The Great Gatsby is the most misunderstood novel (2021)

Post by lostlogin » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 8:53 AM UTC

yanhangyhy wrote: post #86

Exoristos wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ancestral Americans really do not have a "spiritual world," in my opinion, as acquisitiveness and power games suffuse even our churches, spiritual movements, and fraternal societies. The emptiness you delineate is very integral to the long-term American experience. As a reaction, addictive and manic personalities are endemic.

You reminded me of that experiment a social media influencer did earlier. American Christian churches refused to provide her with help, but other religions did.

Post by lostlogin » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 8:58 AM UTC

yanhangyhy wrote: post #90

noname123 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a Chinese-American, in my humble opinion the Great Gatsby is the 1920's version of "On the Road", "American Psycho" and "Liar's Poker". In another words, it is about the American spirit to chase money/success/glamour in spite of the protagonist's preconceived understanding that doing so would end up ultimately futile and empty. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgasmic future that year by year recedes befo…

I recently read an American novel that gave me a deeper insight into what you were saying. I don’t know its English title, but roughly translating the Chinese title back, it’s California Gold. It’s about the son of a miner who dreams of striking it rich; step by step he becomes a wealthy man in California. The story has some moral sense, too. It was probably a very popular novel in the U.S. at one point. But I felt t…

Post by yanhangyhy » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 9:05 AM UTC

lostlogin wrote: post #93

yanhangyhy wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently read an American novel that gave me a deeper insight into what you were saying. I don’t know its English title, but roughly translating the Chinese title back, it’s California Gold. It’s about the son of a miner who dreams of striking it rich; step by step he becomes a wealthy man in California. The story has some moral sense, too. It was probably a very popular novel in the U.S. at one point. But I felt t…

> But I felt the ending was rather unsatisfying, because it simply stops after he succeeds—lacking the kind of depth we usually expect from a great novel. I find this a lot with American TV and movies (not so much with books as I tend to read non-fiction). Tying up all ends, sequentially and perfectly. It makes it all very unsatisfying.

Post by DyslexicAtheist » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 9:10 AM UTC

brewdad wrote: post #71

auntienomen wrote: post #69

No wonder Gatsby is frequently misunderstood: Most people won't have the experience needed to understand it until they're in their 30s, but we prescribe it for high schoolers year after year.

I think this is true of much of the traditional high school English curriculum. I was way ahead of most of my peers and still far too great an idiot to fully appreciate the novels we read. I have reread some of those classics as an adult and should probably read more of them.

Post by aebtebeten » Sun, Jan 04, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC

elemdos wrote: post #96

sometimes_all wrote: post #72

While I'm not an American, I read a bit of American literature, and sometimes I feel that many American children/teenagers are exposed to the classics slightly early, before they can accurately pick up nuances, understand the social structure of the setting, and are able to grasp the different strengths and foibles of human beings, both real and fictional. This tends to make them either misunderstand the text, read i…

I think it’s probably counterproductive. It’s like religion - there’s arguably a lot to be gained from it, but people form negative early experiences and associate them with the thing itself. I’d love to re-read The Great Gatsby but dont want to relive middle school.