The Great Gatsby Response

The Great Gatsby is at once a romantic and disenchanted novel about the wealth and habits of a group of New Yorkers during the roaring twenties. Fitzgerald’s writing is invincibly magnificent, as he paints a fierce portrait of superficial characters who place themselves into sticky situations. Also, Fitzgerald’s use of language and symbolism is very appreciated because it helps the reader to analyze the material and think critically. I enjoyed this book a lot and I highly recommend it to others.

At the beginning of the story, character Nick Carraway moves to New York in the summer of 1922 to learn about the bond business. Nick’s next door neighbor is a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby, who lives in a gigantic gothic mansion and throws

The couple introduces Nick to a woman named Jordan Baker, who Nick then starts a romantic relationship with. Jordan informs Nick that Tom has a secret lover named Myrtle who lives in the valley of ashes. After traveling with Tom to his grungy apartment he keeps for his affair, Myrtle begins to taunt Tom about Daisy, which ends with Tom breaking Myrtle’s nose. As the summer progresses, Nick ends up attending one of Gatsby’s parties. At the party, Gatsby asked to talk to Jordan in private, telling her that he knew Daisy and is deeply in love with her. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are used in attempt to impress Daisy. Gatsby wants to meet with Daisy but he is afraid that she will not meet with him if she knows he still loves her. So he then has Nick invite her over for tea, not knowing Gatsby is going to be there. After an awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy seem to establish a connection and they rekindle their love for one another, starting an affair. After a short time, Tom grows suspicious of his wife’s relationship with Gatsby. He then forces the group to travel to New York to confront Gatsby. Daisy realizes that her allegiance is to Tom, and Tom sends her back

Gatsby symbolized the corrupted Dream and the uncorrupted Dream. He sees his wealth as the answer to his problems, pursues money with shady schemes, and reinvents himself so that he becomes hollow, disconnected from his past. Nick reflects that Gatsby’s dream was corrupted by money and dishonesty, and that the American Dream has disintegrated into the mere pursuit of wealth. But, Gatsby’s corrupt dream of wealth is motivated by the love he has for Daisy. Gatsby's failure does not prove the foolishness of the American Dream—rather it proves the foolishness of short-cutting that dream by allowing corruption and materialism to stand above hard work, integrity, and real love. The dream of love that remains at Gatsby's core condemns nearly every other character in the novel, all of whom are empty beyond just their desire for