The Great Gatsby

Touted as one of Fitzgerald’s best novels, The Great Gatsby evoked no less than a choked throat and tear filled eyes from me as I turned the last page. A plethora of emotions pervaded me as I felt wonder at Tom’s affair and a little sorry for Daisy who seemed to be such a frail and beautiful creature. The descriptions in this book are so elaborate that I could actually picture what Fitzgerald was trying to show. I went right back into that era and though I have no idea how it must have been, I have a pretty picture painted of those times.

I generally skip over descriptions but the ones in this book had me avidly reading and re reading just to ensure that I had the correct picture in my mind with every shade painted unmistakably as the author had wanted it. The mystery around Gatsby is built up well and the most amazing part of the book is when Gatsby gets introduced to the reader. It was at such an unexpected place and time for me that I re read that passage just to understand what the mysterious Gatsby finally looked like.

Nick’s description of Daisy slightly amused me as I wondered if somewhere in his heart he loved her or was it just overwhelming brotherly affection. The women have been described as increasingly frail and beautiful which kind of lent an unrealistic and at the same time a romantic air to it. The wild parties back then didn’t seem so different from the wild parties right now.
In the beginning, I was drawn into the descriptions and the metaphors employed by the author to possibly showcase his ease with words and love for comparisons. But towards the end, the story picked up such pace that I forgot about the language and merely rushed through the last few pages towards the inevitable end. The end made me marvel at the genius of Fitzgerald and also made me unmistakably sad as I still tried to figure out what message Fitzgerald was trying to give through this book. The end put my feelings into words as it described Daisy and Tom as spoilt creatures, who came out of their wealth and luxury to mess things up and then retreated back into it on their whim and left it for someone else to clean up.

What I cant get over is the fate of Gatsby. Having lost Daisy years ago, he worked so hard to get her back only to be betrayed by her in the end and lose his life. It makes you wonder, was she ever worth it? It’s amazing that his love for her inspired Gatsby to attain such great heights of wealth and fame but it is saddening to see that he valued himself so little as compared to her. Of course it is also humbling to see someone so devoted to another being but you just wish earnestly that his love or his devotion had some fruitful culmination. Maybe you find some solace in the fact that one strong friend having many endearing qualities stood by his grave in the end, who knew and liked Gatsby for who he was.