Topic #5: Personal Review

When I first started telling my parents that I had to read The Great Gatsby for part of a blog project, they began explaining how good of a book it was and how much they loved reading it in high school and college. Hearing this, I got pretty excited because I love reading. However, reading chapter one discouraged me. It was filled with an extensive amount of excess adjectives and descriptions. I didn’t really understand much of what the author was trying to say because I was so focused on the use of such diverse words and imagery. I put the book down for quite awhile, only picking it back up to read for the assignment. As I continued reading, I realized that the book was surprisingly exciting and filled with a countless number of scandals and secrets.

            The way that Fitzgerald would describe certain events began painting a picture in my mind rather than sounding like a bunch of gibberish.  I really enjoyed the way he made such a scandalous story sound appropriate for teenagers. The book was filled with many secrets that a mature audience can relate with to some extent, which helped me love the book even more. I also enjoyed the way that the book was told in a point of view from a person that admired Gatsby enormously. Although Gatsby was a brilliant character, Nick’s point of view made him seem all the better. When the book would emphasize Gatsby’s love for Daisy, I could actually feel the agony that Gatsby felt. I think everyone can relate to the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby, everyone wants what they can’t have.

            The last few sentences had the most impact on me though. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” (180). The way that Fitzgerald completes the book with such a powerful line avoids any possibility that the reader will forget The Great Gatsby.