Book Review: "The Great Gatsby"

The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
London: Penguin, 2006
184pp, $10.99
0-14102-343-0

There are many books that capture the attention of many readers, but why do they do that? In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Psychoanalytical Criticism, the prominent technique of imagery and the overall design of the book to capture his reader's attention. Although many authors try to do this, Fitzgerald may not have been successful when he first started off, but now: "Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, typically sells 500,000 copies [of The Great Gatsby] each year..." (Bosman "Judging ‘Gatsby’ by Its Cover(s)").

F. Scott Fitzgerald used his own personal experiences show through when he was writing this novel. As I wrote in an assignment we had earlier this year: "Nick Carraway, the narrator of the story, has been seen to be a representation of Fitzgerald. Nick represents the views of Fitzgerald as he is a lot like him; Nick is like Fitzgerald in the means that he is not a very wealthy man hanging around with the quite wealthy. Nick also made a grand move, as did Fitzgerald, from Minnesota to New York (West Egg). They were also both in the war, although Fitzgerald was never deployed because the war ended." You can see a lot of these character traits have been given to Nick by Fitzgerald by his own personal experiences. This has the largest effect on those who research the author before they read their work. This gives the reader a sense into the life of Fitzgerald (and obviously Nick). Fitzgerald's use of Psychoanalytical Criticism gives to the sense of reality in the novel, ultimately boosting the reader experience. 

In addition to Psychoanalytical Criticism Fitzgerald also used the prominent technique of vivid imagery to his advantage in capturing the reader's attention. Fitzgerald was able to describe things clearly and precisely allowing the reader to understand what the text was talking about. The use of imagery captivated me, and allowed me to picture what was happening in the story. This can be clearly seen when Nick goes to visit Tom and Daisy at their house:

 "Their house was even more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red and white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay. The lawn started at the beach and ran toward the front door for a quarter of a mile, jumping over sun-dials and brick walks and burning gardens—finally when it reached the house drifting up the side in bright vines as though from the momentum of its run. The front was broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold, and wide open to the warm windy afternoon, and Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch." (Fitzgerald, 9)

  This allowed Fitzgerald to set the scene; and it also allowed me to feel like I knew what it was like to be their with Nick. The use of imagery captured my attention and made me feel like I was in the story too.

Finally, the overall design of the book is something that captures many peoples attentions. When talking about the overall design of the book we are not only talking about the cover, but what impression was the book designer trying to create? I bought a copy published by Penguin (this can be seen in the upper left hand corner of the screen). I automatically fell in love and wanted to read the book. The cover is gorgeous! I really enjoy the font used, I think it looks very elegant and sophisticated. I also enjoy the woman, I think it's supposed to be a representation of Daisy, she looks like someone out of the 1920s, and even if you have no idea what the novel is about (I like to go into novels knowing nothing) you can get the feeling that it is set in the 20s. There are other covers though, such as the one by Scribner, has the picture of the woman's face looking over the city. I believe this is supposed to be the billboard of the eyes of Doctor T J. Eckleburg overlooking the valley of ashes. I think that both cover designers were looking to enhance, or bring out, some major themes in the book. The Penguin cover emphasizing the sophistication and dreaminess of the 1920s, while the Scribner cover brought forward a major symbol in the novel itself. Both covers are equally gorgeous and captivating. Although we are told at a young age not to judge a book by it's cover, this can be an exception as both covers captivates their audience and gives people the motivation to read the novel.

Overall, Fitzgerald was able to captivate our attention through a series of simple things, whether it be his Psychoanalytic Criticism through the narrator Nick, his use of vivid imagery throughout the entire story or the cover design to bring people in. The Great Gatsby is one of the most captivating and best novels I have ever read. I give it 5/5 stars.