When I was about seven or eight years old, my English teacher, after reading to us 'Charlotte's Web,' gently tossed the novel onto her desk, after which she told us,
"Every time I finish a good book, I toss it onto the table."
After I read 'The Great Gatsby,' I gently closed my laptop and leaned back with a smile of contentment. I had just read what has been arguably categorised as one of the world's 100 greatest novels, by Scott Fitzgerald. The themes in this endearing novel did not confound me. Instead, I felt pity and understanding for the characters and the 'Greats.'
'The Great Gatsby,' is available for free download, and as you read it, you will marvel at how our minds can reduce our greatest works to common misadventures and tragedies.
Nick Carraway, a World War 1 veteran and Yale University alumnus, is the voice of this novel, caught in the middle of swirling worlds of the rich and wealthy, caught in the middle of their dreams and lofty ambitions and also their duplicity. He observes how the heart, once unchecked, can lead to a spiralling of events, and eventual tragedy.
The affairs between Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, and Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, are central to this novel. These people who belong to the upper class of the fictional communities of East Egg and West Egg in New York and its nearby surroundings, are not immune to the salacious lives common to man.
Their downfall is exactly that. Instead of living above reproach, they succumbed to their lustful desires and met tragedies that could have been prevented.
They lost their appeal and sense of mystery once they became common and basic. Jay Gatz, who transformed himself through big dreams and hard work, becoming Jay Gatsby, with the American dream before him, could not contain his desires for Daisy Buchanan, a married woman.
Daisy's husband, Tom, likewise, lived out his own affairs. Amidst these were the lavish parties, luxurious lifestyles and extended displays of wealth amongst the upper class. This was unsustainable, because of the secrets and lies, the gossip and deception and eventually the facade came to a halt.
Published in 1925, this novel captures the inner thoughts of men and women, the systems meant to create illusions of happiness and the drawbacks of depression.
It also rides on the American dream, which is real as much as it is an illusion. It rides on idealism of friendship, all of which still exist today.
A must-read.
Reviewed by Beverley N N
No comments:
Post a Comment