This is the
2nd time I read “The Great Gatsby”. At first I thought that it would be a drag
for me to read it again, but I was wrong. Since I didn’t remember the ending (and some other details) I
was looking forward to reaching the end.
For me the
most striking moment was Gatsby’s death (I didn’t remember that). It was
something unexpected and unfair… And it was also surprising when Gatsby’s
father appeared. The old man, who wasn’t mentioned before, seemed to be very
proud of his son. I believe Gatsby deserved this farewell.
When
reading the novel I thought a lot about unhappiness and insincerity because
most of the characters weren’t happy with their lives. They were just resigned
to a life full or comfort and luxuries but no happy moments. It was only Gatsby
the one that fought for what he really wanted. To my mind, he was the bravest
character because he took the plunge in order to be with his love again and to realize his dream.
If I had
the chance, I would ask Fitzgerald if he let Gatsby die in order to add even
more drama in the character's life. I believe that the fact that he is murdered make the
reader think “poor guy”…I mean, he had to let her love go in order to fight in a war, then
he did everything to get her back. And when he was finally fulfilling his dream,
after all his efforts, he is accused of killing a woman and then he is murdered.
A bit too much for one human being, don't you think?
Anyway, although
the ending is unfair to me, I liked reading the story because it portrays the
twenties in really colourful way and it is full of very detailed descriptions
that help us picture in our mind every place and every character.
Glad you discovered new things in your second reading! What exactly do you mean by "he deserved his farewell?"
ReplyDeleteHow would the novel be different if Gatsby didn't die? How does his death affect our perception of the rest of the characters?
I believe that he deserved his father’s presence in the funeral because in the end it was his family, his father who had really loved him, and who really cared about him (may be Nick too).
DeleteWhen I compare Gatsby with the other characters I believe that his ending was unfair, he was the only one who had been courageous enough to go after his dream. Although the others were cowards, they had the opportunity to live their lives as they wanted, the opportunity to move on with their lives. But at the same time I believe that Gatsby was the only one in the story that was able to find happy. And may be for him, his story did have a kind of happy ending.