英语一班冯烨200830560341

Believe it or not, I first heard this book form the famous anchor Rui Chenggang, one of my idols. This book is his favorite. So it grabbed my attention, and jumped out of the piles of the books which I was determined to read. I picked a simplified version so that I could finish it in time. And from then, I started the journey in 1920s, a time full of the smell of money and a time full of dreams.

The story is mainly about the glamour and excitement of New York life in the 1920s ---- a world of parties, bright lights, heavy drinking and jazz music. With the First World War behind them, Americans felt that this was a time to make money and have fun. This period of time was called “the Jazz Age” by Fitzgerald, the writer of the book. And in this age, our story teller, Nick Carraway, brings us to the West Egg, the place where our great Mr. Gatsby lives. Actually, Mr. Gatsby did not appear directly in the first three chapters, and his detail information was not exposed to us until the ending chapter. So Mr. Gatsby remained a mystery in the whole part. Compared to Mr. Gatsby, Nick was a clear figure in the book. He is a young Midwesterner who comes east to make a living in his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan. Following Nick, we see the relationships between the four, along with Daisy’s friend Jordan Baker. The complex relationships support the story and cause the tragic fate of our great Mr. Gatsby.

The book concentrates on the living style of the upper class of that time, and tries to show a slice of the American life to us. And now, I would like to talk about the several characters which functioned as strong proofs of the social structures. The Buchanan couple was an example of those who live on their heritage. They enjoy their life in their favorite ways. For instance, when Tom left Chicago and came the East, he brought his polo ponies with him. We can see he is a rich guy and eager to live an elegant life with them. He is the least complex of all the main characters---a man of great physical strength which can flash into violence, unintelligent, and completely confident in himself and his own opinions. When he finally realizes that Gatsby is trying to take his wife from him, he fights back and wins. His wife, Daisy, is a beautiful woman. She once had a romantic relationship with Gatsby, but gave it up herself. She is timid to the life and does not have the force of character to stand by her feelings. So she chose Tom, enduring the existence of Mrs. Wilson, Tom’s mistress. She said she hoped her baby girl a beautiful little fool when she just gave birth to her. Because she knew a woman must bear all of these if she wants to live a well-to-do life. She did not try to change it and never have the gust to pursue her free life. She represents a certain kind of women of that time: beautiful, weak, selfish, but wanting an elegant life. Gatsby, the hero in this story, is a great person. From noting, he built up his wealth and position. From his first kiss with Daisy, his dream of her has been the driving force of his life. He seems on the point of succeeding, but he is expecting too much of Daisy. She was not worthy of his dream. He insisted his dreams, his love, and his driving force. Finally, he died, and he lost Daisy.

In the book, he is called the Great Gatsby. Why is he so “great”? It is easy to imagine Tom talking about the great Gatsby ironically. Daisy may think he is great because his scorching love for her. But for Nick, despite his doubts, Gatsby was really to be admired. For me, he is great because he is a person full of contradictories. He lacked the love for his family but make a life dream the love for Daisy. He has the lust for fortune and position, but threw all of these away when he determined to cover Daisy. He gained the power, money and the respects from people in upper class, but is frequently suspected and always the subject of the gossip. He fought so hard and invested all his life in the dreaming love, but he lost it so easily, along with his life. He is great from his purpose of life and efforts to win, and his also “great” in the illegal way to collect money and in his fading American dream.

To tell the truth, I could not conclude the writer’s attitude towards the Gatsby’s life. He just told the story, and described each person in details. From my perspective, Gatsby’s death is inevitable, their complex relationships and complex characteristics lead to his tragic destiny. Everybody is to blame for his death. So we can not tell who is right or who is wrong. It shows a social formation. In the end, what does the writer want to deliver to us? Personally speaking, I think he just want to leave the reader uncertain about Gatsby himself and the American dream that he is represents.

Then when we looked back to our life, can we find some similarities in our living styles? Actually, we also have our “American dreams”. We like to pursue the living style of the upper class, and we like to buy the goods that we could not afford actually. What happened to us? We are pursuing the unreal life which is built on the fancy dreams, which could be seen floating in the sky, but not touchable. When you try your best to squeeze into the dreaming life, be careful. Who will be the next Gatsby? We cannot tell.