I have a massive stack of books to get through already, but you can never have too many. I couldn’t find my copy of Ubik by PKD so I ordered a new one and also saw a cheap copy of Great Gatsby soI ordered it too since I’ve been meaning to reread it for years (read it in high school). What did y’all think about it?
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I remember reading this back to back in English class with A Farewell to Arms. Which is interesting because they both have opposing themes. The latter is a very romantic story about the importance of true love in a shitty world, while The Great Gatsby shows why romance and true love is complete bullshit.
Anyway, it's still a very relevant book today. It may have been a showcase of the societal ills plaguing 1920s-era America, but those same ills are present in Current Year. Such as the danger of simping, the materialism of women both rich and poor, and the entitlement of the wealthy and privileged and how getting whatever they want not only doesn't make them happy, if anything it makes them even more angry and entitled. And I think this conversation between Nick and Jordan, who is meant to represent the new, ideal woman of her era who's independent and working (as a pro golfer, aka a field reserved only for the wealthy) is very telling:
"You're a rotten driver. Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all."
"I am careful."
"No, you're not."
"Well, other people are."
"What's that got to do with it?"
"They'll keep out of my way. It takes two to make an accident."
One of my probably harebrained ideas about human nature is that we, to greater or lesser extents between different individuals, seek chaos, strife, failure, etc. Not uniquely and not solely, and usually not to a greater extent than we seek success, order, harmony, etc. But we do have a weird animal need for discord. So it’s interesting to consider those two books against each other. In the war story, there was literal chaos and discord and fear and horror all around, so the characters tried to find an actual love. In Gatsby the characters are comfortable, taken care of, safe, nigh-untouchable by real problems, so they chase a “love” that is chaotic and ruinous: both Jay and Daisy know full well that if they go for one another it will wreck multiple lives, as it ultimately does. They were just so bored with the good life that their dumbass animal brains sought discord.
I dunno, just one semi-articulate person’s hypothesis really!
The Mouse Utopia Experiment implies your hypothesis may not be far off.
Thanks. I look forward to the reread.