What's so great about The Great Gatsby?

[Monty J]

RowanGale wrote: "I don't think I'm incapable of appreciating classics, I love Tom Sawyer. I'm 130/180ish pages and I don't see anything remarkable about TGG. Is it the time period? Is it the story itself? I admit I..."

The novel deals with timeless themes vital to being human in a materialistic society--love, ambition and corruption. It answers the biblical question*: what is the value of wealth if you lose your soul/life to obtain it?

The corruption widely inherent in the wealthy class is on display as the main characters betray one another with infidelity and commit crimes like securities fraud, bootlegging, bribery and consorting with mobsters.

Gatsby sells his soul to the devil by adopting a criminal life to obtain love and respect and loses not only that love but his life as a direct result of his corruption. Daisy is the tainted trophy he seeks as confirmation of his accomplishments. Her value to Gatsby lies in the superficiality of her good looks and the social class she represents.

But Daisy makes an existential choice that every woman must make in selecting a mate--she chooses the one who is not a crook. Nick is the infatuated observer whose judgement is clouded by his feelings toward Gatsby. Michaelis is the clear-headed, honest, compassionate, working-class observer who exposes the truth about who was driving the death car--Gatsby.

Our prisons and political organs bulge with the likes of Jay Gatsby and always will. Modern examples would be Charles Keating, Michael Milken, Bernard Madoff, Prince Edward, Jeffrey Epstein, Paul Manafort and even Donald Trump, whose corruption is now publicly confirmed by impeachment.

The Roaring Twenties was a period in American history with strong parallels to the present: a period of economic prosperity, wealth disparity, relaxed governmental oversight and widespread corruption. It will be interesting to see if another Great Depression follows, as was the previous case.


*Matthew 26