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The book is a social commentary, a criticism of wealth and excess- showing this through the tragic downfall of Jay Gatsby, the cleverness of Fitzgerald's beautiful prose does this so well because we can see the awfulness of Gatsby but at the same time sympathize. And that's what makes it great. We aren't one dimensional beings- the charming and romantic criminal can engage us and we can sympathize- they are like us, that's what makes us human, and that's what makes great literature.
I accept, and endorse, your premise, except Nick doesn't sell me on Gatsby's charm. He TELLS me how HE (Nick) is charmed by Gatsby, but all that does is make me wonder about Nick.
Nick/Fitzgerald doesn't SHOW Gatsby actually BEING charming. Quite the contrary. He shows Gatsby as a guy who reaches out alone at night toward a green light across the bay, a guy who turns on all the lights to admire his big house, as a recluse at his own parties and as a user/manipulator of people, specifically Nick and Jordan, and eventually Daisy, to get what he wants. Where's the charm in ostentation, in an affectation like "old sport" or flashing a business card at a cop to dodge a traffic violation?
The intent may be to present Gatsby as charismatic through Nick's eyes, but I need to be put in the same room to sense charisma, to witness that person first-hand. Gatsby has only three or four character-revealing scenes: 1--when he drives Nick to meet Wolfsheim (lots of attempt at charming Nick because he wants something from him), 2--when he meets Daisy at Nick's house (Nick and Daisy are obviously charmed, but then Gatsby wants something from them), 3--the showdown that hot afternoon that takes place at the Buchanan's and later at the hotel (no charm there, quite the opposite, where Daisy's charm bubble is burst when Tom unmask's Gatsby's criminality) and 4--in the Buchanan's garden vigil after Myrtle's death (where Gatsby lies about who was driving in order to impress Nick).
It is clear that Nick, Daisy, Jordan and Wolfsheim are charmed by Gatsby, Nick more than anyone, by far. But the reader? Hmmm.
We know Gatsby has done shady things- but as I said, he is not one dimensional. He is mysterious- he charmed Nick and at the same time Nick is wary. Gatsby is childlike in his pursuit of Daisy, and when he says "can't repeat the past? Why ofcourse you can!"
He wears expensive clothing, lives in a mansion,etc. He can be, and is, a charming a^*hole. This is what makes the novel interesting, and it is Fitzgerald's prose that does this, this written by a lesser writer would be a bore. Gatsby's desperation in his pursuit of Daisy makes him a sympathetic character.
"Gatsby is childlike in his pursuit of Daisy, and when he says "can't repeat the past? Why ofcourse you can!"
Excellent point. You just handed me a big fat nugget in my writer's toolkit.
The child's mind is still in all of us, even in old age. Picasso talks about this, and if you study his work you know how he tapped into that part of his consciousness.
Part of Gatsby's appeal may very well be his child-like simplicity and inability (or refusal) to accept realistic social boundaries. Somehow that immaturity gets translated to a vulnerability that men instinctively understand and appeals to the nurturing (or exploitative) side of women. The colorful bouquet of shirts and ties is like a child playing.
You've given us something to ponder here. Thanks.
Come to think of it, this child-like aspect of Holden Caulfield may account for some of the appeal in Catcher in the Rye. Holden complains endlessly, about everything, like a child who doesn't understand the realities of the adult world he is coming in contact with. A very interesting concept to ponder.
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The book is a social commentary, a criticism of wealth and excess- showing this through the tragic downfall of Jay Gatsby, the cleverness of Fitzgerald's beautiful prose does this so well because we can see the awfulness of Gatsby but at the same time sympathize. And that's what makes it great. We aren't one dimensional beings- the charming and romantic criminal can engage us and we can sympathize- they are like us, that's what makes us human, and that's what makes great literature.
I accept, and endorse, your premise, except Nick doesn't sell me on Gatsby's charm. He TELLS me how HE (Nick) is charmed by Gatsby, but all that does is make me wonder about Nick. Nick/Fitzgerald doesn't SHOW Gatsby actually BEING charming. Quite the contrary. He shows Gatsby as a guy who reaches out alone at night toward a green light across the bay, a guy who turns on all the lights to admire his big house, as a recluse at his own parties and as a user/manipulator of people, specifically Nick and Jordan, and eventually Daisy, to get what he wants. Where's the charm in ostentation, in an affectation like "old sport" or flashing a business card at a cop to dodge a traffic violation?
The intent may be to present Gatsby as charismatic through Nick's eyes, but I need to be put in the same room to sense charisma, to witness that person first-hand. Gatsby has only three or four character-revealing scenes: 1--when he drives Nick to meet Wolfsheim (lots of attempt at charming Nick because he wants something from him), 2--when he meets Daisy at Nick's house (Nick and Daisy are obviously charmed, but then Gatsby wants something from them), 3--the showdown that hot afternoon that takes place at the Buchanan's and later at the hotel (no charm there, quite the opposite, where Daisy's charm bubble is burst when Tom unmask's Gatsby's criminality) and 4--in the Buchanan's garden vigil after Myrtle's death (where Gatsby lies about who was driving in order to impress Nick).
It is clear that Nick, Daisy, Jordan and Wolfsheim are charmed by Gatsby, Nick more than anyone, by far. But the reader? Hmmm.
We know Gatsby has done shady things- but as I said, he is not one dimensional. He is mysterious- he charmed Nick and at the same time Nick is wary. Gatsby is childlike in his pursuit of Daisy, and when he says "can't repeat the past? Why ofcourse you can!"He wears expensive clothing, lives in a mansion,etc. He can be, and is, a charming a^*hole. This is what makes the novel interesting, and it is Fitzgerald's prose that does this, this written by a lesser writer would be a bore. Gatsby's desperation in his pursuit of Daisy makes him a sympathetic character.
"Gatsby is childlike in his pursuit of Daisy, and when he says "can't repeat the past? Why ofcourse you can!"Excellent point. You just handed me a big fat nugget in my writer's toolkit.
The child's mind is still in all of us, even in old age. Picasso talks about this, and if you study his work you know how he tapped into that part of his consciousness.
Part of Gatsby's appeal may very well be his child-like simplicity and inability (or refusal) to accept realistic social boundaries. Somehow that immaturity gets translated to a vulnerability that men instinctively understand and appeals to the nurturing (or exploitative) side of women. The colorful bouquet of shirts and ties is like a child playing.
You've given us something to ponder here. Thanks.
Come to think of it, this child-like aspect of Holden Caulfield may account for some of the appeal in Catcher in the Rye. Holden complains endlessly, about everything, like a child who doesn't understand the realities of the adult world he is coming in contact with. A very interesting concept to ponder.
Fitzgerald himself said that even the most favorable reviews failed to grasp what the book was about.
Only one of the four films made about Gatsby have portrayed him as a gangster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-tdK...
More than a couple of times during the novel it is intimated that Gatsby may have killed a man, a tarnish that literary critics seem determined to rub off by dodging this and other aspects of Gatsby's corruption. The car, the castle and the lavish parties were a distracting gilt that few seem interested in looking beneath. Academia and film have romanticized Gatsby as a hero, and his rotten core ignored because of Nick's overblown narration.
A strong case can be made that Gatsby was intended by Fitzgerald as a parody of the corruption inherent in unbridled capitalism that academia has stood on its head to spin as the celebration of the American Dream personified in a romantic hero.