The Great Gatsby (extended)

This is my book report on The Great Gatsby; I thought it was kinda interesting. (it got an A [= )

The Great Gatsby

            The Great Gatsby didn't turn out to be so great after all. Don't get me wrong; I hadn't enjoyed a book so much since Anne of Green Gables, but the character, Jay Gatsby, didn't turn out to be so great. When you're only in your thirties, and no one but your dad and neighbor want to come to your funeral, you know something is wrong. Especially after you spend the whole summer hosting huge parties at your mansion on the beach, plus offer a plentiful supply of alcoholic drinks which were illegal at the time.

            The Great Gatsby was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and was published in the 1920's. The fact that it was published at that time in history shows that American society was going through some dramatic changes in its moral beliefs. Extra-marital affairs were long frowned upon in America. Yet here a book is published with a plot line centered on the immorality of extra-marital affairs. The book is not judgmental, but it makes everybody look somewhat foolish.

Nick Carraway, the narrator and neighbor to Jay Gatsby, found that Gatsby and his cousin, Daisy, were once in love. She didn't marry him, because he wasn't rich enough for her. She had married a rich man, but then we find out that he is having an affair. The book is unclear about how Gatsby made all his money, but after he did, he tried to win back Daisy and make her leave her husband. Then one day as Jay Gatsby and Daisy were on their way home from a trip to town, Daisy hit and killed the woman her husband was having an affair with. Then the husband of the woman that was killed goes and murders Gatsby because he thought that he killed his wife, not Daisy. Later they found Gatsby dead in his swimming pool and only his father and neighbor came to his funeral. Daisy went back to her husband in the end.

I noticed when reading this book that I didn't get distracted by things like I normally do. I think this is because all the characters were selfish and demanded my attention. As much as I enjoyed reading this book and as much as I was interested in the characters, I still felt disdain for the them because of their behavior. I even felt some disdain for Nick, not because of his behavior, but because of the fact that he didn't speak up against the bad behavior of his friends. This proves the maxim that character counts; even if it appears that you have everything you might want like money and popularity, your friends might not always come through for you.