This past month my English class has been focusing on The Great Gatsby, and for this blog post I have looked into the history.
One point we had discussed in class and that I saw repeated in many of the articles I read is that the book did initially did not sell well when it was released in 1925. It was not until later that people could accept critique of the era. In a way, those reading in 1945 when the book received initial popularity might have received the criticism down in a way that made them accept the past that they may have been a part of. However, looking today, there is a detachment from the era, that for some, creates an ironic effect. Rather than accept the flaws of the past and move against the stream of modern consumerism, some view the book and it's criticism as means of a springboard for means of saying "I'm glad we aren't in that era anymore."
Gatsby's words in response to "You can't repeat the past" echo: "Of course you can." The critique of the era the book was borne in was most likely the reason the book initially did not have popularity and was deemed as a "dud". However, I find this notable because today, similar criticism of today's modern society often meets opposition. Also, the similarities between modern consumerism and the American dream presented in Gatsby have many similarities, which makes Gatsby's recognition that you can repeat the past all too real (also if you have ever taken a world history course you know this).
BTW here is an interesting site I found: http://literarystarbucks.com/
Some of it's analysis/characterization are debateable, but it's interesting and has made me fidn books that I will add to my list to read in the future.
One point we had discussed in class and that I saw repeated in many of the articles I read is that the book did initially did not sell well when it was released in 1925. It was not until later that people could accept critique of the era. In a way, those reading in 1945 when the book received initial popularity might have received the criticism down in a way that made them accept the past that they may have been a part of. However, looking today, there is a detachment from the era, that for some, creates an ironic effect. Rather than accept the flaws of the past and move against the stream of modern consumerism, some view the book and it's criticism as means of a springboard for means of saying "I'm glad we aren't in that era anymore."
Gatsby's words in response to "You can't repeat the past" echo: "Of course you can." The critique of the era the book was borne in was most likely the reason the book initially did not have popularity and was deemed as a "dud". However, I find this notable because today, similar criticism of today's modern society often meets opposition. Also, the similarities between modern consumerism and the American dream presented in Gatsby have many similarities, which makes Gatsby's recognition that you can repeat the past all too real (also if you have ever taken a world history course you know this).
BTW here is an interesting site I found: http://literarystarbucks.com/
Some of it's analysis/characterization are debateable, but it's interesting and has made me fidn books that I will add to my list to read in the future.