The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was an entertaining novel full of drama, romance, and tragedy. The majority of the characters were too shallow for my taste, such as Jordan Baker and some of the others who attended Gatsby’s luxurious parties. Preferably, I enjoy reading about characters that have meaningful dispositions. Gatsby, on the other hand, was a fresh of breath air for me because being the main character, he was the most complex, and he stood out from the jejune people surrounding him. I felt like I was trying to solve a great mystery when Gatsby’s past life and the repetition of being an “Oxford man” was discussed among gossipers. Also, I thought it was unique that the narrator was not Gatsby, but his friend instead. It gave more depth to both characters, as it allowed me to discern Nick’s personality and opinion on matters, as well as Gatsby’s life through Nick’s narration.
Not only were the two main characters intriguing, but the warped and twisted relationships and societal values were too. Tom and Daisy had an odd abusive relationship, in which Tom was physically, mentally, and verbally abusive. It was well- known that he was cheating on Daisy, and that he was harmful, yet everyone, even Daisy’s closest friends, chose to ignore it. In the end, Daisy chose Tom over her true love, Gatsby, which I found disappointing. Fitzgerald accurately represented the skewed values of “Roaring 20’s.” The main motive for Daisy’s marriage to Tom in the first place was due to his “old-money” title. When Gatsby finally gained money, the relationship between he and Daisy would not work out because he represented “new-money.” It is sad to think that money and warped values could be the ultimate downfall of true love.
I also shared these same thoughts about each character in the novel. He twists the views of Gatsby and Daisy throughout the entire story in a mix of mystery and detective ideas. Personally, I enjoyed reading a story of friends from the view of one of them due to his sarcastic and serious tone towards his experiences. Surprisingly, he was less bias to the collection of stories and accurately gave his opinion on each insane action taken in this novel. Also, his struggle with Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby strongly suggests his own feelings in the story. Fitzgerald plays Nick as the narrative for he looked at his own personal experiences as if through the view of a friend attending. He feels disconnected from his true love and her struggle to find the true meaning of her life.
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