Blog Topic #5: Personal Review

        Fitzgerald stated in 1920 that "An author ought to write for the youth of his generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmasters of ever afterward" (ix); I believe he has done just so in The Great Gatsby. I find it ironic that while the assignment to read this book came from  my "schoolmaster," as a "youth," reading it generations after it was written, I was completely captivated.  Fitzgerald's ability to capture a period in time instantly transported me to where I felt I was a 1920's contemporary. The feelings and interactions between characters are not so distant from those exhibited by my peers, on the other side of the country, almost a century later. Although not necessarily a good thing, I found it easy to relate certain qualities of numerous characters to those of my friends. You don't have to search too far in South Orange County, in 2012, to find someone with the cocky confidence of Jordan, or the entitlement attitude of Daisy. The manner in which Fitzgerald slowly reveals the background of Nick's "time in the east"―bouncing between present time and memories, exposing only pieces of the whole story―kept me intrigued and anxious until all was disclosed. At first, this was not enjoyable and I found it hard to follow Fitzgerald's unique writing style with numerous flashbacks.  I found myself reading a paragraph, flipping back pages to a previous chapter and sorting through the bits and pieces as he slowly offered the whole story.  However, with time, I found myself absorbed in the task of solving the puzzle of The Great Gatsby and refused to put it down.  Truly, a timeless read.