The 1920's were nicknamed "The Roaring Twenties" for the dramatic changes in society. Men went from drinking
tea to drinking beer and whiskey. Women went from elaborate dresses that covered everything to "dresses" that came up to well above their knees. Politics went from an honest area (for the most part) to a get-rich-quick scheme. Some might ask why God allowed the 1920's to be as immoral as they were. This decade was part of His plan (as is all of the past, present, and future).
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (known better as F. Scott Fitzgerald) wrote a novel on the 1920's, what occurred during those years, and the effect it had on society. He did this in a historical fiction setting, using a cast of characters: from the wealthy Jay Gatsby to the flakey Daisy Buchanan, and also the passive Nick Carraway. Although The Great Gatsby was treated poorly when it was first published, it has since then been labeled one of the greatest American classics and is now on nearly every high school reading list.
SUMMARY
It is summer 1922. The town West Egg (a fictional place), located in Long Island, is about to go through a dramatic and wild three months. Yale graduate and World War I veteran Nick Carraway has just moved there, just across the water (in the town of East Egg) from his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan.
During a visit from Nick to the Buchanans', the reader learns that Tom has been having an affair. There is also a part in the book where Tom takes Myrtle Wilson around New York for an afternoon.
Nick later meets his mysterious millionaire neighbor Jay Gatsby. After attending a few of his parties, Nick learns that Gatsby once had a relationship with Daisy. His purpose for moving to West Egg was to attempt to "restart" a romance with Daisy.
The book continues until two of the main characters die and the reader is left with Nick depressed and contemplating time and how it relates to life.
CONTENT
There is some violence in the story, but not too much. Tom punches Myrtle and often acts brutally. Also, a character is killed when they are hit by a car. There is other violence, but that is the worst of it, I think.
Tom Buchanan has an open affair with Myrtle Wilson, as his wife Daisy has an affair with Jay Gastby. Also, Nick Carraway begins a relationship with golf pro Jordan Baker and the two kiss at the end of one of the chapters. The immorality in the book is one of the biggest problems.
The language throughout the book is overused. There are many uses of God's name, d***, b****, h***, and other words I can't recall (tough these were the worst). The language was the other main problem with The Great Gatsby.
Despite all this trash, there is at least one good lesson we can learn from this novel: the past cannot be relived. The past stays in the past. We can learn much from it, but we can never recreate it. Also, a billboard is described that represents a "dead god" looking out over the decaying moral values of the society. While our morals have disappeared a lot in America, we know that God is not dead but very much alive and controlling all things providently.
Overall The Great Gatsby has interesting insights into the world of the Roaring Twenties, but honestly, I doubt I would have read this book had it not been for school. If you are looking for an enjoyable book that is clean, you are not going to find that here.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Number of pages: 218
Author of book: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published in: 1925
Primary audience: Adults
No comments:
Post a Comment