..You Won't Like Gatsby, But Keep Going

I read Fitzgerald's, "The Great Gatsby" my junior year of high school. And while, there was something intangibly haunting about the writing that kept me intrigued,  I couldn't help but think, "Hey, these aren't great people in this supposedly great book."



However, just like John Greene, The Fault in our Stars superstar suggests, you aren't supposed to like them. They are amoral, vapid, backstabbing, greedy, void characters in every sense and aspect besides the way in which Fitzgerald captures their human indecency in an exposed naivete. Even Nick, who in the beginning will seem like just a nice guy who got mixed up with these crazy characters proves just as sank as the rest. But if you think about it, aren't we all indecent humans trying to gauge our bit of pristine life in the branch of consumerism?



Take a look at television's Gossip Girl, which is modeled after Fitzgerald's novels. We envy and relish this lavish world while the people within sabotage each other. If they weren't covered in jewels and Dior, we would call them "trashy" people. We will supplement any type of personality for the glimmer of crusted gold.



Then again, What is the American Dream but a mirage?