The Reality of Life

張貼日期：May 11, 2014 1:37:40 PM

The Reality of Life

Wendy Chiu

    The Great Gatsby is a significant and classic work. At first, I thought it might be a usual legend about the rising and falling of a rich man, and the fast-paced world. However, not until I finished reading the book did I realize that The Great Gatsby is a story of the unreal American dream, the misfortune of the man, and the over exaggerating of the value of love.

     The story itself is remarkable, but the reality in it is quite ironic. In the beginning of the story, the narrator, Nick Carraway, told us about the luxurious life of the upper class. There were always gorgeous parties being held by the young and mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby. It seemed that he was a dreamer, doing all the things in order to catch his former lover’s attention. In addition, he wished to meet her and fall in love with her again. The charming and elegant woman was Daisy Buchanan who was the cousin of Nick. Gatsby was too naive to believe that she would come back to him, for she had been married to Tom Buchanan. Yet, things just didn’t happen as he had planned. He did not win her heart back. What’s more, Gatsby was murdered. It was a tragic ending.

     Those gorgeous parties which used to be held at Gatsby’s Long Island mansion seemed to be even more ironic, since not a person who had been invited before came to his funeral. It was cold and lonely. As far as we know, Gatsby was wealthy and generous, but he did not make any close friend until he met Nick. As for Daisy, she did not show up at the funeral as well. Moreover, everything that Gatsby had pursued in his life time seemed to be in vain. He got nothing in return and nothing left with him when he was gone. He was all alone.

     There are many contrasts in the story. For the perspective, Nick Carraway, the narrator of the book, has always been objective through the whole story. He looked upon all these subtle things which happened in Gatsby’s life. As realistic as Nick was, he was considerate, caring about those people who were around him. Symbolically, even though everything seemed so true and promising, no one really got anything from his or her life. That is, many people’s lives are of vanity. Although everyone was eager running after their hopes and dreams, things just turned them down in the end. Eventually, people ended up leaving with emptiness.

     The Great Gatsby is really worth reading. It is not only an extraordinary love story, but also an amazing story of reality of life. Many people want to make some changes in their life, so as to become more fulfilled and complete. They work badly to pursue their dreams; nevertheless, many of them fall for it. How should one face with the stark reality of life? I think everyone ought to figure out ways to bring their life to the right track, in order to avoid the feeling of emptiness when they have to face the essence of life.