قصة الكتاب :
The Great Gatsby is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that was published for the first time in 1925. It was Fitzgerald’s third book and is today considered to be a significant achievement of his career. At the time of publication though, the book received mixed reviews from several critics who believed that it did not live up to the standards set by Fitzgerald in his earlier works. It sold very few copies after its publication. Although Fitzgerald initially maintained that his work had not been understood correctly in response to the negative reviews, by the time he passed away in 1940 he believed that his book had been a failure and he himself a disappointing writer. The Great Gatsby witnessed a revival during the Second World War when readers re-examined it and appreciated what they read. This quintessential novel of the Jazz Age eventually found its way into American high school curricula and became a staple in popular culture. rn
rnThe tale is narrated in a series of discontinuous flashbacks by Nick Carraway. It is set in the wealthy Long Island of 1922, a time known for its jazz music, economic prosperity and rebellious youth. Carraway himself is a Yale University graduate who moves to New York after the First World War in the pursuit of a successful career. He rents a house in Long Island, populated by the new rich who were prone to ostentatious displays of their wealth. In the more refined area of East Egg, located across his place live his cousin Daisy Buchanan and her brutish husband Tom. Nick’s neighbor is the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby, who hosts luxurious parties at his place every Saturday but does not partake in them himself. During a visit to his cousin’s house he befriends Jordan Baker, a childhood friend of Daisy’s. Nick becomes privy to the fact that Tom has a mistress, Myrtle Wilson who brazenly calls him up at home and lives in a poor area of town that Tom frequents often. Nick soon discovers that Gatsby and Daisy had once been in love but their relationship ended when Gatsby was posted overseas. Her marriage to Tom had been a reluctant one. Gatsby never quite got over his love for the beautiful Daisy and his newfound wealth and lifestyle were all merely an attempt to win her back somehow. He manages to use Nick to stage a re-union and the two embark on an affair. Things get ugly when Tom gets wind of the truth and is unable to come to terms with it, despite his own lack of faithfulness. Tom manages to turn Daisy against Gatsby by revealing the dishonest means he has employed to gain his wealth. The tale takes several twists and turns ending in Gatsby’s death. Nick arranges his funeral, for which merely two people turn up. He leaves Long Island filled with disgust for life in the East.rn
rnThe Great Gatsby is no doubt an exquisitely crafted story of America in the 1920s that has been adapted into several stage productions and films over the years. It is widely regarded as a literary masterpiece and is a contender for the title of The Great American Novel.rn