The Great Gatsby is ranked second in the Modern Library』s list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century, I got to know this brilliant work through Japanese writer Murakami Haruki』s work Norwegian?Wood in which he spoke highly of it.
The main plot is that a young man named Nick Caraway, who came to New York City in spring of 1922. He became involved in the life of his neighbor at Long Island, Jay Gatsby, a very rich man, who entertained hundreds of guests at his party. Gatsby revealed to Nick, that he fell in love with Nick's cousin Daisy before the war. At that time he was poor. However, Daisy married Tom Buchanan, a rich but boring man of good social position. Gatsby lost Daisy because he had no money, but he was still in love with her. He persuaded Nick to bring him and Daisy together again. "You can't repeat the past," Nick said to him. Gatsby tried to convince Daisy to leave Tom, who, in turn, revealed that Gatsby has made his money from bootlegging. So they asked Daisy whom she loved. Daisy began to sob helplessly: 「 I did love him once-but I loved you too.」 Daisy, driving Gatsby's car, hit and killed Tom's mistress, Myrtle Wilson, unaware of her identity. Gatsby remained silent to protect Daisy. Tom told Myrtle's husband Wilson it was Gatsby who killed his wife. Wilson murdered Gatsby and then committed suicide. Nick was left to arrange Gatsby's funeral, attended only Gatsby's father and one former guest. Nick returned to the his Midwest home, reflecting on Gatsby's dreams and the sad and cyclical nature of the past.?I think one of the clues is Gatsby』s dream-get back his lost love, the text describes the whole?thought-provoking story with how to get his dream come true? and the failure of the dream?.The author described this story by heart for he held the same story himself. In fact, he was the main character Gatsby. On the surface, The Great Gatsby is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman. Actually it is a story of the distorted American dream failing in an era of unprecedented prosperity and material excess.?
I have searched the Internet that Hemingway once said that it was woman that had ruined F. Scott Fitzgerald. The woman who loved deeply by him is a beautiful lady named Ginevra King. It seems that they have suffered the same condition in real life. Ginevra』s father has warned Gatsby, poor boys shouldn』t think of marrying rich girls, which hurt him so much. Apparently, this is an usual thing in reality, almost everyday we can hear this kind of news. Gossip journalists prefer the news about giants, especially some privacy and scandals. Love seems is the big potato among them. We know so many love tragedies about stars who married the giant that I just can』t understand why there are so many people choose to marry a rich man like?moths?to a flame. Daisy was a woman alike, I don』t think she was happy , maybe she was just adapted to a lavish life. This is a big question for every girl, Mr. Right should be a poor man who loves her or a playboy who owns a big fortune? Love is an internal topic for everyone. Gatsby』s story was a love tragedy, but it really reflected the general mood of society, material was much important than true feeling. In this money crazy modern times, many people make money from fraud, bribery, exploitation and smuggling. Also in this material world, we are thirsty, worried and lost. However, we should keep ourselves in the rapidly changed world. Above are my thoughts about the heroine』s experience. Also it is no doubts that the book is a famous work with literary heft. Some critics said that this work is an elegy of the jazz age. Maybe it』s true, anyway it reflected the life in 19th 20s, and it』s really amazing.