Student Essay on Great Gatsby : An Unfavorable Review

Great Gatsby : An Unfavorable Review by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Essay

Review:

The Great Gatsby, considered to be one of F. Scott Fitzgerald's greatest works, includes a very shallow cast of characters, which I didn't care for. The plot and dull characters made this novel a boring read. The story is told by Nick Carraway, a relaxed and intelligent young man, who is not described or shown through the plot as an interesting character. He remains rather quiet throughout the book, and is not given much importance. His vague past is pretty much unknown. Nick is part of the story, but he remains a spectator, interacting very little with the other characters. The main character, Jay Gatsby, is incomplete, and is only introduced with a very brief history. The author only tells of how Gatsby got his money, and his suspicious past in Oxford and World War I. Although this mysterious past perks some interest, in the end, Gatsby falls tragically. Nick, ending his relationship with Jordan, which turns out to be the only thing he does in the East, runs away frightened from New York. Not one of the characters is fully developed within the story. None of the characters are shown to possess real human-like qualities, but instead they progress through the plot like puppets. Although the bland characters keep the plot somewhat simpler, the plot is not always convincing. At times, it is amusing to poke fun at the weak characters as they struggle through their lives, but all the fake characters and coincidental events, creates a fake and unbelievable plot. The novel is easy to follow, but the underdeveloped characters and plot makes The Great Gatsby a chore to read.