Op/Ed: The Mediocre Gatsby
By ShayLa Blake
Whether you have seen the movie or read the book most people recognize “The Great Gatsby.” I have had the unfortunate circumstance of reading the book and watching the movie. Unlike most people I read this book completely of my own accord because I prefer my reading portfolio to have a fit representation of classic novels. My opinion on the story itself is extremely unpopular because almost everyone I've encountered has loved it. How that can be, I’m not entirely sure because frankly I thought it was one of the worst books I have ever read. My opinion on the movie is a whole other beast that I don’t think anyone has time for.
As far as the American Literature Canon goes, “The Great Gatsby” is recognized as one of the greatest American novels of all time. If I'm comparing it to other classic novels I have read, it's not the worst and it's fairly accessible. However, since the American Literature Canon is filled with mostly books written by problematic literary icons, I personally do not hold much stock in its validity on what is or isn’t “good”. Especially when it comes to the likes of “The Great Gatsby.”
Picture From IMDB
I read the novel some months ago and from the second I closed the back cover I knew I had a deep rooted disdain for it, but I couldn’t necessarily explain why. At first, I assumed it had to do with my personal bias against F. Scott Fitzgerald, and, just let it be known, if you don’t have a personal bias against F. Scott Fitzgerald, then I have one against you. None the less I knew there was more to my ill feeling than just a dislike for the author.After fretting over it for far too long, (like I do with the majority of the novels I read) I have finally figured out why I dislike it so much.
Firstly, the writing style is quite messy and I admit that, yes, it is supposed to be messy but it inhibited my enjoyment of the novel. The entire premise is that the story is a flashback from the narrator, Nick’s, point of view. The idea is interesting, and I love a good flashback sequence, however, the language is so bland that it more closely resembles a brick wall rather than the roaring 20’s. As far as writing goes, Fitzgerald is severely lacking in flair, and decent writing skills, but for a novel with “The great” in the title is hoping for something a little more flashy and not just from the actual writing.
The characters leave much to be desired just like the writing style. Before reading the book I was told that the story carried whimsy and fantastical characters despite it being a contemporary novel. However the characters were all terribly written and the only lesson I got from them is how not to be a terrible person. If that was Fitzgerald's intention then gold star for him but based on the hype he gave certain characters throughout the novel I would assume he expected us to at least like a few of them. The character I was most disappointed with was Jay Gatsby himself. Based on his character I would change the title to “The Mediocre Gatsby” because Gatsby is anything but great. Yes he has money beyond reason and he’s mysterious but he does nothing but boring aristocrat things throughout the whole novel. His party guest often had more personality than he did outside of being rich and shallow.
I could go on and on about the blatant misogyny in the novel but that is an article in and off itself. However I would like to say that the only female character that was somewhat written correctly is Jordan Baker. Despite the fact that she was completely written for the “male gaze,” she still had one feminist icon moment, which is leagues above what Fitzgerald gave Daisy. Daisy is probably the character I hate the most out of all the books I've ever read, and I've read hundreds of novels. She has absolutely no redeeming qualities, which again I recognize has more to do with Fitzgerald's personal views than the sake of social commentary. The entire novel is set around her and her relationship with men and I never got used to the headaches I got every time she was brought up.
There are so many other distasteful things I could say about the novel (I could seriously talk about it for way too long), but all and all I have one very specific reason why I hate this book so much. All of my aforementioned reasons are just a culmination that leads to the fact that there are novels out there that are just, objectively, better than “The Great Gatsby.” Fitzgerald's commentary on the “American Dream” is important but I would much rather analyze it through the perspective of someone like Maya Angelou. As simple as it is that really is the reason I hate it so much, I know there is better but people will never know. The American Literature Canon is so over-saturated with authors who have mediocre writing abilities that we never truly hear about the novels that are worth reading. Personally I think the books we learn about in school should be changed more often then they are and assessed for their relevance, significance, and enjoyment and it would probably help keep kids off of spark notes.