Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion
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The Great Gatsby
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The Great Gatsby - November 2013
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Is Gatsby a strong character? Do find any of the other characters stronger?
Do you find the characters likable? Would you want to meet the characters?
Do you agree with Nick's final assertion that Gatsby is "worth the whole damn bunch put together"? Why or why not?
How essential is the setting to The Great Gatsby? Could the story have taken place anywhere else? In any other time?
The book is infused with symbolism, particularly the green light at which Jay Gatsby gazes so intently, and the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg on the billboard. What do you think these symbols suggest?
What statement might Fitzgerald be making about the mores or ethos of American culture—particularly the American Dream?
Does the novel critique or uphold the values of the Jazz Age and the fears of the Lost Generation?
Why is The Great Gatsby controversial? Why has it been banned/challenged?
Have you seen any of the movie adaptations of The Great Gatsby? Did seeing a film portrayal of The Great Gatsby change your thoughts about the characters, the setting, or the story?
Discussion questions from http://www.litlovers.com/ and http://classiclit.about.com/ and http://tscpl.org/
Lynn ,Do we hide spoilers here ? Impossible to do on iPhone app . Just wanted to be sure so if we need to hide them , I make sure to use pc.
Thanks
I like the line in the opening about how he was accused in college of "being a politician," because he "privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men."Yeah, listening can gain you quite the rep!
I haven't read this in a long time, so I'm looking forward to another go round.
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Can I just say that the name Carraway is absolutely brilliant. Care Away, all of the care is gone. I also love the line "Its a great advantage to be a non ringer among hard drinking friends."
I've read the book for many, many times and I definitely happily re-read it in the future. In my opinion, the story could have been shortened to just more than a hundred pages, but because of Carraway's point of views, the way he inteprets other characters, it makes this book more than just... hundred pages. For Gatsby, his dreams have gone too far, but they're so beautiful to the point making me breathless. I went all teary for him because the only one who can truely understand his fantastic dreams and fantastic self is Nick alone.
I'm about halfway through, but I feel like this book just might not be for me. I'm very conflicted, because I absolutely love the language (the prose is sublime and nothing short of enchanting) but I'm having trouble getting into the story itself.
I am just starting the book today, I hope I am not too late!
I'll start by saying that The Great Gatsby is my all time favorite book and I have read it several times over. The first time was in high school (many, many years ago), but I do remember that I didn't like Gatsby very much. The next time I read was in college (also many years ago), and that was when I loved Gatsby and realized that I didn't get the book at all the first time.For me, part of the beauty of the novel is in Fitzgerald's amazingly perfect sentences. Nick Carraway in the first chapter says "Only Gatsby,the man who gives his name to this book was exempt from my reaction - Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous abut him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away." I think WOW every time I read that.
The Great Gatsby is about the American dream, but it is a love story of hope that get shattered by the shallow people around Gatsby - Tom and yes Daisy the object of Gatsby's affection, hope and dreams.
Is Gatsby a strong character? Yes, I believe that he is strong, yet flawed, even naive, as he is blinded by his love for Daisy that he believes that now that he has found her again, that he can turn back the clock to their days as young lovers. He is strong because he has done what he felt he had to do to get where he is financially to be able to win Daisy back over. Although some of the means to get there appear somewhat shady, ok very shady, I think about the scene where Gatsby's father shows Nick, a worn copy of a book in which Gatsby has listed things to do. Even as a boy, he had plans to be successful.
Yes, I do agree that "Gatsby is worth the whole damned bunch of them." How can you not agree after what Daisy and Tom ultimately do.
I think I'll stop for now , but would love to continue later with some of the other questions that Lynn listed after there is more discussion. Sorry to be so wordy , but I just cant help myself when it comes to this book.
Mod
Angela - Don't apologise, it's lovely to see such enthusiasm :)
Thanks , Lynn . :-)
I love Gatsby. It's one of my favorite books ever and I hardly ever know one book that is my all time favorite. The language and love is beautiful but heartbreaking. Let's be honest, we all have a green light at the end of a dock to gaze at. Who do you think the antagonist of the story is? My opinion, Daisy is the cause of all the drama. She just is the root of all the problems in the story and her indecisiveness about who she wants to be with leads to the climax and Gatsby's demise.
This was an amazing book. I hadn't read it in a long time. There is just so much to like:I can see why they made it into movies - he describes scenes, such as having the two girls, the first time we see them, walking with their hands on their hips. "Slenderly, languidly, their hands set lightly on their hips, the two young women preceded us out onto the rosy-colored porch..."
The hints about Daisy's distant relationship with her daughter.
Plus Nick's lists of Gatsby's party-goers, and his little phrases about what happened to them afterwards. (view spoiler)
i have this on my book shelf. It was a birthday gift but it is still sitting there! I have yet to read it! I need to play catch up!
The Great Gatsby is one of my all time favorites. I recently watched the movie which I actually enjoyed.Anyway, regarding the question about if the setting was somewhere else, would the same events had happened. I know there are other periods in history of extreme extravagance - like French royalty before the revolution - but the 20s is definitely a unique setting. I believe that New York at that particular time is the perfect setting, because the rich were so ridiculous with their problems and didn't understand that most of the things they bickered about was petty. I don't think the story would have had the same impact if it was placed somewhere else or during a different time.
Emily wrote: "The Great Gatsby is one of my all time favorites. I recently watched the movie which I actually enjoyed.Anyway, regarding the question about if the setting was somewhere else, would the same event..."
This is a book where setting matters. These people weren't natives to New York, as Nick points out.
I love that The Great Gatsby is a favorite of others, too, so we can gush over this book together.Chelsey , I agree that Daisy is one of the antagonists and I also think that her rotten husband Tom is ,as well. Yes, they do play a big role in Gatsby's demise and I think Nick at the end of chapter one eludes to what "preyed on Gatsby" , "what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams." Daisy, Tom, perhaps the whole idea for Gatsby that he had to create his situation such that it would meet with Daisy's liking - the mansion, the opulent parties , etc. are part of that dust.
And I agree with your lovely thought that we all have our green light at the end of the dock to gaze on. The problem with the light for Gastby, I think is so beautifully summed in the end :"He did not know it was already behind him,. ....Gatsby believed in the green light, in the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. " So for me, I think that Gatsby's biggest , really fatal flaw was not accepting that his past was behind him.
Ok, Lynn - I won't apologize for gushing! I'll stop for now, but I want to come back to some of the other questions Lynn posed and also tell what I thought of the two Gatsby movies I have seen. Enough for now.
Mod
'We walked through a high hallway into a bright rosy-colored space, fragileley bound into the house by French windows at either end. The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside that seemed to grow a little way into the house. A breeze blew through the room, blew curtains in at one end and out the other like pale flags, twisting them up toward the frosted wedding cake of the ceiling - and then rippled over the wine colored rug, making a shadow on it as wind does on the sea.'
This is a perfect example, such a small paragraph in the book was turned into fabulous visual experience that made me smile in a slightly 'childlike wonder'. Dozens of beautiful, long, see-through-white curtains billowing in the wind, showing snippets of the room as if entering some dream like paradise. When the doors are closed, the curtains gently drift to the floor to reveal Daisy and Jordan. It’s a stunning scene.
Hi guys! What a great book to review. I'll be popping in throughout the month to see what everyone thinks about the book and how it compares to the movie - Lynn, interesting that the movie won you over - more than the book. Excellent paragraph you picked out.I've been wanting to read The Great Gatsby for a while now; I haven't read it yet, but I look forward to seeing how money, ambition, and greed pull the character throughout the story. I hope it has a great ending. The main character is beginning to sound like one of those types who thinks he can control the future by having more. I love cautionary tales.
Interesting point here about Daisy being the Antagonist. Is she a troublemaker or does she accidentally bring out the worst in someone? I shall soon find out.
Wow! Some impressive recommendations here. I read this many years ago, and like Angela, was not impressed at first. I couldn't understand what was the big deal. But Katy is giving it the thumbs up so I will have to give it another try. BTW, the intro to Gatsby was done in a fiction workshop I attended, and do remember that the first few pages (after many years) were amazing. I will certainly have to try again.
Lynn , you are so right about the beautiful and stunning scenes in the 2013 movie. I could see those curtains again when I read your description. Another small scene in the book which really came to life for me was Gatsby throwing around his English made shirts . In the book , it is the first time Daisy is at the mansion and Gatsby is desperate to impress her . He begins throwing his beautiful shirts and I still picture Leonardo's Gatsby throwing the shirts of all colors over the railing . The party scenes were pretty amazing but I thought over the top Hollywood . Another moving visual for me was Gatsby looking at the green light . One of the things that really bothered me in the movie was how the movie maker added a storyline that wasn't in the book . I just didn't get why Nick was portrayed as a recovering alcoholic . Nick as the narrator , in my view is sort of an innocent bystander , an outsider who tells us who Gatsby is . He certainly is affected by what happens and I think on one level , it is a coming of age for him. The affect on Nick is obvious in the beautiful narration itself . It should stand by itself as in book .
I also thought that they omitted a poignant scene in the book , which I mentioned in an earlier post when Nick meets Gatsby's father and we get a look into his childhood .
I am dating myself here , but I also saw the movie in the 70's with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow . It was really a long time ago and I haven't seen it since so I don't remember a lot about it . I do remember , though , the ending left me feeling a bit empty . I vaguely remember a carousel and some carousel type music and I felt it was a little too upbeat for the ending .
Roderick ,Please do give it another try . Again my first reading was as a young high school student who didn't get it . It will probably always be my favorite !
I am only on page 20 something, so I don't think I should answer any questions yet... however this book has already captivated me. I am not the best at reading older books as sometimes the voice is hard for me to understand, but this book is already beautiful. The imagery is amazing. I just got done reading about his visit to Daisy's home, meeting Tom and Miss Baker.
Am I the only one that felt some sort of intimacy about Daisy?
I haven't read this before and I do not really read a lot about a book before I start it, so I do not know what is going to happen!
Angela wrote: "I'll start by saying that The Great Gatsby is my all time favorite book and I have read it several times over. The first time was in high school (many, many years ago), but I do remember that I did..."Thank you for recapping this beautiful sentence from the beginning. It has helped shed some more light to me about what the book is going to surround itself by. It was a gentle reminder and definitely a tone setter.
Kayla,I'm so glad that you are captivated by The Great Gatsby , too . I look forward to your impressions as you read further .
Almost half way through now.I have found the characters likeable so far!
I have enjoyed reading the book through Carraway's eyes- he is observant and I appreciate that he is not of high class like Gatsby and Daisy are.
Has anyone else noticed how much alcohol is strung through this book? Any thoughts?
I started it last night. One can see why Hemingway and Fitzgerald had a stormy relationship. The biographies have it wrong. It was about the writing. One never used an adjective or an adverb, while the other uses them profusely. Hee-hee. I like Fitzgerald's style even if it is a bit loquacious and flamboyant. It works well with the roaring 20's theme. Yet, I see where Hemingway would have twisted things where Fitzgerald keeps them straight and narrow. For example, on p. 12:I told her how I had stopped off in Chicago for a day on my way east...
"Do they miss me?" she cried ecstatically.
"The whole town is desolate. All the cars have the left rear wheel painted black as a mourning wreath and there's a persistent wail all night along the North Shore."
I took that to be a sarcastic remark at first, but there was no follow up. I think Hemingway would have twisted that scene just a bit more to grey the character a bit.
But that's just my opinion. I'm intrigued to read more. So forward march. Take care all.
Roderick wrote: "I started it last night. One can see why Hemingway and Fitzgerald had a stormy relationship. The biographies have it wrong. It was about the writing. One never used an adjective or an adverb, w..."re your ref of Pg 12 - Fitzgerald is superb: to endow a personality to Daisy as to ask such a plaintive question ecstatically.
Love this novel. I think this must be about the 7th time I've read it.
Roderick wrote: "I started it last night. One can see why Hemingway and Fitzgerald had a stormy relationship. The biographies have it wrong. It was about the writing. One never used an adjective or an adverb, w..."I am glad I am not the only one who found the sarcastic remarks interesting. I am having a hard time understanding if Nick is just being an ass, or just boosting Daisy's character?
Kayla wrote: "Roderick wrote: "I started it last night. One can see why Hemingway and Fitzgerald had a stormy relationship. The biographies have it wrong. It was about the writing. One never used an adjectiv..." Or just an "oh shucks" kind of spineless guy...I don't know yet. Not far enough into it.
Roderick wrote: "Kayla wrote: "Roderick wrote: "I started it last night. One can see why Hemingway and Fitzgerald had a stormy relationship. The biographies have it wrong. It was about the writing. One never us..."Roderick, you're pretty switched on. Readers often miss these subtle nuances that Fitzgerald implies throughout the novel. Nick knows that Daisy is a little 'princess', living in a rarefied world that he does not inhabit but he won't ridicule her outright.
Bette wrote: "Roderick wrote: "Kayla wrote: "Roderick wrote: "I started it last night. One can see why Hemingway and Fitzgerald had a stormy relationship. The biographies have it wrong. It was about the writi..."Thanks for the compliment Bette. It will be interesting to throw out comments to someone who really understands it. Looking forward to the conversation. All the best.
Bette,I'm with you - Iove this book ! I'm sure I have read at least 7 times too .
Kayla & Roderick - I am enjoying your observations!
Roderick wrote: "Bette wrote: "Roderick wrote: "Kayla wrote: "Roderick wrote: "I started it last night. One can see why Hemingway and Fitzgerald had a stormy relationship. The biographies have it wrong. It was a..."I agree, Bette. I'm getting anxious to read GG after all the comments. I have to finish
which BTW, if you want veiled sarcasm and innuendo, this the book to read!
I've finished and while I think the language is stunning and absolutely gorgeous, I never fully got into the story. I neither loved nor hated it, though I did think Nick was a great narrator. I liked his voice and seemingly casual observations. I agree with some of the people above who mentioned that the most recent movie version (which I watched upon finishing the book) is visually very stunning. I loved seeing some of my favourite scenes being brought to life!
Moira wrote: "Roderick wrote: "Bette wrote: "Roderick wrote: "Kayla wrote: "Roderick wrote: "I started it last night. One can see why Hemingway and Fitzgerald had a stormy relationship. The biographies have it..."I second that Moira.
The Orphan Master's Son is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I didn't feel it was as much sarcastic as it was a tale of survival under a very cruel regime.
Roderick wrote: "So going further. Nick is certainly more snarky. He says, "You make me feel uncivilized....Can't you talk about crops or something." That really made me laugh. There was talk of the butler's no..."Nick is from the 'real' world so he is so much more grounded but these people make him feel inadequate; you have to love his wry sarcastic remarks! One wonders whether they are even aware of his slights such as "that's why I came over"!
Cathy wrote: "I've finished and while I think the language is stunning and absolutely gorgeous, I never fully got into the story. I neither loved nor hated it, though I did think Nick was a great narrator. I lik..."I agree with you about the movie although I think the previous movie version with Redford and Farrow gives a better interpretation of the book. You are more drawn to what's going on rather than the visual effects in the more recent adaptation.
The older version is well worth a look, if you have the time and access.
Angela wrote: "I'll start by saying that The Great Gatsby is my all time favorite book and I have read it several times over. The first time was in high school (many, many years ago), but I do remember that I did..."I'm with you in your 'Wow' reaction to that quote. I also read Gatsby in the same timeline as you as in 'many, many years':)
Each time I read this novel, I find something new to admire. Fitzgerald is a superb writer; wonderful Literary Fiction - my fave gene - and even his Tender is The Night (often deemed a flop) is a wonderful book.
Bette wrote: "Roderick wrote: "So going further. Nick is certainly more snarky. He says, "You make me feel uncivilized....Can't you talk about crops or something." That really made me laugh. There was talk o..."I love your perspective on this! I too felt like he was being sarcastic because the people he is associating with are upper class and view things quite differently then him. It is almost like he is feeding their over the top views with his comments.
Cathy wrote: "I've finished and while I think the language is stunning and absolutely gorgeous, I never fully got into the story. I neither loved nor hated it, though I did think Nick was a great narrator. I lik..."Interesting to hear you gave it 3 stars! Sometimes it is hard for me to rate a book when everyone else has given it 4 or 5 stars and I do not feel the same. I am close to being done.
Cathy, did you find yourself liking Gatsby and his character?
I am about 50 pages from the ending, and a BIG scene just happened... really took me by surprise.
Kayla wrote: "Cathy wrote: "I've finished and while I think the language is stunning and absolutely gorgeous, I never fully got into the story. I neither loved nor hated it, though I did think Nick was a great n..."Hi Kayla, it's been years since I've read it, so I wanted to reread it to see if I still feel the same way. I agree, certainly Nick is feeding their over the top views. They don't seem to pick up the sarcasm though and I find that hilarious.
Kayla wrote: "Interesting to hear you gave it 3 stars! Sometimes it is hard for me to rate a book when everyone else has given it 4 or 5 stars and I do not feel the same. I am close to being done.Cathy, did you find yourself liking Gatsby and his character?..."
Kayla, I admit that I was planning on giving it 2 stars but added an extra one simply because I enjoyed the writing so. I feel like Fitzgerald's words and language somewhat enchanted me, so I rounded up. But I definitely understand you when it concerns a book that many people truly love and then you end up wondering why exactly when you don't feel the same.
I did like Gatsby's character! He is obviously flawed and unwilling to let go of his past (or unable to see that certain things are IN this past) but he and Nick were basically the only two characters I didn't intensely dislike. How are you enjoying the book so far?
Roderick wrote: "Kayla wrote: "Cathy wrote: "I've finished and while I think the language is stunning and absolutely gorgeous, I never fully got into the story. I neither loved nor hated it, though I did think Nick..."Roderick, I'm like you, I read it ages ago. I think Nick is too droll for Daisy and Tom.
Mod
I just found it hard to enjoy the book in which I pretty disliked every character so much. Fabulous, beautiful writing but I just couldn't love the story.
Lynn wrote: "I'm a 3 starer (is that even a word? lol) too :)I just found it hard to enjoy the book in which I pretty disliked every character so much. Fabulous, beautiful writing but I just couldn't love the..."
Yes, this was basically my exact reaction :)
Lynn wrote: "I'm a 3 starer (is that even a word? lol) too :)I just found it hard to enjoy the book in which I pretty disliked every character so much. Fabulous, beautiful writing but I just couldn't love the..."
Your rating is great: it's good that readers bother to judge a book on the quality of writing rather than whether they liked to characters or not.
Daisy, Tom, Gatsby even Nick are hard to like but maybe that's great that Fitzgerald can make us register true emotion about his characters.
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Goodreads book Summary:
In 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write "something new--something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned." That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned, and above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald's finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald's--and his country's--most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--" Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream.
It's also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means--and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. "Her voice is full of money," Gatsby says admiringly, in one of the novel's more famous descriptions. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy's patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear.
When she does, events unfold with all the tragic inevitability of a Greek drama, with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout. Spare, elegantly plotted, and written in crystalline prose, The Great Gatsby is as perfectly satisfying as the best kind of poem.