That debate about 'The Great Gatsby' being overrated had me shook

I was at my book club last Tuesday and this quiet guy named Dave said he thought Gatsby was just a rich dude being weird about a girl, and honestly I laughed at first. But then he pulled out quotes about how Daisy never had any real choices in 1920s society, and it hit different. I'd read that book like 5 times over the years and never saw it that way before. He went on about how the whole green light thing is less about hope and more about obsession with something that was never real. I sat there for a solid minute after he finished just rethinking every English class I ever took. Has anyone else had a club member flip your whole view on a classic like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabeths516d ago

See I gotta push back a little here because I always felt like Gatsby's whole thing WAS real to him, even if it was built on a fantasy. Dave makes a good point about Daisy not having choices, sure, but that kinda proves Gatsby was chasing a version of her that never existed anyway. The green light being about obsession instead of hope? That landed for me, not gonna lie. But I still think the book is brilliant because it shows how we all create these stories about people and then get mad when they don't match up. Gatsby is a sucker but he's also just human, and that's why it hits so hard. Your club guy sounds smart but I'm not ready to call the book overrated.

taylor125d ago

Haven't you ever wanted something so bad you convinced yourself it was real? Gatsby's whole life was a lie he built around one girl, and that's not romantic to me, that's just sad and kind of pathetic. The book is good at showing how people lie to themselves, but acting like Gatsby's a tragic hero instead of a creep who wouldn't take a hint feels like missing the point.

the_amy6d ago

@elizabeths51 my buddy once chased a girl for three years and she didn't even remember his name.