My Personal Review of the Great Gatsby

Overall, I enjoyed the Great Gatsby as a novel, and as a guide.  Not only did it keep me interested the entire way through, but it found a way to "play with my emotions."  Fitzgerald's use of Imagery throughout the book really gave me a clear sense of what was going on, and good sense of not only how the character's felt, the how Fitzgerald felt while writing it.  His use of tone also had a strong effect on me.  Throughout the book, he utilizes a panic driven, tiresome, and yet happy relaxed tone.  Fitzgerald's use of character development in particular through high formal diction and syntax, showed that he was a skilled rhetor, and a well educated human being.  Although most would say that this book was quite boring, I would have to say that it was not.  I found many scenes very interesting, in particular the scene when Nick first meets Gatsby.  I found this scene, along with many others, comical.

I liked many things about this book.  First, I liked the way it was written. I thought having Nick as a narrator to the situation, yet have Gatsby be the main character was useful, because it made the story easier to understand.  I also liked the way that Fitzgerald used the characters to symbolize a certain person in his life at the time, or in anyone who reads it's time, along with the novel's many biblical allusions.  I disliked the fact that it was so incredibly lengthy at parts.  For some scenes, it went on and on about Gatsby, and somewhat went into Nick's personal life- not that I did not appreciate it, but it all strayed very much from the plot line.

This book may have been another story of a man trying desperately to find his love, but it does have many unique qualities about it.  For example, never before have I read a book so full of allusions and symbolism in my life.  Also, the way Fitzgerald develops his characters is like no other novel.  It is clear that F. Scott Fitzgerald has a gift to write, and "The Great Gatsby" is only one example of this gift.