The Great Gatsby
discussion
worst book ever!
Just want to chime in that the worst book ever written is Dan Browns "The Last Symbol". It is so bad, I can never rate another book one-star here on Goodreads, in fear of diminishing my grade for this piece of crud. The Great Gatsby and Huckleberry Finn are excellent books, especially in comparison.
The absolute worst book that is considered a classic is Moby Dick. It is long-winded, boring and written in a way to intimidate the reader. Melville tries to include every tidbit about whales in the book, overwhelming the reader with minutiae. The Great Gatsby was a joy to read compared with that tome.
Salma wrote: "wow- I definitely have to read it again. The two times I've read it, it easily tops my list of fave books. But it's been years since I read it. "I agree. It's been years since I've read it, but I recall enjoying it.
To say you don't like the book is fine, but really, the worst ever? Have you read anything else? There is a lot of bad "literature" out there... TGG is not bad literature. It just may not be what you enjoy reading.
Thalia wrote: "Wow, really? I just read this for my grade eleven English class, and I just adored it. I don't think it was fabulous, but I see why it's a classic and I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters.I es..."
I just got to teach it(one of my great joys) to my AP English class and it was, hands-down, their favorite for the year. I think the eleventh grade teachers are going to be using it from now on, so it will be a while until I get to teach it again.
Emily wrote: "The absolute worst book that is considered a classic is Moby Dick. It is long-winded, boring and written in a way to intimidate the reader. Melville tries to include every tidbit about whales in ..."Worse than Moby Dick is Melville's White Jacket. It is kind of like Moby Dick without plot or characters. I had to read it in senior seminar in college and I remember being bored to tears. Actual tears! Streaming down my cheeks
Doug, thanks for warning me (not that I any desire to read anything by Melville again.)
Thalia wrote: "k wceuwevnjrhvwenk5bjgrhjk5g."Hey, hey, watch yourself there, Thalia -- them's fightin words!
Whoops, I'll try to keep it more PG next time. (;Doug, it was good! We just finished up The Old Man and the Sea and I'm surprised by how much I liked that, too! I feel like it used to be a toss up on whether I'd like a classic or not, but I find myself enjoying more and more of them!
You should read BARRY THE SCRIVENER for no other reason that your opinion of Melville will change. Also BIllY BUDD.
I read it on my own initiative and I thought it was overrated too! One of the worse books I've ever read. In fact, I did two readings to see if I'd eventually like the book, this book that's supposedly the masterpiece of the century but I just didn't. The ending made sense to me, Daisy and Tom are the kind of people who retreat back to their habitat when trouble arises.I usually love the classics (this is an exception) and I understood what Fitzgerald was getting at as well as why he wrote it the way he wrote it but above all, I still didn't like the book.
Geoffrey wrote: "You should read BARRY THE SCRIVENER for no other reason that your opinion of Melville will change. Also BIllY BUDD."I do like both of those books,Geoffrey. I plan to use one in AP English Lit next year
Geoffrey wrote: "You should read BARRY THE SCRIVENER for no other reason that your opinion of Melville will change. Also BIllY BUDD."Please tell me you mean 'BARTLEBY the Scrivener'.
This was one of my favorite books. I'm genuinely sad that you find it boring :(
Oh God, yes yes yes. I selected this to use with my AP literature class, and I despised it. Reading it was like being beaten with a bag of oranges.
Yes, Bartleby. My worst in high school was PARADISE LOST. Ahab`s story was not my favorite, but I did not hate it. Interestingly, I disliked MY ANTONIA very much but read it 5 years ago and am now very enthusiastic about it. Followed by O, Pioneer, part of the Archbishop and the entire Sapphira story.
Whaaat?! Dorian Gray, in my opinion, was amazing. Except for chapter eleven, when Wilde went on a tangent about all the different rugs/vases/chocolates Dorian liked, hahah. But I adored that story and it's one of my top favorite classics!My Antonia I TOTALLY agree on. I hated that book; had to read it in my eighth grade English class and I just despised every moment of it.
It was an acceptable book. If you really want to hate a book, read tender is the night
The Great Gatsby may be the only book I've read three times (over the years). It's elegant, perfect in every way.
love or hate this is a bi-polar book if there ever was one.
doug wrote: "Oh God, yes yes yes. I selected this to use with my AP literature class, and I despised it. Reading it was like being beaten with a bag of oranges."LOL. That's a perfect description!
FINALLY A GROUP THAT I CAN RELATE TOO! I read it in Junior Lit, and just could not relate at all.
No, you did not read my posting correctly. I now love MY ANTONIA.
My only complaint is that Nick is an unreliable narrator, but that plays into the story. Nobody's a good guy in this book. It's a great novel for anti-heroism.
What fun this thread is! Is this why the U.S. attempts to rule itself by elections?
I can't think of a better way. Just imagine some countries they may not let you read this book at all, certainly not talk about it in public.
best american novel by far. it's almost perfect
My only complaint is that Nick is an unreliable narrator, but that plays into the story. Nobody's a good guy in this book. It's a great novel for anti-heroism. Quote from Benjamin
Great. Go with it. So when do you think he is unreliable and how does it play into the story. Now we are getting some real discussion.
Not the best novel and not the worst. Fitzgerald was pretty limited and this was his personal best. American literary taste (and even American literary thinking) was at the time rather limited. I think we've made some progress since then, however halting and however painful it's been. It don't know whether Gatsby is perfect, but I really can't think of anything I've read from 1920-1930 American lit that's better. Dos Passos is interesting, and Faulkner's even very good; probably the best. But I do think you very much do get a flavor of the times from Fitzgerald, though he's not going to reveal the great truths of the ages. For significance, look elsewhere. As a good story, I think it's a good story.
I personally love this novel. It is set in a time period that has so much excitement going on at all times. The mansion that Gatsby owns is so big, lavish, and decorated that it puts Hugh Heffners mansion to shame. The parties he throws are intense and filled with males and females mingling and drinking. It is a lifestyle we all dream of living. the novel also shows the intense battle Jay Gatsby goes through to convince his love that he is rich enough and worthy of her. And it shows how many people put on these performances to impress other people and make them seem like the perfect American Family. My favorite part of the Novel is how Nick Carraway, the narrator, is able to undermine and see straight to the core of the people he meets and does not become fooled by the performances put on by other characters. I also love how EVERYTHING is a symbol in this novel. This is in my top 10 for books i have read.
Geoffrey wrote: "My only complaint is that Nick is an unreliable narrator, but that plays into the story. Nobody's a good guy in this book. It's a great novel for anti-heroism. Quote from Benjamin
Great. Go with i..."
I wrote a 5 paragraph essay on how he is unreliable. However toward the end i started to believe he was reliable, then i flip-flopped again. I find that to be one of the coolest aspects of the book and i still cant decide if he is reliable or unreliable.
I would weigh in with the claim that he is reliable for the most part. I can`t find anything unreliable other than his explanation of his fickle attraction to his girlfriend.
Geoffrey wrote: "I would weigh in with the claim that he is reliable for the most part. I can`t find anything unreliable other than his explanation of his fickle attraction to his girlfriend."he also is a very judgmental person who inserts his opinion while introducing characters. for instance when he introduces Tom for the first time he says
"Tom was... a sturdy straw-haired man of 30 with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face."
with this introduction readers cannot form their own opinion they are forced to know that Tom is arrogant. just because he is quick to judge and rarely allows readers to form their own opinions about newly introduced character it makes him unreliable. but that was my only argument haha
Jamesepowell wrote: "@Andrew - Doesn't every writer, either directly or through a narrator, force the reader to know things, or to see things from a particular view?"yea. It just seemed like he was a little bit over the top with it. I don't know haha, im just a high schooler.
Actually I think Andrew has raised an interesting point, considering from the very beginning of the novel that Nick claims an impartiality that he doesn`t have. From the very first page he talks about adhering to his father`s advice to reserve judgment on others, yet flagrantly disregards it. The man is two faced, and perhaps with a poker face, he has been able to elicit both Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby`s confidence and friendship.
Laura-lou wrote: "does anyone agree with me that this is the worst and most boring book of all time?"Laura-lou wrote: "does anyone agree with me that this is the worst and most boring book of all time?"
Yes I agree! Read the whole thing but it was boring.
Kristine wrote: "I read a ton of books while in High School assigned and non-assigned and I loved and hated books in both categories. Watching Gatsby chase after his dreams was painful at best, even more so now tha..."It was interesting how you broke it apart. For this reason only it would be good for students to read it and then discuss the characters and what they represent. As far as just reading, not something I enjoyed.
No,it`s not the worst book.It`s just not a superlatively good book either. I give it a B plus,not masterpiece material.Too many faults and the basic concepts are a bit shallow.
I've always despised this book. I believe Fitzgerald to be a talented writer. I think that This Side of Paradise or Tender is the Night are better representations of him and his style. I do have to agree with the original author of this post and say that I think that Gatsby is one of the worst books I've ever read.
I re-read this book just last week. I had forgotten the style of writing, and the way the author put you right in the room with the characters. That's really impressive to me. If you can make me feel like I'm right there living everything right with the people in the book, then you must have some talent. As to the story, I always thought it was really good. Fiztgerald seemed to have a thing about the "classes" and people with wealth weren't always viewed with high regard. I really liked this book alot and I liked the old Robert Redford movie as well. I think the book is thought provoking. Also, a plus. Many times I finish a novel feeling somewhat entertained,but move on to the next book without ever thinking too much about it later. Gatsby had me thinking for good while. So, not the worse book ever IMO.
Laura-lou wrote: "does anyone agree with me that this is the worst and most boring book of all time?"Nope. Perhaps it is not the best assignment for many high school students. I have read it a few times in my adult life. It is good in the way that literary fiction is meant to be good.
Norman wrote: "Keri's experience echoes my own. On my first read through 'Gatsby' I didn't really engage with the plot or care about the characters; when I picked it up twenty years later I was enthralled by e..."
I agree with your analysis!
The language and pace of Fitzgerald's masterpiece is enough to elevate above most 20th Century American literature but it's insight into the acquisition and misuse of wealth is particularly pertinent to the circumstances of the Western democracies today. He understood that the victims of excess were innocent as well as culpable.
Just re-read it, 7 years after reading it in high school and was amazed at how sucked in i felt and couldn't believe how over my head this book went back then. Love it now. In my top 10.
It's not the worst book ever written. Like a lot of books it had its good moments and bad moments. It portrayed the rich in that time period. Yes the characters are shallow in every way possible and unless you're like them you won't identify or connect with them, but that's how the book was written. It's portraying that shallowness. Fitzgeralds way of writing it was what was so captivating. The things that he added and his prose is what makes it a great book.
Yeah I agree! This isn't the worst book ever. But it just depends on who reads it. Everybody is different, we all enjoy different things, which is why is impossible for everyone to like this book.Personally, I didn't enjoyed it that much, didn't hate either, but is not one of my favorite books. I think is not fair to say that a certain book is the worst book ever! Opinions on books change so much depending on who u ask and its impossible for all of us to agree.
The very act of deciding how to spend your money and whether it is a force for good or evil is very much the theme, the more you have to spend, the more imposing the dilemma until the individual is frozen into inaction and indecision but the enormity of the issue...Gray Dourman
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Dale wrote: "Some classics to me read with a modern style. Dickins or Twain for example. Those writers write with such a style that regardless of what their story is about it transfers easily from generation to..."Fascinating. I cannot read Dickens. I can't find a hook into it. (Language, character, plot) Not sure why, but I do not believe that his writing translates across time.
Austen, on the other hand is divine!
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totally agree on that one too.