I finally figured out why my book club keeps arguing about the same book

We read 'The Great Gatsby' last month for our group here in Austin, and three people were furious that Daisy was just a shallow rich girl while two others said she was a victim. I got curious and looked up Fitzgerald's original letters, turns out he intentionally wrote her to be both at the same time. So our big debate is literally by design, he wanted readers to argue about her. Has anyone else found that authors do this on purpose with their characters?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendy_lee484d ago

Yeah, "by design" is the key there. Fitzgerald knew what he was doing.

elliot_roberts4d ago

Reading the Great Gatsby for the third time is what did it for me. I used to think Gatsby was just a lovesick fool, but then I caught how careful Fitzgerald was with every scene. The party where Gatsby watches Daisy from the bushes hit different once I realized he was setting up their whole tragedy from page one. Try looking at the small details like the clock on the mantelpiece or the green light. Those little things are what made it all click for me and I started seeing the whole novel as a perfect machine.

lucasw843d ago

Have you tried reading it out loud? That's what finally made me see how deliberate the language is, every word feels chosen to match the rhythm of what's happening. Once I started paying attention to the sound of the sentences, the clock on the mantelpiece scene hit me like a ton of bricks. It's like Fitzgerald was leaving these little breadcrumbs that only show up when you're ready to notice them.