Blog Entry the 5th: Personal Review

Few of the College Board List's reading material has affected me so deeply as The Great Gatsby, which, before I read in class, I chose to read on the recommendation of my older sister. It was the first book of his I read, and subsequently I became interested in Fiztgerald's earlier works, This Side of Paradise and The Beautiful and the Damned. Fitzgerald is a writer to which many characteristics could be ascribed: he is a hopeless romantic, but not a bumbling or stupid one; he is a creative fictionist with all the stark pragmatism of a textbook writer; he is an alcoholic in a failed marriage, writing for and representing the "Lost Generation," of which he is a prominent member. All these attributes are visible in The Great Gatsby, which is Fitzgerald's fifth and most celebrated novel–celebrated, may I add, wih good reason. The author's wordplay and imagery take the reader far beyond the mere storyline, of a young entrepreneur in the 20s meeting his eccentric next door neighbor and the ensuing affairs. In all honesty, this is not a striking plot. It is Fitzgerald's diction and syntax that make this novel one of such high regard, emphasis, and longevity. Few authors capture the disillusionment of youth and decadence as well as Fitzgerald, who cares not about appeasing his audience with the story of the underdog triumphing the bully, or the hero overcoming the villain. Gatsby is a focus on realism, in comparison with human emotions and expectations. This is an important book, and one that should be encouraged to be read by audiences of all backgrounds and experiences: anyone who has loved, hoped, dreamed, and then fallen short.