22 replies to this topic

[Zibblay]

I'm just starting to read The Great Gatsby (bought it an hour ago ) and I started to wonder what do you guys think about this particular book? Is it really such a masterpiece as many have said? Or is it an abstruse piece of literature which you must read for A2 language as some have said? What do you think? Any comments?

[sweetnsimple786]

I love the book! It's not hard to read, and the story hooks you in. The narrator's style is interesting. Maybe it'll annoy you. Hope not.
The story itself is a nice look into a time period and a set of characters, but there's so much more to it than the plot. Discuss things you notice or ask questions, and I think you'll like it more.
I hate to say it, but I actually enjoy books with layers more when I analyze them. Reading them without really looking leaves me unsatisfied because they don't usually have that Happily Every After, so I need something else to figuratively munch on.
I say good read, interesting. Read Of Mice and Men for a very nice [and by nice, I don't mean happy] contrast.

[Austin Glau]

The Great Gatsby is really a great book. Great plot, great symbolism, which unfortunately means great for an IB essay but whatever its a great book.

[Jason08]

I love LOVE love this book! it's such a great book and Fitzgerald is amazing. I do say myself that it was hard to understand the story from the beginning because i was getting mixed up with all the characters and I wasn't understanding how deep the novel the was. There is so many hints and clues that give away the themes of the book and it is truly a masterpiece. Especially the way Fitzgerald expresses the American Dream and how deep the novel can get. The color white and where they all live are all significant to the novel, it is awesome. I did my IOP (independent oral presentation) on the Great Gatsby about the Valley of Ashes and East and West Egg. It is the best book i ever read in IB.

[pandaboo]

I read that for adv. sophomore English. It's such a good book! I love how Fitzgerald effectively portrays the corruptness of the American dream, and there's so much to analyze. Too bad I'm not reading it for IB A-1 English :[

[Daedalus]

yeah i agree with basically what everyone else has said.. it's definitely a good book. for the ib it's especially good because it's compact and bulging at its seams, so you don't have to read very much to get a lot of material for essay writing. and you have the chance to re-read it, like four five times, no problem, because of its size...
if you like fitzgerald's style btw it might be worthwhile reading Tender is the Night, another one of his books. i think it helped me a lot because i started to understand his style better, and when i got back to the great gatsby it was easier to know what to look for i guess

[Caustica]

In contrast to what everyone's been saying on this thread so far... I disliked the book Had to read it for English class, and for me it was just boring. Maybe I didn't really understand it; I don't live in America and I don't know much about the American Dream. It was just boring for me, I guess; I was glad it was short.

I agree with sweetnsimple about Of Mice and Men, though - THAT was an amazing book. So tragic. I felt so empty at the end.

[Julia32]

Its an amazing book, fully grasps the concept of the moral failure of a society obsessed with wealth and privlidge. Its concept of adressing the conflict between reality and illusion is also remarkable!!
Best book ever!

[Patel108]

That book's my summer reading! I need to start reading it as school starts in a week. That and I have a test on the book on the first day of school

[Globe]

I love that book! It symbolizes and critiques the American dream during the '20s perfectly! I loved it. It's a really easy read, definitely one of the few books I've re-read for entertainment.

[adletaY]

I also agree that it is a great book and that it was a very easy read. I've only read it once though, so I guess I need to re-read it to understand it better for when we have a Paper 2 in-class exam on it. According to my teacher it is the easiest book to analyze out of the four we are reading for this semester, the other three being Love Medicine, Wilderness Tips, and Paradise of the Blind.

[Austin Glau]

Teh Great Gatsby is a nice book, although it gets annoying for me when you have to search for all the literary terms hidden. great plot though.

[Julieee]

I personally enjoyed reading the book and studying it... I had to study it both in English and Bulgarian... Definitely one of my favorite's up to know... But I guess it all depends on personal taste as many of my classmates found the book annoying...

[slack]

The Great Gatsby is an absolutley amazing book. Out of all the books I read for English A1, Gatsby was the only one that I enjoyed and the only one that I found relativley easy to write about.

[Julia32]

amazing
make sure you pay attention to every detail, its amazzzinggg

[Maxy1896]

In the beginning, I hated that book. But after having understood all symbols in the book, I found it was the best book of alle 6 we have studied so far. Inicdentally, I have discussed The Great Gatsby in all of my practice exam. Even though it was the first book we studied it is the one I know most about (especially the ideas about wealth and waste).

[ninety]

I had to read this book in English class last year along with Pride and Prejudice and I loved it.

Not many books draw me to feel strongly for its characters. Pride and Prejudice had an interesting story but it was a drag to read through. But for Gatsby on the other hand - by the end of the book I was really engaged with the story. In fact, I was so engaged that after finishing The Great Gatsby, I went out to buy my own copy of the book (we were using the school's copies) and also bought Tender is the Night.

[MLIIB2012]

Great Gatsby is a great book!!! It is a quick and easy read. I loved it and it is one of my favorite novels. If you are in English A1, hopefully it is one of your choices to do your oral commentary. I did mine on The Great Gatsby and scored fairly well. It has a lot of material for you to work with and there is a lot of research out there that has dissected this novel into pieces.

I hope you will enjoy the book as much as the rest of us

[GLaDOS]

I didn't like The Great Gatsby in the beginning. Honestly, I thought it was a bit boring (and sexist, but as was the time...) and a drag to read. The symbolism was so overdone and prominent, I just couldn't handle it. Then I slowly found Gatsby as a person, and there the true beauty of the book lies. Here is a man who willingly puts of fronts for the mere idea of the girl he loves. He buys books, but doesn't open or read them. He buys a nice house and throws fabulous parties, for a woman he really only likes the idea of. She stands for everything he wanted before he was shipped off to number One. Yet he continues to pursue her! It's such a down to earth image of what love ends up being for so many people so much of the time.
For me, Tom ended up being a really interesting character to examine. Here he was, married to one of the most trendy and up-to-date women a man could find, and cheating on her with a woman who embodied an older standard of beauty. He was also a complete and utter (Insert insult of choice here).
The first time Gatsby uses his pool is when he is shot. So smart. The entire book for me has become one of my favorites. So much symbolism and irony! Downer endings! Disillusionment towards the American Dream! The twenties!
So... Yeah. I rather like it.

[kim luffy]

I'm reading it at the moment for my IOC, so far i think it's good. Though i really hate some of the characters for being hypocrites lol. But it's a great book and i like it like everyong has said, so much symbolism and meaning. I hope you enjoy it ^^