The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald


I hadn't read this book since I was in high school and took my review of it to the state public speaking competition! I have to admit I didn't remember it very well, so I decided to read it again in preparation to discuss it with my son.

My overwhelming response to the story is a sigh for the vanity, the absolute emptiness, it portrays. The pursuit of wealth, prestige, stuff, "the pleasures of sin for a season" were in full swing in the roaring 20s, they were present in Solomon's time, and we still see such vanity, vanity, all is vanity around us today.

So what is the end result of endless partying, keeping up with the Joneses, materialism, sexual immorality, mocking others to elevate self. . .living for self, youth, and pleasure? Well, Fitzgerald paints the picture well. The result of such a life is cynicism, lack of character, disillusionment, discontentment, loneliness. Ultimately, it's death. Presented here in this book as physical death, we know that ultimately it results in spiritual death.

Fitzgerald's turns of phrase are so clever, his imagery, correlations between the mood of the book and weather, and the geographical connections to character. . .it's a very well-written book. Even if I don't necessarily agree with his worldview, people just don't write so carefully anymore.

I'm looking forward to discussing this with Destry, and I think I may have to watch the recent movie that was made about this book.