Why I Think Gatsby is Great

Last week during Spring Break, I read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1924 masterpiece The Great Gatsby, a novel that I read long ago in middle school and yearned to re-read later, as a more mature thinker and reader. Yet, I could not find the time to do so until now, after IB exams were cancelled and an unavoidable miasma of boredom haunted me at home. So then, I picked up the old dusty copy of the novel and read it, being able to better understand the somewhat antiquated, difficult verbiage of Fitzgerald’s writing and better enjoy the classic novel much more than six years ago. In this article, I do not plan on explaining the themes and motifs because that can be better done in SparkNotes or eNotes, so instead, I wish to articulate some of my thoughts that arose as I read the novel.

When I first read it six years ago, I could not understand the reason that Gatsby was considered to be “great” by Nick Carraway, the narrator and main protagonist. At the time, I simply knew that he was rich––so rich to the extent that he could spend an exorbitant amount of money on hosting parties and endorsing luxuries––and that he gained his wealth through unethical means like bootlegging. I also understood that he had a fatal attraction (quite literally, if you will) to a married woman named Daisy. To me, on the surface level, his empty life in which he blindly idolizes a woman, excessively romanticizes the past, and engages in criminal activities did not seem to be “great” at all.

However, now that I understand the historical context of the story where the ‘American Dream’––the pure belief that upward mobility is possible for everyone––prevailed in the newly flourishing American society during the 1920s and 30s in the aftermath of WW1, I began to slowly realize the inherent reason that made Gatsby appear great not only in the eyes of Carraway but in my eyes. Society as a whole was becoming richer, the standard of living improved greatly, and people were purportedly becoming happier; yet, at the same time, people also became more materialistic and divided than ever due to social class and wealth gaps. Even the rich attempted to differentiate themselves between the ‘old’, aristocratic rich, and the ‘new’, ungraceful rich. However, regardless of the wealth and the supposed elegance and taste that one may hold, the truth was that many people lacked true moral values as people engaged in extramarital affairs, illegal activities, and other unspoken things. As a result, the American society in the plot, from my perspective, seemed to be very empty, illusory, and different from the overall rich, powerful image that I often associate America with.

However, Jay Gatsby seemed to be different. Although he was surely one of the ‘new’ riches who accrued wealth through an inappropriate method, he himself seemed to be the single individual pursuing the true American Dream as he sought after happiness and aimed to achieve that by marrying his long old love Daisy. While she is, in truth, also materialistic and empty just like her husband and other characters in the story, Gatsby gave his utmost effort, care, and love––simply put, everything––out of the desire to win the heart of one woman. In realistic terms, do I believe his decision to commit illegal activities to become rich and impress one woman of his lifetime was ethical and good? No. Yet, I did learn something about life as I learned more about the story of Gatsby: how he succeeded to become rich from being dirt poor, how he held lavish parties just to attract one person, and how he did everything in order to achieve what would make him happy after all. That was the essential reason that I thought Gatsby was great after all and also the reason that this novel can be deemed timeless. Whether it be the 1920s or the current 21st century, it seems like our fundamental desires and goals in life have not changed much. While there indeed are outliers who live a life of their own in which they do what makes them happy, we still see the majority of the society concerned with ‘money’ and becoming richer like some famous figures we see in the news. In this time of complexity, Gatsby’s sickening, failed love towards one person may seem foolish, but I believe his story teaches us that one’s fervid, passionate desire to achieve pure happiness––by whatever means and what constitutes each person’s happiness––may certainly be deserving of respect.

After adding the final touches to the previous paragraph, I skimmed through several commentaries from The Guardian, Huff Post, and other publications that had differing opinions on whether they believed Gatsby was truly great. However, from my point of view, as a soon-to-be college student entering the ‘adult’ world, I sometimes ask myself the grand purpose of all the hard work I put in during the past 18 years. Is it to become more educated and smarter? What for? To become richer? Happier? I realized that my overall goal for life, though I believe this also pertains to many students across the world nowadays, was to simply become richer instead of happier. Sure, it is true that having more wealth and financial stability is a mandatory component of welfare, but that alone should not dictate one, for instance, to pursue a job that he or she does not enjoy just because it offers a high salary. With that said, reading The Great Gatsby allowed me to reflect upon my own moral values and stereotypes that I upheld for a long time, such as whether I had some discriminatory thoughts against some people who would be regarded as ‘new’ riches in our current society, whether I consider myself to be courteous when my actions may show otherwise and more questions that seem to have open answers. To conclude, I believe the novel The Great Gatsby is definitely worth reading as it will naturally guide you to ponder some of the most basic, yet untouched questions regarding the purpose of life and force you to face the perhaps uncomfortable truth that you may have thought you were exempted from.