THE GREAT GATSBY AND THE AMERICAN DREAM.

February 26, 2008 at 10:03 AM · History, Literature

THE GREAT GATSBY AND THE AMERICAN DREAM. THE GREAT GATSBY is a favorite book for high schools not just because it is a great novel but because essays on Gatsby and the American Dream are such obvious assignments. This article is based on interviews with some high school students with immigrant backgrounds who find the book speaks to them about American dreams. My daughter Annalisa found GATSBY to be unappealing because she disliked all the characters. These students admired– and identified with –Jay Gatsby.

2 comments

Nick February 26th, 2008 at 10:08 am

There’s also the painful personal element for me of the character that was involved with the White Sox throwing the 1919 World Series.

I love the book, and particularly have a fondness for its ending. My poetry professor said that the English department had a “Post Sad Poems” thread, and it had an overwhelming response. Then they followed it up with a “Post Happy Poems” and nobody really seemed to get into it. Perhaps people more readily identify with sadness in art than happiness?

Annalisa February 26th, 2008 at 1:16 pm

Maybe I need to re-read this book. It keeps coming up lately, and all I have to work with is the impression I formed back in high school. Not that I’m expecting to change my mind (I don’t see HOW I could like those characters!), but I do like my position to be an informed one and one that I can defend.

I posit that the Laura Ingalls Wilder books do much more than Gatsby to illustrate the American Dream.