The Great Gatsby
Author : F. Scott Fitzgeald
Published : 1925
Language : English
“Just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
My Marathon Reading finally come to one of another greatest english literature, the Great Gatsby.
This novel take a place in Long Island, 1922 during the post of World War I.
The first person narrated is by Nicholas "Nick" Carraway, an midwestern man who come to New York to study about bond. He rents a small house in Long Island, beside a very huge mansion that belonged to man named Jay Gatsby.
Across the bay, Nick's cousin- Daisy live with her rich husband, Tom Buchanan, whom was at Yale with Nick. Daisy also has a daughter.
Some noon, Daisy invite Nick to her house and met with a golfer girl namely Jordan Baker. During his visit, Nick acknowledged that Tom has a mistress namely Myrtle. Daisy life is unhappy, Nick remember that on Daisy wedding day, she tried to broke off the marriage and run away, but finally she get married after being convinced by her family.
On the early chapter, Jay Gatsby is described as a mysterious gentleman with good looking and polite attitude. Gatsby often held a big party in his mansion and invite lot of people. One day, Nick is being invited to the party by Gatsby. Accompanied by golfer girl, miss Baker, Nick come to the party and finally meet Gatsby for person.
Gatsby said that he knew Nick from war. Both of them is war veteran.
Suddenly, Gatsby ask miss Baker to talk privately during his party. Later, miss Baker told Nick that Gatsby ask him to invite his cousin Daisy to Nick House and ask Gatsby to join.
Nick felt there is something odd with Gatsby character. The guests at Gatsby's party seems didn't know about him at all. They are speculating and gossiping about Gatsby, but none of them know him personally. When Nick ask him about his background, Gatsby didn't answer very much. Nick also noticed that Gatsby lied to him.
In fact, Gatsby know Daisy since 5 years ago. They were supposed to be lover until Gatsby shall dispatched abroad to war. Gatsby is falling in love too deep with Daisy the second he went to Daisy's home. Daisy is a gay girl (note : gay in 20's is describe a freemind character not a homosexual) and very popular between soldiers. It excited him, too, that many men had already loved Daisy — it increased her value in his eyes.Gatsby also notice that Daisy is seeking for a man with rich neighbourhood as well as she is. In fact Gatsby is not, he despised Daisy and comfort her by telling that she is also a rich man. And then Gatsby leave for war, at first Daisy is waiting for him and the eventually Daisy started to dating again with half dozen of people and finally met Tom and get married.
Gatsby is still loving Daisy and he believe that Daisy also still love him. They started to date again behind Tom's back, Nick and miss Baker know it.
On a hot afternoon, Five of them- Gatsby, Nick, Daisy, Tom and miss Baker are having a lunch. Tom- that described as a persistent and arrogant rich man confront Gatsby because initially he investigated the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby. Gatsby is asking Daisy to choose between Tom and Gatsby because Gatsby sure that Daisy never love Tom. But Daisy denied to answered that.
Later, there is an accident that change almost whole main characters life.
Like any other classical novel, for me-that happened barely reading classics, I found that this novel is boring for the first three chapters. I should read at least twice for long sentence with hiden message, and add it with difficul vocabularies. But then, when I finally able to link each character, I able to understand and moreover I found that diction is remarkable beautiful. Oh trust me there are so many names in this novel especially when it comes to party event. I prefer to skip the names.
Below are quotes from the novel that from my opinion is beautiful (and need to read twice):
“His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God”
“He had reached an age where death no longer has the quality of ghastly surprise,”
At the end-half chapter, the writer is finally leaked the real character of Jay Gatsby eventually. Jay Gatsby is a young man who rose from impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota to become fabulously wealthy. Gatsby is a smart man who always want to become rich. But his ultimate dream, his creme de la creme dream is to gain Daisy love. As the novel progresses, the writer described another characters of Gatsby as innocent, hopeful young man who stakes everything on his dreams, not realizing that his dream in unworthy of him.
Entirely different from Gatsby, Nick is a quiet young man reflective of Midwesterner. He is tolerant open-minded, and a good listener, and as the result Gatsby is trust him and treat him as a friend. Nick thought of Gatsby as like below quote:
“He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.”
What I love the most about this novel beside the beautiful description is the characters. Nick character is just precise. Between the narration and his thought are precisely described how a quiet man, open minded thinking. And then Gatsby, at first I thought that he is just any party guy and ambitious man but at last I feel so sorry for him and hate the other characters that made him like that. Daisy and Tom described very well also, an amoral aristocratic East Egg, careless and disloyal.
What make this novel considered as a great literature is because the author success to capture the character of an eastcost character espicially New Yorker whom love to party, drug, alhocolics, disloyal and carefree.
Well, overall this novel is readworthy especially for tose who love the beautiful dictions!!
You can download the ebook version of the Great Gatsby here!
You might also like :
The Perks of being Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
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