Blog Topic #5: Personal Review

     To my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I found it highly interesting that Nick, the narrator of the story, was able to contrast greatly with some of the other characters in the book, such as Myrtle, Gatsby and Daisy. The latter group is often associated with money, or individual ambition for success. We can often associate Fitzgerald’s explanation of their lifestyles with decadence and ignorance. In contrast, we have Nick as the narrator, who is a very modest man. I believe Nick was a great choice for the narrator because his characteristics are often associated with morality and philanthropy, thus making the typical reader feel more comfortable. This also creates a “safety” character that the readers can relate back to after many of the distinct and obscure qualities of the other characters are revealed. I believe this is especially important because Fitzgerald does an excellent job giving each of his characters a truly unique and important set of qualities that play a significant a part in the story.

One of the more obvious reasons I liked The Great Gatsby was the fact that I could follow the story without getting too confused with the authors writing style: a very seldom situation for me. This helped me enjoy the plot of the story more than other books, such as A Tale of Two Cities, which I believe had an equally-impressive story, though it was difficult for me to appreciate due to the rich and full writing style of Charles Dickens. Overall, I was happily surprised with the quality of this book.