The Great Gatsby

Jeremy Wu
Eng073
3-4-13

Great American Novel

What book should be consider as the great American novel? The Great Gatsby is a book that should be consider as the great American novel because F. Scott Fitzgerald lived through the 1920’s and he pull his own life experience in the book to make it more realistic than other novels. And the novel talks about the American dream, which you can start from scratch and becoming rich. The writing style of this book is very creative and have a lot of symbolism also with critical thinking paragraph. The Great Gatsby should consider as the great American novel because of its realism, American dream, and the writing style. Fitzgerald wrote about the time where people were having parties and how the people were like in the 1920s, and he make some characters that express differently to problems. First, the woman in the 1920s were very stylish because of the clothing got less restrictive. And they are allow to smoked, drank, flew planes, wore pants and have parties. Also, alcohol was banned but people still uncommitted about the law, everyone knew that everyone else did it. This caused the rise of gangsters. In The Great Gatsby book, “I've been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library.” This quote shows how the people were like after parties, and it’s essential because of the alcohol are banned. According to John Turby “ The true main character is Nick. Fitzgerald uses the third-person storyteller. So the basic structure of the story will track how Gatsby changes Nick's life.” this quote show how can one perspective change the other perspective. The American dream is crux because it give you a clear explanation on how you can achieve your goals in life through hard work. This is a concept of the idea of freedom, and opportunity to every hard working Americans to reach their goals. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a perfect example for the American dream, because he was born humble and he used his hard work to get rich, with this money, he trying to attract Daisy because she love money. Also the green light at the Buchanan's house is a symbol of American dream, it is symbolize as money, for wealthy; and can it mean 'go', like a stoplight; reaching for your dreams or goals. Gatsby can’t achieve his goal to get the girl that he love because old money can never accept new money. In The Great Gatsby and the Cacophony of the American Dream, “While you're reading The Great Gatsby, it is a novel of its time; after reading, it is a novel for all times.” This quote represent The Great Gatsby is a all time favorite for its context about the American dream. Why is the writing style of The Great Gatsby make it the great American novel? Fitzgerald wrote his novel in a way that connect one idea, person, or location at the beginning and end up with a totally new idea. He is very good at making amazing connection. For example, “He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in, and never told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out . . . I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried . . . all afternoon.” (ch.2) This quotes shows how he connect an idea at the beginning and end up somewhere else entirely. His style also contain imagistic because some of the paragraph in the novel require a lot of critical think in order to understand it, and it have wording that can make you create a image in your head while reading the story. For example, "Daisy and Jordan lay upon an enormous couch, like silver idols weighing down their own white dresses against the singing breeze of the fans." (ch.7) This quote can make you imagine two girls wearing white dresses like a idol on the stage singing. Some of the image maybe a symbol that makes you think; what it is about, or what is he trying to say to the reader. A few example would be, the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, Dr. Eckleburg's eyes, or Dan Cody's yacht. In conclusion, the great American novel should consider The Great Gatsby as one of the collection because of its writing style, realism, and the American dream. Fitzgerald lived through the 1920s, so he is able to write some realize ideas in a fiction novel. And he also talks about the great American dream that everyone want, which is achieve your goals in life through hard work. The writing style in the book is momentous because the context can make you think critically and create a image in your mind about the paragraph. So, do you think The Great Gatsby should consider as the great American novel?

Works cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The great Gatsby. New york,NY: Charles Scribner’s son,1925. Print
Turby, John. "Gatsby: The Great American Story." Gatsby: The Great American Story (n.d.): n. pag. Gatsby: The Great American Story. The Writers Store. Web. 4 Mar. 2013.
"The Great Gatsby and the Cacophony of the American Dream." English Journal 97.3 (2008): 109-11. ProQuest Research Library.Web. 5 Mar. 2013.