Things that make Gatsby Great

The Great Gatsby (Paperback) ㅣ Oxford World's Classics 112
F. 스콧 피츠제럴드 지음 / Oxford University Press / 2008년 6월

When I first read this book before, though I strongly related to Gatsby, I took this story just as one of those common tragic romance. But reading this once again after several years, I became doubt about Gatsby’s ardent love toward Daisy. It seems like he loved her enormous wealth that she inherited rather than Daisy herself. In the book, there’s a sentence that Gatsby’s saying that Daisy’s voice is full of money and Carraway agrees with it. Carraway too lured by her voice and keep saying in the narrative that there’s a special power in her voice which drags people and I think that power comes from her wealth. It’s not just a normal wealth but an enormous wealth. As it described in the novel that Daisy’s family is very opulent in Louisville, the life of Daisy probably was the one that Gatsby eagerly wanted since he was young. When he first saw Daisy, I guess he saw his ideal dream in her daily life and that probably made him instantly fall in love with her irresistibly.

Though pathetic tragedy has begun when he decided to rewind time and achieve his dream, I can’t think of better life of Gatsby than his death. Though his means may not be desirable, his pure commitment to his dream made him Great. Were it not for Gatsby’s pure commitment to his dream, the whole story would have been just a common tawdry affair. I feel sorry for Gatsby as I see myself in his behavior. Though I know I can’t turn back time, there were times that I wanted to re do with my newly achieved qualities. But as Carraway mentioned at the very last page of the book, things are already receded to the past and only lingered eagerness makes us stretch our hands toward those dreams until we reach our end.