The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

[Ashley]

This thread will be for discussing The Great Gatsby. Please remember to mark your spoilers. :)

[Kara]

I haven't read this since high school (and I remember so little of it), so I'm looking forward to rereading it.

[Lorelei]

I'm reading this and I look forward to the discussion.

[Katelyn]

Ashley wrote: "This thread will be for discussing The Great Gatsby. Please remember to mark your spoilers. :)"

I am trying to read a chapter a night! I need to read it for my lit class. So I will be already to discuss!

[Sara]

I've been wanting to read this one, will hopefully get to it in a week or so. Description looks quite intriguing.

[Katelyn]

I forgot how flighty Daisy is.

[Kelsi]

I was so swept up into Gatsby. I like how so much, yet so little is revealed about him.

[Katelyn]

I am half way through. Why couldn't I remember more of this book? I feel like I am really reading it for the first time!

[Ana]

i have already read it a few months ago and i enjoyed it a lot more than i expected

[Sara]

I was halfway through The Great Gatsby last night and I thought "surely this has to get better, something has to happen at one point". When I finished it this morning I was rather disappointed that I had to wait until the last 30 pages to finally be anywhere near engaged in the story. It's not that the story was horrible or that the writing was bad, it wasn't.. it was just boring. I found it to be, through and through, a boring story built from good prose about situations that evoke a response in the reader, mainly the hopes and the shallowness of our country. It was a short look at the unrealized American dream, from either side of the fence, and the compromising morals of the public within its scope. I just wish it would have been a little more exciting. A little more honest.

Granted those last 30 pages were quite a ride but I can't figure why this book would be so popular. The final outcome upgraded my rating from 2 stars to 3 though, as I'm a sucker for a good ending.

For those who have finished the book I have a question. (view spoiler)[What do you think of Nick's decision to not tell the police the truth about the accident? Is he just as at fault as everyone else for not doing anything for Gatsby as well? (hide spoiler)]

[Robert]

Sara wrote: "I was halfway through The Great Gatsby last night and I thought "surely this has to get better, something has to happen at one point". When I finished it this morning I was rather disappointed tha..."

(view spoiler)[I think Nick wouldn't tell the police because it was an internal affair and the Buchanans were wealthy enough to either evade or resist the accusations. Regardless, telling the police would kind of ruin the hopelessness Nick feels at the end where he sees what America has become (hide spoiler)]

[Sara]

Robert wrote: "Sara wrote: "I was halfway through The Great Gatsby last night and I thought "surely this has to get better, something has to happen at one point". When I finished it this morning I was rather dis..."

(view spoiler)[I'm not sure I understand your answer. His not telling the police would be a moral matter I would think, regardless of the outcome. He seemed disappointed that the sister kept mum but he did so himself as well. To me, I interpret this as him being a hypocrite. He does not seem to judge himself like he is judging others.

I assumed at the end of the book that the hopelessness that Nick felt about the country had to do with people being shallow and selfish. Out for their own interests over all others. Am I missing something there? Is there a bigger theme? Nick seemed to me just as shallow and selfish as the rest of them. (hide spoiler)]

[Robert]

(view spoiler)[ I think Nick was not as shallow and selfish as the rest of them because he was able to recognize those characteristics in the people around him. It's one reasons why he leaves the East; the moral decay is a corrupting influence and was affecting him. But I think you're right though, he is partially hypocritical by not reporting the true events; although, he didn't know that Tom sent Wilson until he met up with Tom on the street. At that point, I guess he figured telling the police would be too late, plus the police themselves are corrupt as shown by Gatsby's "Christmas card". To tell you the truth, this is all mere speculation and a bit divergent because I presume Fitzgerald wished for the audience to focus on the moral decay of society rather than the particulars of the narrative itself. (hide spoiler)]

[Robert]

Sara wrote: "Robert wrote: "Sara wrote: "I was halfway through The Great Gatsby last night and I thought "surely this has to get better, something has to happen at one point". When I finished it this morning I..."

(view spoiler)[I think Nick was not as shallow and selfish as the rest of them because he was able to recognize those characteristics in the people around him. It's one reasons why he leaves the East; the moral decay is a corrupting influence and was affecting him. But I think you're right though, he is partially hypocritical by not reporting the true events; although, he didn't know that Tom sent Wilson until he met up with Tom on the street. At that point, I guess he figured telling the police would be too late, plus the police themselves are corrupt as shown by Gatsby's "Christmas card". To tell you the truth, this is all mere speculation and a bit divergent because I presume Fitzgerald wished for the audience to focus on the moral decay of society rather than the particulars of the narrative itself (hide spoiler)]

[Sara]

Robert wrote: "Sara wrote: "Robert wrote: "Sara wrote: "I was halfway through The Great Gatsby last night and I thought "surely this has to get better, something has to happen at one point". When I finished it t..."

Great response, thank you. I had forgotten that the police were mentioned as being corrupt before, good point.

[Robert]

For me, Great Gatsby's criminal activities make him seem a bit more epic. I mean how cool would it be to have your butler informing you that "Philadelphia wants you sir". Makes him seem a bit more important.

[TheCuriousDeer]

Just seen this thread! I am abotut to start reading the book so will come back to the discussion once I'm started!

[Kara]

So I finished this one. I was forced to read this in 9th grade English ages ago and hated it back then. I liked it better rereading it. I liked the commentary on American society, and I liked the descriptions of the characters. But honestly? Until the last quarter or so, I was bored.

[Kaitlin]

I started this on audiobook today because all the hard copies at my library were checked out. I've never listened to an audiobook before, but Tim Robbins is narrating and has a great voice (plus who doesn't like him in Shawshank Redemption??).

Like Kara, I read Gatsby in high school (10th grade) and hated it. So far I'm finding it very poetic but uneventful. Tim will be reading to me again on the way to work tomorrow, so we'll see how it progresses.