Book's Name- The Great Gatsby
Author- F. Scott Fitzgerald
Pages' Number- 184
Publisher- Maple Press
ISBN- 9789350334355
Pics Credit- Google
Rating- ***** (5/5)
Reviewer- Ravi Prakash
What an
awesome book! And the movie too was great. It is a book that leaves on you a
long-lasting impact. Plot, characterization , narration, dialogues, places..
Wow! And the most appealing personality of the story is Jay Gatsby, the
protagonist.
This is a
story of Love, Passion and Ambition, and I don’t think these are bad qualities.
Everyone should nurture these qualities like Gatsby did that made him great.
But the story is a Tragedy and Love is the Tragic Flaw, in my humble opinion.
Mr. Nick
Carraway is the narrator of the story, and also cousin of the heroine Daisy
Buchanan. The story takes place somewhat in 1920’s earlier years. Nick moves
from Midwest to West Egg, Long Island to pursue a carrier of bond salesman. He
comes to know that his cousin Daisy lives in a nearby fashionable town called
East Egg with her husband Tom Buchanan who is his old college friend and of a
dominating personality. There is also a lady named Jardon Beker, a famous
tennis player, Daisy’s friend, self-centered and a true representative of the
very age.
Shortly
after his arrival Nick visits East Egg to meet his cousin and her family and
gets surprised to see their opulent living-style, their luxury and their
careless way. He returns to his cottage in the evening and notices his
neighbor, Mr. Gatsby standing mysteriously in the dark and stretching his arm
towards a green light as he wanted to catch it.
Tom also
keeps a mistress named Myrtle Wilson, a middle-class lady whose husband runs a
garage. One day Tom invites Nick to meet Myrtle and have fun, but their
situations get worse and Tom and Myrtle start heated argument over Daisy and
Tom slaps Myrtle hard in a rage. Nick dislikes all this and returns his place
and starts guessing about Gatsby. One day suddenly he gets an invitation from
his neighbor to attend a party in the evening. It amazed him because people
often go in Gatsby’s grand parties uninvited. Usually Gatsby doesn’t invite but
he welcomes all.
Nick attends
a splendid party in the evening and bumps in to Baker and as well as Gatsby. He
finds Gatsby a high-class host and well-behaved person. In meantime, Gatsby
leaves them and then suddenly a butler comes and asks Baker that Gatsby wants
to meet her in private. What do they talk is revealed in further chapters.
There are
rumors that Gatsby killed a person to acquire his wealth or he has inherited
all these from a wealthy lord. As the summer proceeds, Nick and Gatsby become
good friends and Nick also meets Baker on regular basis. One day Nick goes with
Gatsby to the city, there he meets his business associate and old friend Meyer
Wolfshiem and comes to know how Gatsby generates the money to give such large
parties. On the same day, Nick comes to know from Baker what she and Gatsby had
talked that night in private. She opens the secret of Gatsby’s long-cherished
and nurtured love for Daisy. She told Nick that they met earlier when Gatsby
was in army but couldn’t marry as he was not of her status. Gatsby went to war
and here Daisy got married with Tom. When Gatsby returned he came to know about
her marriage, but he still loves her and wants to meet her face-to-face. Gatsby
asks Nick to invite Daisy in his little house where he will appear suddenly
uninvited.
On the day
when meeting was expected, Gatsby tried to make Nick’s house in all the
possible way decorated that may please Daisy. Daisy came a little late. It was
drizzling and raining outside. Gatsby knocked the door from outside, Daisy
opened it. At first the former lovers were nervous but soon they were
comfortable and Nick thought about himself as an outsider. Afterwards Gatsby
took Daisy to his grand house in order to show how gracefully he has developed
himself in a man who can give her all the pleasures of this life. He was not a
poor army man now.
At this
point, Nick goes back in his memory to recall the events that created Gatsby.
James Gatz, Gatsby’s birth-name, the son of poor farm people who had nowhere to
live, not enough to eat. He left home at seventeen and changed his name as Jay
Gatsby. He met accidently Dan Cody at the same time. Cody became his mentor,
trained him in behavior, business and manner and he went three times around the
continent with Cody. After Cody’s death, circumstances made Gatsby a mature man
who knew what to do and how to do and thus he made a fortune.
As it happened, Tom and Daisy were
invited in one of the Gatsby’s extravaganza parties which are considered as
Circus by Tom. In the party, when Tom was busy in chasing women, Gatsby and
Daisy sneak over to Nick’s yard for a moment’s privacy. After Daisy and Tom
leave, Gatsby reveals his secret desire why he had acquired such a great wealth
or why he throws such large parties. He told Nick that he wanted to recapture
the past. He wanted to marry Daisy. Deep in his heart, Gatsby knew that Daisy
still loves him. As now he has all the capabilities to keep Daisy happy she
must be agreed on his proposal. He told Nick that he wants Daisy should say Tom
that she never loved him, she only loved Gatsby in her life.
As the summer proceeds, Daisy and
Gatsby meet frequently on regular basis. On a hot day Nick and Gatsby planned
to go to the East Egg to have lunch at Buchanans with Jardon Baker there. Being
oppressed by the heat, Daisy suggested to go to the city for getting some fun
and relief. At this stage, Daisy represents her Age, no longer hiding her love
for Gatsby she pays special attention on him and thus encourages the anger of
her husband. As they get ready to leave the city, Tom takes a bottle of whiskey
wrapped in a cloth with him. Tom, Nick and Jordan drives in Gatsby’s car while
Daisy and Gatsby drive in Tom’s coupe.
Being out of gas, Tom stops on the
way to the garage of his mistress’s husband to refill and to know what is going
on there. Wilson says that he is not feeling well as he comes to know about his
wife’s affair with a man whose name is not confirmed to him yet. He says that
he wants to leave for the West with his wife. At this Tom feels desperate on
the chance of losing his wife and his mistress as well. Afterwards he drives to the city in haste.
The group gathers in Hotel Plaza and
there the whiskey marches towards its end as everyone continue drinking and Tom
goes to the extent of arrogance questioning Gatsby on Daisy’s issue and tries
to confront him on account of the ill-behavior of sneaking in other people’s
house and their relationship, and to corrupt the ladies of well-to-do families.
On this Gatsby helplessly comes before everyone in the room revealing his
long-cherished love for Daisy and confirms that he still loves her because she
also loves him very much and she always loved him and never loved Tom. Gatsby
wants Daisy should repeat his words before everyone but Daisy couldn’t do that,
he announces then Daisy is going to leave Tom, but she doesn’t give any hint of
such idea. Gatsby thinks that she is afraid of the situation probably, he wants
to talk her in private, but Tom suggests that Daisy and Gatsby should start to
home in Gatsby’s and the rest of them will come by Tom’s car.
When Tom comes near the garage on his
way while returning from the city he finds that an accident has happened,
afterwards it becomes clear that his mistress Myrtle is run over by a car and
died. He sees Myrtle’s body ripped open. Tom, Nick and Jardon then continue to
home.
Nick finds Gatsby near the bushes of
Tom’s house keeping a watch for Daisy. Gatsby suspects that Tom might hurt
Daisy so he stays for a few hours until the lights off, he told Nick that it
was Daisy who was driving but he is ready to take the blame for the sake of his
love. Nick advises him to go home and take some rest but Gatsby denies and
stays there till the dawn. Nick also gets exhausted and goes to sleep.
On the next morning, Nick meets
Gatsby and he tells him the whole story how Daisy came in his life and thus how
he got the inspiration and how he became such a wealthy man; it was all for his
love, to regain it- the single purpose of his life.
Here, Wilson who is distraught over
his wife come to know about the owner of the car and plans to kill Tom but Tom
says that the car was owned by Gatsby and Gatsby did that accident. As a result
Wilson goes to Gatsby’s mansion and shoots him when he was in pool and just
after shoots himself.
After Gatsby’s death, Nick has to
take the responsibility of his funeral. Daisy and Tom suddenly went on a trip
without giving any information like where and when. Nick feels very disappointed
and perplexed, he mourns on the loss of morality of people who feasted, ate and
drank on his parties now they were nowhere to be traced for his last farewell
from this world. He contacted Gatsby’s old friend and business partner Meyer
Wolfshiem but he refuses that he can’t take part in Gatsby’s funeral who is
shot dead as the victim of a mad revenge that heightened the newspaper
headlines, he doesn’t want to be the part of this. Daisy didn’t even call. A
telegram from Gatsby’s father arrives from Minnesota, it said that he is coming
to bury his son. At the funeral there were a few people able to be counted on
fingers, his father, Nick, a few servants and the postman.
Nick was now completely disillusioned
and disappointed of what he had felt in the East, he prepares to leave for the
Midwest. He starts hating the people around Gatsby, even Daisy, Tom and Jardon
and their careless, immoral and selfish way. On the last night, before leaving
the place, Nick goes to Gatsby’s mansion just to feel the feeling of Gatsby. He
felt how little we all are like Gatsby before the selfishness of the world.
Thus the novel ends.
So , this is the summary of the
novel. Generally I don’t summarize the plot but this story appealed me so much
that I couldn’t stop myself to write it. I think what if... If I were on the place of
Gatsby… then what could I do? The love that Gatsby exhibits in the story seems
to me like a turning-point-incident in a teenager’s life, that becomes his only
inspiration and I would say that the inspiration is beautiful though but
deceitful also. I can not go loving someone even after her marriage, even if
the love is irresistible and mutual, because in ninety percent cases “the
husband” of the lady won’t allow and if “the husband” allows the lady won’t
come, she will fall in love with her husband. I think it is just a wild-goose-chase
loving someone after her marriage. It is not about my culture or your culture,
it is just about human psychology.
What do you think about the tone and
mood of Daisy Buchanan’s reply when Gatsby says her to speak before everyone
that she never loved Tom, she ever loved Gatsby only- “Oh, you want
too much!... I love you now- isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past…… I did
love him once- but I loved you too”. At this Gatsby says that she might be
afraid of the situation in the room and proposes to talk alone, then she says, “Even
alone I can’t say I never loved Tom….it wouldn’t be true.” So, do you think to
regain the past or to regain your love after she is married- is easy? Tom Buchanan
was sure in his heart that Daisy will not leave her because the newly earned
fame and opulence of Gatsby out of the ambition to get Daisy will always be
less appealing than Tom’s privileged and eternal wealth matured through
generations- Tom wasn’t thinking in love’s terms or emotionally, but practically
and he succeeded in letting not Daisy go out of his hand- in a villainous way
though.
The second thing that compelled me
most to think about was the selfishness of the people. Does the world really
work this way? Some will say, “Yes”, then why there are people like Nick, the
drunk man in the library or Gatsby’s father( who can’t resist the call of the
blood), but where were the people who feasted, drank and ate in the splendid
parties uninvited though but always well-hosted by Gatsby. Couldn’t they just
even stand for some moment in the funeral of the man who served innumerable men
and women far and wide? It is the only utter selfishness that stops the world
to be a fair place. Selfishness is ubiquitous. But there are still some humane
human who kindles the hope for humanity. I liked the character of Nick also.
The language, style and contents of
the book make it stand in the category of the classics. Though I had watched
the movie a few years back and knew the story, still I decided to read it….such a nice
book.
-Ravi Prakash
Nice review.
ReplyDeleteThank you Regina Weaver
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