F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

 

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Published 1925

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reread

I first read The Great Gatsby for The Well-Educated Mind reading challenge in 2013; it was unforgettable then and still is this second time. It has been (almost) a century since this tragic story had first been shared. 

The Great Gatsby is quintessentially American literature, particularly because it highlights the "American Dream," the unique ideal that with hard work, determination, and ambition, anyone, regardless of status, can succeed. At the time of publication, some in America were experiencing great wealth, and the variance between rich and poor was considerable. Seemingly, the American Dream appeared unreachable for many. 

This was a very personal story for Fitzgerald, almost autobiographical; but when I think of one of the important statements made by Nick, our narrator (our eyes), I feel like this story is more universal than personal or just American. The statement is this: 

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up their mess they had made...

A LITTLE STORY FIRST

Tom and Daisy were a married couple living in the opulent end of a fictional town on Long Island. They lived idle lives, lounging away their days. Nick, the narrator, was an essential character who moved into the lower (though still wealthy) end of the area, next door to a self-made man named Jay Gatsby. 

Mr. Gatsby had a romantic past with the aforementioned Daisy; though she was wealthy -- and he not -- I think she still loved him as he was, albeit for his great ideas and ambitions. Nonetheless, he was off to the Great War, and by the time he returned to Daisy, she had already married Tom, unwilling to wait for Gatsby. He still believed he could attract her, if he could build up and grow his status in order to sustain her with material goods and wealth -- after all, she loved money.

That was why he purchased property across the Bay from where Daisy lived with Tom. Nick narrated the story as Gatsby's new neighbor, but Nick also knew Tom and Daisy, and it is through Nick that Gatsby arranged for Daisy to come back into his life. She was star struck by his wealth. To some degree. 

Those substantial parties that occurred at his mansion were opportunities to draw and capture Daisy. However, for a time, they attracted hordes of boorish, negligent, rich strangers who spread rumors about the host of the residence. Although everyone knew of him and enjoyed his grand premises and material abundance, no one really knew the truth about who Jay Gatsby was.  Even Nick struggled with the truth.

SPOILERS:

The tragic turning point in the story materialized when Nick, Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan rode into the city with nothing better to do than drink, complain, and argue. Afterward, Daisy and Gatsby returned to Long Island in Gatsby's car. Then, following some moments behind, Nick, Jordan, and Tom, in Tom's car, stopped to see an incident that had occurred near a gas station owned by Wilson, a man Tom knew. The man's wife, Myrtle, had just been struck by a fancy speeding car, killing her instantly. She was Tom's mistress! 

Immediately, due to the description of the vehicle, it was determined that it was Gatsby's car which struck and killed the woman. It was only a matter of hours before Tom had told Wilson whom the vehicle belonged to; but Tom never learned (at least that we can tell) what Gatsby had told Nick: that it was Daisy who had been driving. 

You can guess what happened next: revenge, murder, and suicide. 

Finally, it disgusted Nick that those who recklessly frequented Gatsby's parties and those who considered themselves business partners and the like, now had or wanted nothing to do with Gatsby. No one cared enough to attend the funeral. They abused his mansion, took advantage of his liberality, and walked away without any accountability or care for his life.

SPOILERS ENDED

In the end, Nick had developed a respectable understanding of who Gatsby was. Gatsby set high standards for himself and he worked hard; but he also participated in illegal activity to achieve his new economic status. And while Daisy was his ideal of the American Dream -- after all, he did all this for her -- she chose to stay married to Tom. She eluded Gatsby, just like all the rich party-goers had abandoned him at his death; and Wilson who had a rough time getting ahead (who could not even keep his wife satisfied); and the many others in the City who worked and worked and got nowhere; so too, the American Dream seemed to elude them. 

source

BUT IS THIS TRUTH?

Interestingly, the American Dream was not for people like Tom and Daisy because they were born into wealth and status. Instead, they carelessly made messes of other lives -- in this case, Gatsby, Wilson, and Myrtle -- and then they walked away, without conscience, from the lives they ruined. People were disposable to the Toms and Daisies of the world. The same can be said about the rich party-goers since they did not care about what had happened to Gatsby. They just moved on. 

This disregard for human life is a bad universal human trait and does not matter if you are wealthy or poor. People are selfish and they use and discard others after they have no more need of them. Other than that, Fitzgerald argued that the American Dream was difficult to attain (period). For Gatsby, his American Dream was behind him, unable to ever reach it. And since his Dream was Daisy, an idol, he set himself up to fail.

The American Dream is subjective because if a people are free, they will form their own absolute of what success looks like, and they will determine the goal. There are many roads to similar goals, too. In addition, one's morality or lack thereof, as well as personal circumstances, abilities, and talents will affect one's outcome. Gatsby, Wilson, and Myrtle did not exactly make right choices, either. And while we only think Tom and Daisy evaded consequences, in reality, destructive decisions catch up to you sooner or later, no matter your status. The truth always is exposed.

Yes, I think there is some truth to Fitzgerald's idea that the American Dream may be enigmatic and becoming more fleeting. Innumerable obstacles and challenges exist for all people. And in the 1920s, there were intentional obstacles to different people groups as well. But I believe those barriers have since been lifted, and frankly, the greatest hindrance to upward mobility today is government, if upward mobility is your Dream. However, as long as one has liberty and independence, he can choose his path, head straight, and at least strive and persevere, God willing. And Nick understood this and was encouraged to know that at least people still believed in the 

green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther....And one fine morning...