The American Dream: Why You Should Read The Great Gatsby
Vocabulary
Repeat each word, definition, and example sentence after your tutor.
embody
Verb
ɪmˈbɑːdi
to have or represent an idea, quality, etc.
Jimi Hendrix embodied the counterculture movement of the 1960s.
essence
Noun
ˈɛsəns
the basic nature or most important qualities of something that determine its character
I think the movie failed to capture the essence of the novel it was based on.
contender
Noun
kənˈtendər
a person or group competing to achieve something
She is considered one of the strongest contenders for the gold medal.
narrate
Verb
ˈnæreɪt
to tell a story in words or writing; to provide spoken words that go with a film, broadcast, etc.
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" is narrated by a six-year-old character called Scout.
elite
Noun
ɪˈliːt, eɪˈliːt
a group that is better in terms of their abilities, qualities, etc. than the rest of a larger group; a group of people seen as having the most power or influence in a society
By the time he was 18, Garry Kasparov was already an elite chess player.
contemporary
Noun
kənˈtempəreri
a person or thing that lives or exists at the same time as another
Christopher Marlowe was a famous playwright and poet, and a contemporary of William Shakespeare.
Article
The American Dream: Why You Should Read The Great Gatsby
For over 150 years, people have talked about the concept of the "Great American Novel" — something that embodies the essence of American life and culture. And while there are many works deserving of the title, one strong contender is F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
Published in 1925, the story is narrated by Nick Carraway, who moves into a house near his cousin, Daisy, and is introduced to the world of New York's wealthy elite.
Central to the novel is the American Dream — a belief popularized in the early 20th century that anyone can achieve wealth and success through hard work.
No one embodies the pursuit of the American Dream better than the novel's main character, Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire.
Rumors about the mysterious Gatsby abound, but as the novel progresses, we learn about his past and his love for Daisy, who is married to the wealthy Tom Buchanan.
Many say the novel is a critique of the American Dream, because no matter how hard Gatsby works, he's unable to find his place among those who were born wealthy.
The novel's setting emphasizes this divide: while Nick and Gatsby live in the fictional village of West Egg, those who come from "old money" live across the water, in East Egg.
Parts of the novel were inspired by Fitzgerald's background. He was raised in a middle-class family, and was rejected by the rich family of his first love because of his status.
"I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works," he wrote in a 1938 letter.
And although it's often called the Great American Novel now, The Great Gatsby wasn't popular when it was first published.
Some believed in Fitzgerald's capabilities, however — including fellow writer Gertrude Stein, who in 1933 said that Fitzgerald "will be read when many of his well-known contemporaries are forgotten."
A century after its publication, more than 25 million copies of The Great Gatsby have been sold — so Stein may have been right.
Discussion
1.
Have you read The Great Gatsby? If so, did you enjoy it? If not, do you plan to?
2.
What would you say are some of your country's greatest novels?
3.
Are there any books you think embody the essence of your country's culture?
4.
Who are the most memorable book characters you've come across?
5.
Do you know of any other classics that were unpopular at first?
