What Makes Great Gatsby a Classic

A classic novel is a story that men and woman can relate to from any generation and location. A classic lets people have a deeper understanding of the world around them through universal topics and timeless themes. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925 and set during 1922 displays all these characteristics through the involvement and ultimate corruption of the American Dream and the love story between Daisy and Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is set in post WWI America and at the time, the American dream was for any hardworking person to be able to achieve success and happiness regardless of their background or social class. This was a time of great change and revolution with the roaring twenties and rising middle class. Jazz was big at the time, technology boomed and there were significant changes in lifestyle and culture. Prohibition was also in place at the time, banning the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol. All of these factors influenced the story and contributed to making it a classic novel. One important key scene in this story is when Mr Gatsby first meets Daisy in Louisville. It was during the war when Gatsby was a soldier stationed at a base near her home. Many men were in love with Daisy but it was with him that she fell in love with. This was a very important stage of his life and held great meaning for him. This love would last for the rest of his life even through the passing years and Daisy’s marriage to Tom. When Gatsby came back from the war, Daisy was married with Tom, and he bought a house at West Egg purposely positioned across the bay to Daisy’s home in the East Egg hoping that one he would meet Daisy but up until then, the green light was his symbol of hope and represents his dream itself. His life he spent reaching for this light and this is part of what makes The Great Gatsby a classic. “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.”

Gatsby’s love story ended tragically after his