Thought thingy - finally! - Abbi

1) As a novel, ‘The Great Gatsby’ accomplishes Fitzgerald’s goal perfectly and, it could even be argued that Fitzgerald even surpassed it. ‘The Great Gatsby’ is unique and it is easy to see why it had become the classic that haunts A Level students across the globe. It meets all the set criteria – it’s ‘extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned’. ‘The Great Gatsby’ is so exceptional, such a one of a kind, that it is easy to understand why critics of the day simply did not get it – because I’m not sure they were supposed to get it. Fitzgerald wrote it to be ‘new’ – things that are new, aren't always built for the audience who get them to understand.

2) People never like the way they’re described by other people; viewing ourselves from other people’s perspective highlights aspects of our character that we are blind to. Wilson’s description of the characters as ‘unpleasant’ shows Fitzgerald’s genius within ‘The Great Gatsby’ – Fitzgerald presents a view on society that haunts the reader, with its honesty. For all Nick’s biased, and sometimes slightly confusing, narration – his obsession with Gatsby, his disgust of Myrtle Wilson and the sense of him not fitting in with the East – we see his view of a society in total flux, a ‘white chauffeur’ driving ‘rich blacks’ – the class system being broken down and re-built, the foundations of America and the American Dream being completely rocked and all through Nick’s eyes. Being asked to argue this is impossible, because, as the reader, you aren't supposed to like yourself – no matter how much you wish to – because Fitzgerald has presented all the ugly aspects of human nature and wrapped them up in something ‘beautiful’ and ‘intricate’ and, as much as you can love the novel, you simply can not love yourself.