The Great Gatsby- beyond the movie

Of late, I've been reading The Great Gatsby for class and am moved by the writing of F. Scott Fitzgerald. I've heard feedback about the movie of how it was too draggy or sad, but I think that if you have never read the book, you would have missed out on the important points of the story, of which the movie missed some too.

When I began reading the book, I hardly could connect with it. One of the greatest American novels seemed dull and boring. The scenes in the book like the valley of ashes were something I couldn't really quite relate to. In fact, I totally missed it. 

It was during class when our (pretty druggy-talking) teacher began explaining each chapter to us. Daisy was so tired of life. She's seen everything and been everywhere and she was just so cynical about life. Even though she had beauty and the voice of money, she couldn't find anything worth living for. 

When her cousin Nick asked her about her three-year-old baby, she couldn't care less. She said that when she found out that she had a baby girl, she wished she would be a beautiful fool. And that spoke of the status and mentality of women of those days- beauty, for a woman, is everything. 

Then there's Daisy's hulking husband, Tom who embodies everything terrible about the upper class. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and because he was rich, he could woo and win over Daisy. This man was also having an affair with Myrtle, a married woman with a curvy figure. Daisy knew about Myrtle but she couldn't do anything about it.

Funny thing was that Gatsby was in love with Daisy when he was younger. But he was called off to war and soon, Daisy got engaged to Tom. So Gatsby throws all these big parties, hoping Daisy would walk into his house. But no one knows much about the host because he was a nobody to begin with. So he starts telling a string of lies from where he came from, how he got his money and more. Weirdly, Daisy never walked into any of his parties. So Gatsby gets Nick, the narrator, to arrange a meeting where Gatsby finally talks to Daisy after five years. He asks why she couldn't wait for him and she replied that rich girls don't marry poor boys. 

Anyhow, Daisy tells Gatsby that she loves him. But that isn't enough for him. He wants Tom to know that Daisy never loved him. It was more than getting the girl for Gatsby. It was about knowing that he has beaten a 'respectable' man. The day comes when Daisy is supposed to tell Tom but she gets nervous and an argument erupts between Gatsby and Tom. Gatsby wanted to defeat Tom so badly in order to prove himself but Tom couldn't care less. Everything was wrapped around his finger, even Gatsby was.

Everyone leaves the place upset and drives back to their home. Sadly, Tom drove Gatsby's yellow car to tea and Myrtle, his mistress, saw it. After the argument, Gatsby drove his yellow car back home. At the same time, Myrtle's husband was abusing her so she ran out on the street hoping to run into the arms of Tom. Unfortunately, the car was going too fast and it knocked her down. 

Tom drives by and sees that Myrtle is dead. He tells her husband, Mr Wilson, that it was Gatsby. In a twist of the story, it was actually Daisy who was driving the car at that point in time. However, Gatsby loved her so much that he decided to take the rap for her. 

Daisy and Gatsby are supposed to run away together to hide from the law but before they had the chance to live happily ever after, Mr Wilson shoots Gatsby and he dies. 

No one comes to his funeral. Only the tabloids do. Not even the people at his parties or Daisy does. 

At the end of the day, the rich won. If Tom had not been seeing Myrtle, Gatsby wouldn't have died in the end. But he turned out the winner, even after being so evil. He kept the girl and managed to remove his opponent. In fact, money conquered love. How sad is that?

This book was dubbed one of the greatest American novels. For me, it deserved it for the way it examined and revealed the society in 1920s. Then it really made me think about how the society then in 1920s has so much similarity to our society now. Has our world changed or progressed, especially when we look at beauty and money? 

Life can make you so cynical about everything, or money could make you feel small. But at the end of the day, are you able to be the one who conquers these obstacles and be the winner?