My perception of the novel

Rating: 10/10 (20 March 2017)

Here's my perception of this novel which I had to read as part of my school curriculum. I feel that the plot including Gatsby's aspiration for acquiring his love back and its correspondence with the setting really reflects American Culture. Not to mention my need to see the 2013 movie featuring Leonardo Dicaprio and Carey Mulligan who had a proficient understanding of the philosophies of Gatsby and Daisy. Both of whom knew how to portray complex characters in the 1920's all while being persuasive to the audience. Notice how almost three-quarters of the dialogue in the movie had similarity to the book. Also, the physical appearance of Daisy really works to reflect the time period and the role of women during America's Gilded Age. In the 1920's the attitude of men towards women would be deemed ultraconservative if you were to ask someone in this age. Their primary role was to appeal to men with their glamorous physical appearance just as Daisy displays in the movie. You are able to notice with her roaring 20's hairstyle and dress which she constantly wears to Tom and later in the novel, Gatsby will feel satisfied. Leonardo DiCaprio's dress-to-impress portrayal really worked to reflect the persona of upper an upperclassman during this time period. I find these qualities in his charismatic tone, the yellow Rolls Royce in which he uses to take Nick to the speak-easies, as well as his luxurious estate which he uses to lure Nick in constantly. On the other hand, I love how Gatsby's flashbacks which include the one's from his war experience help allude to his rude awakening in the final falling action. The novel as an entirety was a book of surprises and contradictions. It proved that the American Dream for some people can erode which is a theme in the novel 'Of Mice and Men' which you guys most likely have read based what I perceive as your taste in literature on this thread. Francis Scott Fitzgerald is truly a genius with the way he took the audience on a roller coaster with their expectations. You have the appearances of Jay Gatsby followed by the Buchanans featuring romantic themes, and ruined dreams. Whatever impression you guys get out of this novel, I feel the subjective matters are enhanced by the primary themes. Being set in the 'Gilded Age', the author knew how to express the whole underlying message of the time period that shimmering appearances can serve as a cloak for hiding mass issues. Characters like Gatsby and especially Meyer Wolfsheim who were involved in a lot of dirty business had their consciences taken over by lust for money. Wealthy people like them living their lavish lives as part of the bourgeois were only broken compasses if you examine their concepts of morality. I respect Fitzgerald for the way he portrays this because there is a connection to the themes of the time period. Contrary to the common philosophy of the characters living their lavish lives as the beneficiaries of America's industrial boom, Nick Carraway is a giant juxtaposition with the way he is viewed as wise and honest despite seeing those exact characteristics in himself (the bedrock for Gatsby's behavior, funny enough). This is seen in his quote taking place in chapter 3 of the book: "Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known." At this point in the story, Nick is reminiscing the time he spent in West Egg of Long Island with his distant cousin Daisy and her husband Tom whom she was married to at the time. From this experience, he viewed people of vast wealth as being selfish and careless based on the reckless actions of Daisy she committed while thinking being wealthy constitutes being invincible. These actions are described by Nick in Chapter 4: "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy--they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made." Regardless of how Francis Fitzgerald wishes to convey the attitudes of rich people to the audience during this time period, Gatsby's portrayal definitely intrigued me the most. Now the reason I say this is because the author has this method of deterioration he enacts on the character gradually chapter by chapter. At first, his expressions with Nick help convey a sense of welcome and politeness but that decays over to the point of the tragic death of Myrtle Wilson in which he is responsible for. Nick is able to describe Gatsby's transformation which essentially lays out this novel in Chapter 6: "It is invariably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you have expended your own powers of adjustment." This quotation signifies the harm that has been done to Nick who has been viewing Jay Gatsby as his source for inspiration and also represents Gatsby as the epitome for rich folks in this age, lacking morality and turning out as a heart breaker once you dig into the personality. Overall, what I admire most about Fitzgerald's work is that his portrayal of Gatsby, even in the form of a character reflects America socioeconomic state. 10-star rating? I think yes!