The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby was authored by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. The novel mainly revolves about Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire from a fictional town referred to as West Egg. Jay is pursuing Daisy Buchanan with whom he is totally obsessed.  The novel explores themes of corruption, excess, resistance to change and idealism.

The story is narrated by Nick Callaway who hails from a wealthy family and works as a bonds salesman. He finds a house at East Egg, a place that is less as grand compared to West Egg. Next door, Nick has a neighbor by the name of Gatsby who throws grand parties in which he never participates. On top of this, no one knows him completely or knows how he ever became so rich. He has a secret about how he acquired his wealth and this secret eventually leads to his demise. It is this secret that Nick strives to unravel.

The Great Gatsby is more than a love story. It also reflects how hollow a life of leisure is. Gatsby is intent at extending the past to the future to create a more grand future. This is the cause of his most famous statement, “Can’t change the future? Why, of course you can.” He strives to get back together with Daisy, a cousin to Nick and who is already married to Tom. Nick gets an invitation to one of the parties one night along with one of his friends. Gatsby later requires speaking with Jordan and Nick privately in his room.  Later, Nick learns that the parties have been intended to impress Daisy so that they would get together again.

Immorality is also highlighted strongly in the novel. The novel draws a series of extramarital relationships. While Daisy is married to Tom, she accepts to get into another relationship with Gatsby. Tom, on the other hand is in a relationship with Myrtle. Myrtle is wife to George. The series of relationships displays a decadent society that has no respect for morals.

The novel also depicts the theme of class. At the point when this book is written, alcohol is forbidden in America. Even then, people still drink it and large amounts are smuggled in. This is like attraction to the forbidden fruit. The Great Gatsby also depicts the aspect of class excellently. The Great Gatsby can throw parties extravagantly and even not bother to attend. In The Great Gatsby, only the rich survive. The novel highlights the injustice of the world. The rich continue to live in their carelessness. In this novel, those who dream do not achieve their dream. On the other hand, those who have worthless dreams are destroyed.

The novel is very similar to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in matters of love. First, the Gatsby offers to do anything in order be with Daisy. He, like in Romeo and Juliet meets with much opposition but never gives up. After a car accident that kills Tom’s love Myrtle, Gatsby takes the blame to save Daisy. Second, the novel ends in a tragedy. When George, Myrtle’s husband, learns about the accident and gets the information that the driver of the car was Gatsby, he concludes that Gatsby was the lover to Myrtle. He finds Gatsby and kills him and commits suicide. The novel is however also different in other aspects.