The Great Gatsby
discussion
worst book ever!
I think the point of assigning such books in a school course is the point of education, period--not to just reinforce what a person already knows and believes, but to show them alternatives they would otherwise never investigate.Why would a teacher assign something someone is going to read anyway? "Forcing" someone it may be, but again, that's the point of education, having one encounter things they wouldn't on their own.
Gatsby is an American Classic and rightly so. It is a beautiful and accurate look at the American Dream at the time. We see the dream, the extremes of the dream and in the end we see the broken shell of the man who found the dream, at great personal cost, and then the unbridled depression when he realized just how cheap the reality of that dream was when he got there.It seems to me, in these days of greed like we have never seen before, and just how far humans can go in doing inhuman things in pursuit of the same dream that Fitzgerald could have been writing about the last 10 years.
Not a high octane book but a work of considerable genius when you consider how accurately Fitzgerald nailed the fraud, how he showed how plastic and unsatisfying the dream really is and the inhuman acts humans will go to to get the dream. Too bad more people didn't listen.
i have read this book several times, at different passages in my life, and first in HS but not assigned only because it was beside my desk at the side of the class. i was fifteen. i was amazed. this was the first book i ever read as art capital a. as a young, upper-middle-class, boy, this led me away from expectations of easily reduced writing that someone could feel summed up as plot. i read it again at u, again not assigned.
i read it after u.
i will never understand people who claim it is overrated: i enjoyed each perspective my life gave to the same words, i loved each reading, i loved the desire to create oneself, i loved the desire to live for love, i loved the tragic end, i love even now looking back at who i was each time i loved it...
i compare it with jane eyre, the romance as passive gift that comes at the right time, versus this, the romance as desperate try that refuses to admit the time is gone, the romance that fails, the romance blind to the realities of the world.
my father, who grew up rural poor, could never like gatsby for his wealth. i, who grew up at least comfortably, could see that wealth is not the answer, not the solution, to that one question of inevitably passing time, the failing desire to reach that green light so strong it is not seen truly as illusion...
i love this book. i think i will go read it again.
Not only not the worst or most boring, but one of the best books I've ever read. People complain of the shallowness of the characters when that was one of the main points! It is particularly significant as we are once again working toward the point of having a powerful, childish, spoiled upper class that is indifferent to the sufferings of those below.
Disagree. It's not in my top 10, but it's not the worst book ever. Not timeless, but still memorable. It's kind of like watching movies on TCM: a nostalgic experience of a time long gone. As a writer, Fitzgerald was very much a man of his time. But the story is still relevant and powerful today. How often do we see people pursue what they can't have and fail miserably in the process? Daisy represents everything man has ever wanted but can't (and shouldn't) have. But the real thing that makes this book powerful is Gatsby's final act of sacrificial love. More love should look like that.
I really liked it! I didn't really relate to the characters that much but I don't need to in order to enjoy the book. You can't say that Fitzgerald's writing, especially his imagery, wasn't amazing?!
Shalaka wrote: "I really liked it! I didn't really relate to the characters that much but I don't need to in order to enjoy the book. You can't say that Fitzgerald's writing, especially his imagery, wasn't amazing?!"I know!! right when i first saw this page i was like.. what!?? how could anyone not love this book i would even except like....maybe :P Although i didnt really relate to any of the characters at all... but still!
me wife adores it and she flat doesn't understand why i loathed it. to be honest i can't explain either, but page by page i found myself getting angry with the book, loathing the writing and finding the plot banal. i've agreed to give it a second crack in case i was in a bad book head moment last time i read it, but each time i go to pick it up i find myself repelled.
physically hated the book, makes my teeth itch to even think about reading it again
Emily wrote: "The worst book ever is Moby Dick. After you plod through that book, you will find that The Great Gatsby is a delight to read."True that
Ya'll are breaking my heart. lol. As an English professor, sigh, I struggled with teaching Fitzgerald as well. The movie version is actually quite good (Robert Redford). I don't know what makes Gatsby difficult. But I do know what makes it a classic ... this isn't a book you forget easily, and it's a look into a lifestyle that is gone. Also there are so many references to it in other literature, both classics and pop. : ) But yes, a difficult read.
Rea wrote: "If you are an avid book reader and lover I don't think your opinion or perceptions is compromised if you are 'forced' to read a book for school or not. There are many books I read for school that I..."I didn't care for this book too much but my husband loves it-go figure. I found it depressing, I'm sure it was supposed to be. My husband thinks the author killed off so many characters because they weren't really likeable and having affairs. Sort of a worst case scenario if you behave this way type thing.
This book is tied with To Kill a Mockingbird for my favorite all-time book.
A lot of people feel this way about "the great gatsby" maybe its because you are forced to read it in high school. in my opinion "the sun also rises" is worst!
It sums up what we perceive of the times in retrospect. Other than that it is a good book but hardly a masterpiece. It is studded with too many faults and Fitzgerald`s own insight into the plight of the "superwealthy" is shallow at the most.I would compare its position in American literature with that of Liam Flaherty`s THE INFORMER which is particularly worse written as Flaherty did not bother to extensively edit his novel. Fitzgerald did, his.
When originally released at 75,000 copies only 20,000 sold. It was not a particularly well received novel and only after WWII did it reap any fame. It sums up the 20`s in a neat encapsulated way. Shallow people, shallow upper crust society. Exactly a crowd pleaser for those of us resentful of the "rich and famous" as the turkey on TV says.
Well said, Vannetta.
overrated yes....maybe just a passing-by read...
Most of the conversation in the book is extremely banal.For the first half of the book, there is not a single interesting verbal interplay with the one exception that Nick has with Daisy and she professes that she is so "sophisticated" she is disgusted with herself. It`s the same conversation in which she introduces her child to Nick for the first time. Despite their being cousins, they are not close as the child is now 2 years old and Nick has never met her.
What is even more revealing is that Daisy and the child are not particularly close either. When Nick asks about the child`s personality, all Daisy has to relate is the story of her in the hospital and someone asking the child`s gender.
Here we see Daisy`s self-centeredness for the first time and clearly establishes her personality for the reader.
This is the ONLY book I ever bought the Cliff's notes for in College. It wasn't even a long book...just tedious with characters I wanted dead.
Mieken wrote: "This is the ONLY book I ever bought the Cliff's notes for in College. It wasn't even a long book...just tedious with characters I wanted dead."me too...lol
I just liked Gatsby in that pink suit. I had to read the book and watch the movie...the movie ruined the pink suit image for me.
I never understood what was so awesome about this book. I guess if you are a person who really cares about social class and where you "fit", maybe it strikes some deep chord within you and you relate to the main character. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if the main guy was striving to do something unique.
Every writer or artist or whatever has a bad book! This one is terrible, but he did write Benjamin Button - tops off. But I personally think Fitzgerald in general is overrated!
Laura-lou wrote: "does anyone agree with me that this is the worst and most boring book of all time?"I totally agree with you. I had to read it English class. We also watched the movie. I hated it. What was even the point and why is it a classic?
Probably one of the best books out there about the corruption of the American Dream. In many ways, Gatsby is more relevant today than ever!
I adored this book. It didn't create a pretense of having perfect characters, which was really refreshing. It also had such poetic language that it was a dream to read and listen to. To each his own though.
Rachel wrote: "I don't know what I would have thought of this book had it to been taught well to me. I am a highschool student--a junior. I finished the book this morning.This isn't Tom Clancy. The story, ..."
Thanks for your fantastic review. It pretty much said everything I wanted to. :D
I disagree. The simplicity of life that Fitzgerald portrayed through the characters shows that carelessness and death really do intertwine. I feel the author purposely avoided instilling depth into some of the characters to show how vacuous the privileged can be and how little others mean to them. Destiny really does exist in this book from the romances to the deaths. I believe if you took at least a little bit of meaning from a book then it cannot possibly be the "worst book ever".
Mark wrote: In many ways, Gatsby is more relevant today than ever!"Well said, Mark, and that is why it is still taught in American schools today.
Alas, I'm in the "fan" camp.Both of this novel and his other work.
Just recently writing a 'defense' of Eddie Poe in a 'like-type' discussion group, I'd rather not write a defense, here. . . . at least at present.
Besides, some folks will 'connect' w/ a work; and, others won't.
However, I would like to make little point about TGG that I hadn't seen posted previously, i.e., The Great Gatsby was a commercial failure at the time of its publishing. The book's reputation grew through time.
Given some observations and "thumbs-down" reviews here, I wonder if the same type reviews would accompany Dreiser's An American Tragedy.
Curious.
Good reading, all.
I first read Gatsby in high school and, like many of the people posting here, believed it to be the worst book ever. I hated it. Ten years later it ended up in my possession again and was one of a very few books i had with me when i moved to Colorado. I re-read it. As a dare. And was floored at how good it is. It's one of those things that you gain perspective on as you try to make your way through life. Maybe, when you're young in High School and all your dreams are fresh and bright and newly minted it doesn't make sense reading about dreams being crushed and snuffed out. You don't believe that could ever happen to you. But the thing is it does. And it will. And really that's not a bad thing. It just is.
But beyond that Fitzgerald crafts a paragraph like no one ever will again. They are individual works of art and the book is like a gallery of them. I had no appreciation of that in school. It was all about character, plot, action. But Fitz makes you slow down. I found myself reading it like Harold Bloom talks about reading poetry - out loud. And then you think of the epic parties you've been to and how you might describe them, how the light turns funny when you've had a few too many, what so and so did that was ridiculous and forgettable as all the other ridiculous things you've seen when you add them up. Then you know just how damned good Fitzgerald was. As Hemingway once said of him "His talent was like the dust on a butterflies wings"
Joshua wrote: "I first read Gatsby in high school and, like many of the people posting here, believed it to be the worst book ever. I hated it. Ten years later it ended up in my possession again and was one of a ..."I love your comments. Gatsby is one of my favorite books now, but in high school I didn't see any of the things that make me love it today. I was preoccupied by the general selfishness and darkness of the characters, and at age 16 that wasn't something I wanted to relate to. Who likes something so ugly as this situation where people lie and cheat and are generally miserable? Years later, I still hope I'm not like them, but I can see more than I would let myself before. Their situations aren't just black and white to me - and the gray is what makes the book interesting.
Most importantly, I can see the writing. Reading aloud is perfect - his descriptions are pure poetry: "In his enchanted gardens, men and girls came and went like moths, among the whispering and the champagne and the stars."
The characters are selfish and lonely and the story is heartbreaking, but all of it is made into a beautiful sort of sadness that I can't get over.
The pages of this book should be used to insulate dog houses…providing you hate you dog.
Hm. I liked it a lot actually. BUT- there were several extremely annoying things about it. But I did quite enjoy it, how it shouwed the flaws of the human character we try so hard to cover up with wealth and whatnot. I didn't like any characters except Nick and Gatsby. The rest were insubstantial, and not all that neccessary. But definetely not my worst book ever. i can still remember my worst book ever. Ugh.
I totally disagree. Try reading Babbitt. Now THAT is the worst book I've ever read. Dad argues with me and says it's The Catcher In The Rye, but I haven't read that so I can't be sure.
"The Great Gatsby" is over-rated, that's for sure. I found it exceedingly dull.
i found the characters to be easily relatable and i enjoyed it when i was 15 and i enjoy it now when i am 31.
Laura-lou wrote: "does anyone agree with me that this is the worst and most boring book of all time?"I thought is was CORNY! It didn't even make sense.
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..."
Phillip Roth is BORING!
JasonYes, this is one of my pet peeves as well about the book. It doesn`t learn the moral it should. At the end of the novel, Nick foregoes further contact with the denizens of both Eggs for the bright lights of NYC. He has seen the worst of human nature, but instead of learning how to find those people whose integrity match his own,(and that is questionable to the extent that he is a hypocrite),he searches out the bright lights and fanfare of city life.
I believe that the loss of the American dream that Fitzgerald addresses is a particular one, and may or may not have any truth to it. Gatz(s)by is a social climber and self made man. He is never fully accepted by West Egg or East, despite his name being a predominant subject of the rumor mill. Yet despite his infamy for being a rumrunner, he is the only one who has made his own fortune. The others are gaddabouts with silver spoons affixed to their tongues.
Perhaps Fitzgerald himself knew this only too well. He married into that society himself when he married Zelda. Perhaps he never was totally accepted as he didn`t have the golden pedigree of illustrious family.
In all these discussions, us detractors insist on it being the "worst book of all time", but that truth must be qualified as "this is the worst book of all time considered to be a masterpiece".
Geoffrey wrote: "In all these discussions, us detractors insist on it being the "worst book of all time", but that truth must be qualified as "this is the worst book of all time considered to be a masterpiece"."No, Moby Dick fits that definition best!
Actually it wasn`t that bad. I still say POWER AND THE GLORY is the worst.
I quite liked the Gatsby.. book I didn't like so much..The old man and the sea. Hemingway almost always puts me to sleep in his longer works. Love his short stories but that book... I still don't know how it ends I can't stay awake when I open that damn book!
This book is better read after high school.
From another English teacher - I think it's sad that students don't appreciate it too, because I love it, but I certainly did NOT love it in high school. I think that what's been said about teachers needing to make it relevant for students is a good point. I read it as part of an AP class and we did it too independently for me to gain any perspective on it. Years later I had some of my students read it in an advanced Novels class and love it, simply because they had a chance to talk the ideas out together - and I was able to supplement their thinking a little by pointing things out. I agree that recent lit should be brought in constantly to connect students to reading, but I think it's a mistake to retire classics from curriculum just because of age... How depressing! Old doesn't mean irrelevant. There's a reason things are classics and it makes me sad to think that we'd rob students of exposure to them. Instead, can't we use the old texts to inform the new ones? I had the most success by admitting that they might not like every book, but that at least they'd see some awesome qualities and grow to respect each book's impact on literature/the world.
The biggest problem is that most of the classics relate life`s insights that are beyond most teenagers. They are simply too young, not experienced enough, deficient in imagination and empathy. That`s why so many of us only began to appreciate some of the classics as we rounded out our 20`s.
Agreed! One of the most overrated books.
Geoffrey wrote: "The biggest problem is that most of the classics relate life`s insights that are beyond most teenagers. They are simply too young, not experienced enough, deficient in imagination and empathy. That..."What do you mean, teenagers are deficient in imagination? Just because some people under 20 don't realize all of the lessons from an adult book does not mean they are too young, too unimaginative, or too unempathetic to get it. I'm 14 years old, and I assure you that I understand a great many things about classics. I do get your point though, but I'm sure it's not just teenagers who can't understand them.
I'm stunned that some people rank this book as low. It has a lot to say about the times we're living in now; the superficiality of people, how money can skew judgement and the lack of compassion.
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Novels do give keys to times, places, and ways of thinking that may unlock doors of connection with past generations and ways of thinking. They give more of a sense of history.
Short stories pile up too fast for people to read all of them, so it is harder for them to be as influential. I guess "The Great Gatsby" is a middle ground since it is a short novel (it doesn't really take that long to read), and it has been read by a lot of people.