In The Chicago Daily Tribune, H. L. Mencken judged the work’s plot to be highly improbable, although he praised the writing as elegant and the “careful and brilliant finish”. Disliking Fitzgerald’s chosen title of Trimalchio in West Egg, editor Max Perkins persuaded him that the reference was too obscure and that people would be unable to pronounce it. Zelda and Perkins both expressed their preference for The Great Gatsby, and the next month Fitzgerald agreed. A month before publication, after a final review of the proofs, he asked if it would be possible to re-title it Trimalchio or Gold-Hatted Gatsby, but Perkins advised against it.
When Gatsby and Daisy resume their love affair, Nick serves as their confidant. Jordan Bakerâ an amateur golfer with a sarcastic streak and an aloof attitude, and Daisy’s long-time friend. She is Nick Carraway’s girlfriend for most of the novel, though they grow apart towards the end. She has a shady reputation because of rumors that she had cheated in a tournament, which harmed her reputation both socially and as a golfer. Fitzgerald based Jordan on Ginevra’s friend Edith Cummings, a premier amateur golfer known in the press as “The Fairway Flapper”.
Aside from enforcing gender equality, this has so far leant some much needed discipline to my life.Some of you will no doubt say, âBut Patrick, Iâm not a sexist pig. I donât have to force myself to read women, it comes naturally.â My hat is off to you, but Iâm sure you have a literary blind spot that could be addressed with a program like mine. Maybe you havenât read a short story collection cover-to-cover since college. If any of these are true, I recommend developing a little curriculum of your own. Youâll find your literary world blown wide open, and youâll introduce yourself to some great books you might not otherwise get around to reading.
By 1963 a 29-year old Leonard Cohen had already given the world two volumes of poetry and was living in London, reflecting on his youth in Montreal. The Favorite Game weaves past with present, with an acute comic eye for Breavmanâs childhood â his years of discovery of his place within and without his family, of friendships and girls. When he writes them, when he utters them, they are âpropaganda,â Breavman confides to us. In his childhood, Breavman experimented on unsuspecting girls with hypnosis with much the same intent. The boy becomes the man.Through it all, childhood and youth, there was Krantz â Breavmanâs best friend, partner-in-crime. Their friendship was an ongoing dialogue played for comic effect, a running commentary on the world around them.
Nick has already experienced the past, and he canât change it. Nick believes that there is no point in repeating the past because it has already happened. Gatsby believes that the change in circumstances can alter the course of history.
These earlier drafts were written from the viewpoint of an omniscient narrator as opposed to Nick’s perspective. A key difference in earlier drafts is a less complete failure of Gatsby’s dream. Another difference is that the argument between Tom Buchanan and Gatsby is more balanced, although Daisy still returns to Tom.
Because he holds such a high regard for Daisy, his feelings for her are superficial and based solely on her wealth and social standing. Gatsby is only interested in her because she has so much wealth and status, and he never shows her any real love. The title âThe Great Gatsbyâ expresses the significance of the character Jay Gatsby in the novel. Gatsby, a delusional dreamer, is convinced that his goal is to impress his love and achieve the American dream. To show the storyâs popularity, the author places the word âgreatâ before Gatsby.
Nickâs gushing that there was âsomething gorgeousâ about Gatsby at least points to some type of crush or adulation that has at least a tinge of a physical basis. FSF would have had a million other ways to portray Nickâs black-out drunkenness . Given the strictures against homosexuality of Fitzgeraldâs milieu, the two scenes with homoerotic overtonesâNickâs encounters with McKee and later a train conductorâthrob with relevance toward the bookâs main theme of corruption. That Fitzgerald dealt with homosexuality in significant detail in his next novel, Tender is the Night is evidence of his more than passing interest in the subject. He was standing next to his bed and looking at a portfolio I had just taken while he was between the sheets, clad in his underwear.
Nick finds it ironic that Gatsbyâs story seems to be a minor annoyance to him, but he canât help write my paper for me but think about the irony. Daisyâs absence from Nickâs life demonstrates how she was unable to tell him she was in love with him. Nick believed that she loved him because he wanted to be loved. Nick was inspired to become a millionaire by Gatsby, as he had what he wanted. Gatsby, despite his flaws, is admired by many people because he has been able to achieve what he desires. Nick frequently expresses dislike for Gatsby throughout the book, despite the fact that he relates the plot to the reader as a member of Gatsbyâs circle.
Several reviewers felt the novel left much to be desired following Fitzgerald’s previous works and criticized him accordingly. Harvey Eagleton of The Dallas Morning News predicted that the novel signaled the end of Fitzgerald’s artistic success. Ralph Coghlan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch dismissed the work as an inconsequential performance by a once-promising author who had grown bored and cynical.