2019-12-20 The Great Gatsby 小结

The Great Gatsby basically tells a tragic story of a poor born man James Gatz, whose well known name Jay Gatsby, through the words of the narrator Nick. The reader is told the story in flashback. Nick, a westerner coming to the East to study and sell bond, once gets to know a famous gentleman Gatsby by accident, several words from his neighborhood and an invitation letter.  Rumors and truths come one after another. Suspicion and confirmation comes back and forth. What's real about Gatsby remains mysterious even by the end of the story. The touching part, however, still captures all the readers' heart. Gatsby fell in love with a young beautiful lady Daisy years ago, but because of socially and economically different status, and Gatsby's getting relocated with his army, they couldn't be together. When Gatsby returned, he found out that Daisy had already married, being revealed by the narrator that only after a period of sad time, Daisy started dating half a dozen man in only one day. Gatsby thought it was his lack of money and Tom's wealth that made Daisy marry Tom rather than him. So he made his fortune in sorts of illegal ways and held extravagant parties inviting people with all kinds of background, from different industries, those he knew and those he didn't. Just for one day, Daisy, the one true love of his could some day join one of the parties and then they could reunite. With the reignition of their passion for each other, his dream almost came true. It all sounded beautiful before Gatsby got killed by the husband of Tom's mistress's. Daisy should have been the one who got killed as she was the one driving other than Gatsby. She didn't even show up at the funeral of Gatsby's. The rupture of Gatsby's dream signifies the darkness of people's deeper inside and also the end of the tragedy. 

With the explosion of information, stories, all easier sources of news than before, I personally don't get shocked or amazed by the story despite the fact that it's regarded as one of the best novels in American literature history. But rather, I get amazed by the language Fitzgerald used and I envy him a lot for what he had as a writer. For instance, when he introduces Nick, he uses his father's words "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." which is to show that Nick's well educated and cultivated, thus him and his words are easily taken by the readers because of his educational background, honest and integrity. And when he first time met Gatsby, the smile he describes is still lingering there "He smiled understandingly - much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced - or seemed to face - the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. " And when he talks about Tom, "Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward." a arrogant person is just standing in front of you vividly.  Even when he depicts small characters, he treats them as protagonists, " ... a whole clan named Blackbuck, who always gathered in a corner and flipped up their noses like goats at whosoever came near." All these details reveals that he has a very sharp and exquisite eye and elegant skills of writing.