Reading Time! The Great Gatsby

I've read some Great Books that I have completely forgotten about, or did not appreciate because I was too immature or inexperienced to understand them. Lately I've been re-reading some of these books to exercise the cobwebs out of my dusty brain and learn a little more.

A few weeks ago I finished The Great Gatsby again and it's a great example. On second reading it is one of the best American Novels of the 20th century, but can a high school student appreciate it? As a junior I certainly didn't understand the world they were living in. It took place in the early twentieth century on Long Island. I knew nothing of social economics, of an environment where money was quickly made and some people had enough that they weren't obligated to anything but their own leisure. What were these shrill, empty characters full of wandering selfishness all about? Daisy was a sing-song light-headed girl, and Jay Gatsby was a shady guy trying to buy his way into something.

It's fifteen years later now and the novel just breaks my heart. Part of it is being grown-up I think, and living in New York City and seeing how the pulse of the economy and public opinion and making a living can wildly elevate or topple people and their hopes. Gatsby embodies the American Dream of self-definition and character improvement. It's pretty obvious - Fitzgerald alludes to him following Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues. The false belief that he can buy back the past in a callous and selfish world is what breaks Jay Gatsby. Time marches on.

Anyway, that's my book report for this week. What's next on the list? I'm on my first ever read of The Lord of the Rings.