The Life Lesson

張貼日期：May 11, 2014 1:42:59 PM

The Life Lesson

Vicky Chen

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” These words penetrate deeply into the theme of The Great Gatsby, the popular classic written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The plot shows how marvelous and pompous America was after World War I, which was the period of growing of capitalism. Besides the gorgeous life in that era, the story also illustrates the unpredictability of humanity convincingly.

The novel starts with Nick Carraway, the narrator and Daisy’s cousin. His wealthy and mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby, owns a magnificent house and is famous for holding large parties every Saturday night. Celebrities and movie stars all attend the parties, but rarely do people know anything about the host. Daisy, the heroine in the story, once had a romantic relationship with Gatsby before she married Tom Buchanan. Tom cheats on Daisy with a woman named Myrtle Wilson. In order to see Daisy, Gatsby lives opposite to her and finally they meet each other again. Their affair makes Tom rage so he tries to prove that Gatsby lies about his career. When Daisy finds out the truth, she then refuses to go with Gatsby, driving home under depression. At the end of the story, Gatsby is killed by Myrtle’s husband who thinks he killed his wife because Daisy drives Gatsby’s car when she hits Myrtle.

The novel reveals the dark side of the upper class; although they enjoy luxurious lives, the fact is they live in a life of immorality and illegality. The protagonist of the story loves Daisy deeply, though he always wants to be rich. He hosts lots of parties downtown and becomes a millionaire illegally just for the sake of catching Daisy’s attention and proving he is a rich man. Gatsby believes that if he works hard enough, he can definitely get a better life. This point clearly shows that the author criticizes the “American Dream” because at the end of the story, Gatsby dies alone and everything he owns is gone.

Even in today’s society, American Dream still has its importance in people’s mind. Many people are eager to immigrate to the United States to fight for their dream, so are the characters in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby craves for love and money, and he strives for it. On the other hand, Daisy yearns for wealth and social position, so she abandons Gatsby’s uncertain future; she does not have confidence in Gatsby.

The story was written in the 1920s, which was the time when the American Dream declined. The author argues that no matter how people struggle and strive, the end is unpredictable. Although the story comes to a bad end, it still means a lot. In sum, this is not only a love story, but a story that gives us lots of lessons of life. I would say that The Great Gatsby is a highly recommendable book!