The Great Gatsby is a Great Book by Claire

The Great Gatsby is a Great Book by Claire - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

When my teacher assigned The Great Gatsby to my literature class, I thought the book was going to be just another boring novel. As soon as I started reading The Great Gatsby I fell in love with the story. The Great Gatsby is about the torments of love, social class, and injustice in the USA. It is easy to love some of the characters, like Gatsby and Daisy, and hate others, especially Tom Buchanan. In some ways, The Great Gatsby is a very simple book. It’s the tragic love affair of Daisy and Gatsby. In other ways, the story is, like my lit teacher says, an indictment of the American Dream.

Most people are in awe of the mysterious Great Gatsby because he has climbed up the ladder of success in the USA, and in the USA we love self-made men. Gatsby is certainly good enough for Daisy, and that is the success that is most important to Gatsby. The problem is that Tom Buchanan hates Gatsby because Tom thinks Gatsby is a lower class scoundrel who is just pretending to be successful. Tom is a snob and because of that he hates Gatsby and destroys all of Gatsby’s dreams. One of the most painful things in The Great Gatsby is when Tom Buchanan defeats and destroys Gatsby. It’s like the book is a war over social class, and instead of the hardworking social climber coming out on top, instead the snobs win. That isn’t the way it’s supposed to be in America.

I think everyone should read The Great Gatsby because all students should get to read books that are exciting and enjoyable. The whole point of great literature is supposed to be great works of art that people love to read. If more students read The Great Gatsby, more students would be like me and fall in love with reading again.