no novel outshines the others. Also To Kill a Mockingbird is a great example of the American Dream as well as The Great Gatsby.
DeleteThe Great Gatsby is an example of the american dream. The great gatsby is about gatsby who started of poor and became rich. He went through a struggle and got through it to become succesful. I dont know how the book goes but after reading this, it seems that it would be a good book to be called the great american novel. In the reading we learned alot about what is going to happen in the book. It spoils alot of information. It says Nick loves gatsby. Could that be why Gatsby invited him over his house to his party? Over the next couple weeks we should find out what is going to happen and then i will be able to make a better desicion on if this book should be the number one example of the american dream.
ReplyDeletei agree witht the statement that he started from nothing and made it to the top, and i hope your conclusions come true. :)
DeleteI agree that the Great Gatsby is the great american novel. It does describe basically the american dream. To party all night everyday and be so rich where you don't have to worry about money. To just be able to do whatever you want and live your life however you would want to. The Great Gatsby has a huge house with boats and cars and everything you can think of. He doesn't need to worry about what he's going to buy or save his money to get something. If I want to get a new truck and I have to sell one of them to get another one. He could just buy one hundred trucks or cars and it would not phase him. That’s the american dream to have enough money where you dont know what to do with it. Where you can do whatever you want and it won’t affect your life or make a dent your bank account. The great Gatsby worked hard made his money and got where he is and now just makes money off of what he’s done. That’s the definition of the american dream. He wont ever worry about money and just buy whatever he wants. This book does describe the American dream. According to that article The Great Gatsby is an exact representation of what the american dream should be. The book also does believe in the American dream. The american dream is to start from nothing and end up with everything. To go from rags to riches and never have to worry about your money. You should still appreciate your money and not go broke, but the american dream is you would never have to worry about going broke you’d be making it faster then you could spend it. The great gatsby symbolizes the american dream perfectly. The guy has a party every night and they are so big he has teams come in after to fix and restock his house and yard. That’s the american dream to have enough money where you dont care what gets broke, just to pay someone to fix it and not worry about it.
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DeleteI agree with gavin with everything. The american dream is shown in the character Jay Gatsby. The great gatsby is the perfect symbol for readers.
I agree with what you said about the american dream and Gatbsy. Most things about Gatsby demonstrate the american dream. I also chose this story as a good symbol for the american dream.
DeleteI think the great gatsby is a great american novel because it goes over about that it keeps a mystery over gatsby and depending if he was a spy or was in the war which keeps it interesting that keeps the story a good one the other ways it does help is it has gatsby trying to get someone back which is nicks cousin which that's probably how he knew who it was because of her and that they were both in the same war during the time. It had alot of stuff that would make the person reading it understand what it was about and feel like they were in the book which the writer did a good job at doing that for the people like us so it is good american novel that they had made. I dont really know if there is a book that i know that is better than the great gatsby because i don’t really read books at all and this one is really interesting and makes me think about what goes on in the book and how it will help us understand which not alot of books or any books do that in theres but i dont really know a book that is better than this on at all so thsi is the best one until i read another one .The great gatsby relates to the american dream because it shows how that if what you have with you you could make a living and accomplish what you want to do in life which would help during what they try to do and that the book and the american dream it is about having a house or what you want which have a wife kids house car other stuff and it didn’t matter if you had money or not you could still do what you want which the great gatsby and the american dream that makes them relate a little bit to one another during them to which that both show about both of them.
ReplyDeleteI think that the “The Great Gatsby” is the great american novel in my opinion. We haven’t read all of the book but we have already learned a lot so far. I think that it is one of the most famous books that are about the american dream. It was a lot of similarities about the american dream. Gatsby is a rich man who lives in a big house and a lot of expensive things. He also has a party every night and it lasts all night long. People that live in the american dream believe that if you work hard you will have a lot of money and be rich like Gatsby. He is never worried about how much he is worth, or how much money he is spending. A lot of people like to believe in that. To me that’s whats the american dream is now a days. Where you get to have a lot of money and have no idea what you are going to do with it. The article that we have to read talks about how the american dream should be like that. People you read about are in the american dream and they don’t never worry about the money. They are people who work hard and people that take advantage to try and live the american dream. You might have all the money but you should still be grateful for what you have and hope you will never go broke and homeless. I think that is the important thing in life, being grateful. The book, “ The Great Gatsby” is the perfect symbol on the american dream and it shows as well.
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ReplyDeleteI do believe that The Great Gatsby is “The Great American Novel” because it shows things other books
don’t. It shows equality and reassurance for the characters in the book. They do not seem to care about the rolls they “should” have. They express things other people don’t and don’t care about.
If i said no i would name it “rich world” because they see how the rich act toward the poor. The poor in the book feel uncomfortable around the rich because they don’t fit in. i do feel like this represents the american dream, because it shows how you can accomplish anything and do anything you want to in your life despite the money.
I do think that The Great Gatsby is a good way to express the American Dream. It’s a great looking glass into how it was like in the roaring twenties. It shows the national DNA and how someone who is labeled as a nobody can rise to the top and become a somebody with hard work and dedication. These quotes are just like the american dream and how people believe you can become something if you work hard and try.
ReplyDeleteThe 1920s is the most fascinating era in American culture," says Nilsson. "Everything was changing so much." Youth in revolt didn't start in the 60’s with Woodstock.
It was the 1920’s, everything awash in illegal booze. The wildest parties and bad behavior among the rich and famous today have nothing on the you-only-live-once hedonism depicted in The Great Gatsby.
, I don’t believe that there should be only one novel that is to be considered the “greatest”l. I feel like there are many books that would be considered one of the “Great American Novels”. There’s not just one that should be the best out of them all, there should be categories that have novels that talk about events in time, or speak about rights for certain groups of people and how they have to gain those rights
I do not believe that the Great Gatsby is The Great American Novel.though i haven't read the book completely every english teacher history teacher and adults that were raised here say it an amazing book. Also its tell stories and how people lived in the 29120 and also the authors or the lost generations all they wrote about was life after the war.the 1920 was the roaring 20s which basically was a big party. So if the american people say it is then it is but everyone has their opinion. I believe the great gatsby is not the great american novel because throughout the years there were other books that also got the title as the great american novel like for example,A Farewell To Arms,the Grapes Of Wrath,An American tragedy,American Pastoral etc. i believe that the Great American Novel should go to AN american tragedy.It tells the story of Clyde Griffiths, who raises himself up socially and economically, but whose moral shortcomings lead to his eventual downfall. The great gatsby talks about the roaring 20s because it was just one big part until the great depression.the great gatsby can be related to the american dream because it tell how many people had money owed bug house like out main character nick and gatsby by having big houses and living wealth.the great gatsby can relate to the american dream because people worked so hard and poeple were getting paid so much. In the book many people had nice houses in east egg and all of them had big house with good pay and everyone is happy. Just like the american dream they dream of owning a big house getting paid very good owning a good business and having a happy family and life. They believe in the dream and saying that anyone can live the american dream by working hard.
ReplyDeleteyou and i have the same opinion on the book the great gatsby and i believe that the words you used made it visual enough to have other readers be interested in reading this up to date novel about this typical everyday life.
DeleteI have not finished the novel, so there’s no say in whether it is the “The great American novel” although i can agree on the novel being interesting, and full of character. This novel is a close reprsentation of the world today. A lot of people like to believe in that. To me that’s whats the american dream is now a days. Where you get to have a lot of money and have no idea what you are going to do with it. The article that we have to read talks about how the american dream should be like that. People you read about are in the american dream and they don’t never worry about the money. They are people who work hard and people that take advantage to try and live the american dream. You might have all the money but you should still be grateful for what you have and hope you will never go broke and homeless. I think that is the important thing in life, being grateful. The book, “ The Great Gatsby” is the perfect symbol on the american dream and it shows as well. The Great Gatsby is an exact representation of what the american dream should be. The book also does believe in the American dream. The american dream is to start from nothing and end up with everything. To go from rags to riches and never have to worry about your money. You should still appreciate your money and not go broke, but the american dream is you would never have to worry about going broke you’d be making it faster then you could spend it. The great gatsby symbolizes the american dream perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Gatsby is a very good novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald it shows the lifestyle of 1920’s also called the roaring 20’s. It showed how life was back then and how jazz music was a big thing at the time and was just a big party because everyone was having a great time. And the economy was booming and also talked about the troubles about that time period like the prohibition act which made the production and distribution of alcohol illegal.
ReplyDeleteEven tho this book is good i dont believe its the best because it talks about the life style of 1920’s and now we are in 2018 so it really doesn't matter. And i really can't say which book is better because i really don't read books because they give me no interest and im 100% there are way better books.
I believe “the great gatsby” is the american book because it relates to the real life situation that really happen like the wealth and the poor. Also the fashion that they had was in the book, plus the love and romance was in there too. In the book there where relevant themes like the poor ando. wealthy sides of cities that people live in. like Gatsby living in new money based towns and daisy living in old money based town. And nick also living in Gatsby neighborhood. And i also believe that the book believes in the American dream cause Gatsby made himself a future where he's able to live a great life from serving in the war to having parties every night at his house and people knowing who he is.
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