The Great Gatsby is a wonderful tale. I choose it for many reasons. My brother recommended the book, expounding it was the best he’d ever read, and it’s considered one of the supreme achievements of 20th century literature. The story falls under the category of realistic fiction, and romance. I will now explain the setting of this tale.
The story takes place during the 1920s in East and West egg, New York. These are two peninsulas in New York City resembling eggs. Although the main story takes place over a summer, many flashbacks predate 10 years. The characters all play vital roles. Nick, the narrator, oversees the entire ordeal. Gatsby is absurdly wealthy, and is attempting to reunite in love once again with Daisy. Daisy and Tom are married rather unhappily with each other. The story is a beautifully crafted tale, and I will now explain it.
The fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby had a deep love of Daisy Buchanan, residing from a long ago dead relationship. Daisy had gotten married to a man named Tom during their separation. Gatsby attempted to impress her with this lavish and overgrown parties on Long Island. Tom, however, spotted his doings. As Daisy and Gatsby regrew closer and closer, Tom began to attempt to interfere. On a fateful day, Gatsby's fate was sealed. A heated and primitive encounter over Daisy between Tom and Gatsby leaves Daisy emotionally exhausted. Gatsby rides home with her, and makes an irreversible mistake: he let Daisy drive. Unaware of what she was doing, she struck a woman with her car, fatally injuring her. Gatsby proves his devotion to Daisy by taking the blame. I’ll leave it at this as to not ruin the story. The theme is determination. Gatsby is determined to reunite with Daisy, despite knowing she’s with Tom. Although not all goes to plan, he does get to spend some time with her at his parties.

 

The Great Gatsby is a wonderful tale. It tells of “Lyrical beauty yet brutal realism, of magic, romance, and mysticism.” The story is grim as though real, as the brutality that Tom shows, and how Gatsby acquired his wealth in such a taboo way. It is a tale that will leave one thinking, not who is right or wrong, but a more broad question, of how complicated human emotion is. The book lures one into thinking they’ll leave with a simple romance novel, in tears or with hopes, but this book leaves questions, questions with no answer, only weak opinions. I would recommend it to not all, but those who seek a new, higher level, thought provoking tale. The book was written as though it wouldn’t be complete if a single sentence was missing. The dilemmas the book displayed still linger at the back of my mind, as though an itch of thought, and to me, a book that well written, thought out, deserves a number one spot on my favorite book list.