The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Upon rereading The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I can now see why I had trouble retaining the material in my premier reading of the book. There were many moments when I felt that the author was trying to say something that was simply beyond my mental capabilities to grasp. Although this has been my most patient reading of the novel, I still don’t feel that I was able to digest it entirely to satisfaction. However, there was much that was tasted, savored, and swallowed that made for a delectable literary experience.

The narrator’s voice, that of character Nick Carraway is likable, conscientious, and holds ideal qualities as a confidante. I couldn’t shake the feeling, as I tagged along on Carraway’s narrative, that he was at one time an influence on Holden Caulfield. However, I recently watched a documentary titled, “Salinger” so I’m sort of seeing the Holden Caulfield in everything. I also saw similarities with the writings of Truman Capote (Breakfast at Tiffany's) and W. Somerset Maugham (The Razor's Edge).

I confess that I had issues with visualizing the characters. I've seen the previews of the new movie version of the story, starring the spectacular Leonardo DiCaprio, and I couldn't get him out of my head when viewing Gatsby's character. I tried and tried, however, to imagine F. Scott Fitzgerald's character in the magnificent Woody Allen film, Midnight In Paris. I absolutely love the Fitzgeralds in that movie. But I digress...

It is at the beginning of the novel that Carraway gives us this line:

“Reserving judgements is a matter of infinite hope.”

And yet, the general feeling of the novel is not of hopefulness, but of wistful melancholy, supported by character after character exhibiting signs of cynicism, despair, and hopelessness. Fitzgerald’s diction is rich, but it is rich with sadness, coloring the Long Island scene with “yellow cocktail music” and chauffeurs in uniforms of “robin’s-egg blue” and millionaires in “white flannels”. He dazzles the reader as Gatsby dazzles his guests, glorifying the concept of the crowd and masterfully capturing the feeling of being lost in its “swirls and eddies”.

Below is a favorite excerpt:

“The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word. The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath; already there are  wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become for a sharp, joyous moment the center of a group. and then, excited with triumph, glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light.”

Indeed, the entire universe is involved in Gatsby’s parties. It is this grandeur that sets the stage for irony, however, as we are given in the end a rather painful view of humanity. The plot is one in which it is easy to become emotionally embroiled, as the relationships between the main characters are crossed, tested, and ultimately revealed, to the profound sorrow of our narrator who was always taught to reserve judgements.

Nearly all of the characters are presented in light of their cynicism and fakery, their weakness, debauchery, faithlessness, dishonesty, selfishness, or as in the case of James Gatz, singleminded naivety. It is the depiction of a frustrated world set against the backdrop of the relentless Sound, the breakers of life pushing us ever backward with only that “yellow cocktail music” as a consolation.

What do you think? What was your take on this novel? Did you see the new movie version, and if so, should I see it, too?