Tag: thegreatgatsby

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The quote above is the final line in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby. It’s stuck with me for years ever since I read the novel in high school. The novel, published in 1925, is widely considered to be one of the greatest stories ever written even though it’s author died believing it a failure.

For those of you who haven’t read it – or maybe wiped it from your mind! – the novel is set in 1920’s New York and follows a summer with Jay Gatsby, a strange newcomer to the high society scene who loves to throw lavish parties but never attend them. The novel is written in the classical, typical format and harkens back to the era of the Roaring Twenties when anything seemed possible and anyone could rise above their upbringing and become someone else. The book has been converted onto film many times, with the latest offering from back in 2012. Allowing for some artistic liberties, I think the trailer below captures the absolute decadence and opulence of the upper classes in the 1920s. It also provides an interesting introduction to the main character.

Gatsby is often described as “magnetic, paradoxical, and chimerical,” but the lack of descriptive attributes given to Gatsby within the novel allows you, as the reader, to create Gatsby in your own mind. Gatsby could be you or it could be your neighbor, friend. This makes the novel relatable on an intimate level. In fact, no one in the novel actually seems to know who Gatsby actually is or where he came from and so lavish, extravagant stories are generated about him. This relatability aligns with many of Pixar’s “Rules of Storytelling:”

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters.

All of the characters in The Great Gatsby have a role to play and it is well defined in the novel and through their actions. There are limited side characters so there is limited side stories that could potentially through the novel off track and lose momentum.

#13: Give your characters opinions.

This is especially relevant with our narrator Nick. He’s not shy in sharing his opinions about the people he’s encountering, including his less than favorable outlook on his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom. Having the novel written from the viewpoint of a single character, also allows you to put yourself in their place. As though you were there at Gatsby’s party, observing exactly what Nick is describing.

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?

This is where I believe that Fitzgerald excels. In making his characters relatable and providing just enough information for you to form a picture, the reader is able to put themselves in the place of those characters. For example, the reader roots for Gatsby although you don’t necessarily understand him. The reader initially roots for Daisy, believing that she’s trapped in a loveless, cheating marriage but as the story evolves, you become more and more dissatisfied with her actions and you realize she wants the best of both worlds – Gatsby’s love and Tom’s money. It makes the reader say, “I would never do that!”

Fitzgerald has managed to keep readers engaged in his story for close to 100 years. Although set in a certain time period, the general themes throughout the novel, transcend time and are applicable, albeit in a different way, to the present day. For me, I appreciate the classical way that the novel is written. It makes me long to pick up an actual book – not just read it on my phone or tablet. It makes me want to curl up with a tea and a warm cat, and immerse myself in the world that he has managed to create. Isn’t that what a good story is supposed to do? Take you out of your current and into somewhere else?

Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.

Mason Cooley