*Spoiler Alert*
Oh boy! The great American Dream novel. Rather, the decline of the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald is my second favorite author and you've got to admit this is a well liked (and pretty damn good) story. I mean, who else makes Long Island seem so intriguing and fun? Before I continue: if you have only read this work by Fitzgerald, you're missing out on something. I recommend you pick up any of his short stories, they're easy to read and quick too. Most pertain to the daily life in the 1920s such as Yale University's annual dances, and Yale this and Yale that. I guess that's not very daily for many of us, but Fitzgerald liked the Ivy League concept of the rich kids enjoying balls, smoking, drinking, and having a good time. Sounds like the typical high school Friday night, no? ;)
We are introduced to the narrator, Nick Carraway, a young man who, believe it or not, just graduated from Yale University and has moved to New York City to learn the bond business. And who turns out to be his neighbor? Jay Gatsby, the "old sport"! While Nick lives in this miniscule cottange (I'm exaggerating, yes), Gatsby inhabits a luxurious mansion. Well, you know, there has to be a swooning, weak woman in the story somewhere because face it, it is the 1920s and despite flappers of the time, many women were still deemed inferior to men. I reckon having the right to vote didn't mean anything to the damn bastards [men]. That spot is filled up by Daisy Buchanan. Daisy and Gatsby had a fling one summer when Gatsby was dirt poor and a soldier in the army but of course the little prat couldn't love him because he had no money. So she marries Tom Buchanan, old money type of fellow, who in my opinion is a cheating man whore. Now Tom's having his thing with a woman by the name of Myrtle. So I guess this entitles the right for Daisy to have some fun too, outside her marriage, that is!
Now follow the chemistry equation below:
Gatsby starts messing with the wrong crowd --> makes money out of dirty work--> buys mansion + throws parties = a way for Daisy to notice his new social status, with a remainder of 'Love Me Ardently, Daisy'.
Naturally, it ends up working and they have their affair and all that. And naturally Gatsby gets caught up in a misunderstanding all thanks to Daisy and gets shot while on a FABULOUS floaty in his FABULOUS pool. It's all very sad, mind you.
But what really strikes me from this novel is how far someone will go for the person they love. Can you even call that love? What Daisy and Gatsby shared was more a result of exasperated lust. They just need one another, constantly. And all the silly things that entail these feelings they share for one another just screws everything up or means nothing. For example, the people who attend Gatsby's parties are people he doesn't even know nor have met before. He only hopes that this will entice Daisy...I think Gatsby lives by the famous line: "If you've got it, flaunt it!" And it leads you to think how irrational adults can act. Is it even worth wasting time, energy, and money in this case for something that is 1. unrealistic and 2. never meant to work out?
We also see the decline of the American Dream in this novel and that is symbolized by the Valley of Ashes (a creepy little section between East & West Egg and Manhattan where Myrtle resides with her husbands (um, why are all these people so sex driven and unsatisfied with their current spouse?). It is what is it, valley of ashes. The lowest of the low. People coming to America with big dreams and a chance to take advantage of all the opportunities lying ahead of them. In the 20's, it's all taken for granted. They don't see, they are blinded, people aren't living, they let it pass them by, party after party, and the material excess of these rich people play a major role. And obviously, each of Fitzgerald's characters represent different parts of the social class and how it's all interconnected.
Intense message? Yes! And not to mention the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg on the advertising billboard above the Valley of Ashes. God watching over American society--a deteriorating wasteland.
But as the Peggy Lee song song goes: "...but the rich get rich and the poor get poorer/ in the meantime/ in between time/ ain't we got fun."
So to end this post on this unforgettable novel, I leave you with a quote that sums it ALL up by the man himself:
"That was always my experience--a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy's school; a poor boy in a rich man's club at Princeton...However, I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works."
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
P.S. This will bring out the dork in me, but 1920's is my favorite era, so the dancing and the dresses are to die for. I'm sure SOME of you agree. The grandeur and fun of it all... Besides, you WISH you could dance like that. Pshh, all that hip hop nonsense doesn't count!
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