Great Gatsby Entry #15

Opinion of the Work
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I found this novel much easier to read than The House of Mirth because it was not nearly as slow and the diction was not as sophisticated. Also, it was not as long of a novel. I felt like The House of Mirth dragged on during slow segments of that novel. Plus, learning about World War I in history class helped me understand the bootlegging business in the 1920s. I was very shocked and a little sad when Gatsby died. "It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete,"(Fitzgerald, 162). I thought the valley of ashes Fitzgerald created was brilliant symbolism. Towards the end of the book, I understood more about the valley of ashes and what it symbolized. It symbolized the corruption that the wealthy have inflicted upon America through their pursuit of wealth and pleasure. The Great Gatsby is a classic that reveals a powerful message about America and people in general. I found this novel to be a wonderful read.