The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Fran
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Re: The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Post by Fran »

Saw recently that the house Fitzgerald lived in while writing Gatsby is for sale
We fade away, but vivid in our eyes
A world is born again that never dies.
- My Home by Clive James
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I love books
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Post by I love books »

I loved the book even though I had only read it a few years ago. The way Fitzgerald writes about all the little moments and all the big moments is incredible. It is unlike any thing I have ever read and it seems to pull the reader in and show them what it felt like for that character. The way that Fitzgerald portrayed gatsby as if he is more than a character. The best thing he does though is that Fitzgerald gives gatsby a muse or girl of interest if you must. The one single thing that drives everything that gatsby does and the ultimate goal for him being to be able to call her his one day. This mysterious whirlwind of a character is otherwise known as daisy Buchanan. She creates a compelling storyline inso many ways by her not being able to decide between the love of her life who she once had lost and the man who she does not love, but can provide her with stability for the rest of her life. Fitzgeralds way with words is what ultimately pulls the whole book together. He provides the readers with expressions that make the reader love the book even more. All of these things seemed to be conveyed in the movie as well and I think Leonardo dicapprio proves to live up to the utterly perfect role of jay gatsby. I do think that at times the song choices could have been different, but overall I thought it added a nice touch to the scene. I do think that by far though daisy was one of my favorite characters, the actress who portrayed her was perfect for the role. Not only because she had that nice girl innocence, but also because she was able to sell the lines she was saying as if she were the real character and actually feeling them at that time.
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Post by abasto123 »

The book was pretty fascinating. I have yet to see the movie. I'm excited to see it though and see just how detailed it is compared to the book.
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Post by TRCDFamily »

I read the book but never saw the movie. I liked the book okay, not really my thing. I had to read it for book club, otherwise I would not have picked it up. By any chance, is the movie better than the book?
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Post by selahangel1 »

I watched the movie with Robert Redford in it, which is surprisingly accurate to the book almost word for word. One thing that I took notice was that Daisy wouldn't marry Jay because he was a poor soldier who couldn't support her. The fake life he created was an unhealthy obsession with her causing him to live in the past, sacrificing any relationships he may have with anyone and he died alone. It's sad but the whole living in the past is a major factor as to why everything goes downhill in the book and the movie.
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Post by jctnteach »

My favorite aspect of Gatsby is that one can read it on multiple levels- symbolism, imagery, just a good story- and enjoy each independently or as a collective whole. Americans have such as affinity for Gatsby, novel or movie, because he represents the American Dream and our pursuit of it. He is ever-reaching towards the future and never able to enjoy the present. I also saw the movie and was pleased. I like Robert Redford, but Leo did this one better. It was true to the soul of the book.
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Post by Taylorallen945 »

I was very disappointed in this movie. The Great Gatsby is hands down my favorite book ever written so I looked forward to the movie and stalked the trailer for months! But I absolutely hated what they did to it. Why the odd modern rap music in the roaring 20's? Was that really needed to gain today's audience? I'm only 26 and I like rap music, but not in The Great Gatsby. Additionally, why in the world was Nick in some sort of rehab or therapy? I felt that Daisy was a flop--she wasn't at all as captivating as she should have been and Jordan was boring. Also....where was Daisy and Tom's child?!
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Post by KPRUITT13_ »

I had to read The Great Gatsby for a project last year. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also watched the movie, and the acting was great. The movie definitely did the book justice. Although, like normal, I enjoyed the book more.
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Post by Jaidie Rumboll »

The Great Gatsby may well be one of my favourite novels of all time. Gatsby's absolute hope is both inspiring and deeply depressing. I think, if nothing else, anyone who reads it has to admire the complete beauty of Fitzgerald's writing - I have yet to find another author who so beautifully describes life's truths. One of my favourite quotes from the novel comes from the last passage; "and so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past," because there will always be something in life that pushes us back, that we struggle to move past, but we beat on and continue to fight despite all that may seem impossible to overcome.
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Post by vanillaoldie »

Something that completely changed my reading was learning about archetypes and symbolism. I know Fitzgerald incorporates a lot of those into Great Gatsby and just that symbolism plays an important role in the book itself. I had a friend write an entire essay on the use of color within the book. Always good to know those things as reference for future readings :)
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Post by Yafa1822 »

I both love and hated the book. I love how Fitzgerald immerses you into the 20's yet I felt a sort of tragic loss at the end. Totally recommend it.
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Post by cogarae »

I absolutely loved both the book and the movie! However, I always usually prefer the books!
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Post by Analeighni »

The Great Gatsby was a reading requirement for me when I was back in high school and honestly, I was very hesitant on reading it only because older books weren't exactly my style...but I gave it a shot anyway. Turns out..I loved it. Everything about it actually. It was written beautifully and the storyline was intriguing. Once I heard a movie based on it was being released I became super excited. After watching it I was pleased with how they physically played it out and how great the acting was! I'd recommend this book to anyone. :)
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Post by Yates6600 »

This book was the bomb! I heard that I had to read it for high school a couple of years ago and immediately started reading it the first day of school. I finished it on the first day of school, too. Fitzgerald does a great job of vividly depicting the imagery throughout the book, such as the green light, but I have agree with other posts even though I loved the book, I had instances where I was thinking how stupid can some of these characters really be. Even with that note, it was a fabulous book and I would definitely recommend it.
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Ham
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Post by Ham »

The thing with The Great Gatsby is, it has a lot of symbolism. You really have to analyze the text throughly to get the full understanding of it. I have read the book multiple times, but it wasn't till I took AP lang in high school that i really understood everything. Nick uses language is the book that is not every day casual talk, thus making it easy for the reader to get a bit lost. We all understand that Gatsby wants Daisy and wants to repeat the past. But there is so much more going on in the book than just that. For example, it's summer and it's hot so everyone is always sweating. But that's also associated with all that's happening; the cheating, the stealing, the lies, etc. Nick believes he is better than everyone else from the very first page. He likes to think he is a modest person, but he's no better than anyone else. When thinking about all these things while reading, you really start seeing everything from a different angle.
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