Zachary Roth Roth 1
Mrs. Goodman
Gifted English Honors
2/20/07
The Great Gatsby: What makes it a “classic novel”?
A work of literature must have specific qualities to define it as a “classic” piece of literature. Although the specifics of these qualities are often disputed, there are certain novels, for instance The Great Gatsby, that always have and forever will be considered a “classic”. The Great Gatsby earned its status of a “classic novel” by describing the glory of the “Roaring Twenties”, symbolizing complex feelings in simple terms, and showing the decline of the American dream in the 1920s.
The Great Gatsby is a memorable story of a young man named Nick and his experiences with his cousin Daisy and a very interesting man named Jay Gatsby in the summer of 1922. Nick had just recently moved to a house in the West Egg, where he meets his strange and mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is an extremely wealthy man living in the Gothic mansion next to Nick’s house. While training to become an officer however, Gatsby meets and falls in love with Nick’s cousin Daisy and falls in love with her. Daisy promises to wait for Gatsby after he returns from WWI, but marries Tom Buchannan shortly thereafter while Gatsby was studying at Oxford to get an education. From that moment on, Gatsby devotes the rest of his life to winning Daisy back and will do so at any cost. After lying to Daisy about his past, Gatsby engages in illegal activities to gain the wealth and fortune he thought necessary to live up to Daisy’s standards.
Nick is invited to one of Gatsby’s lavish parties and is accompanied by a close friend named Jordan. After being at the party for several hours, Nick and Jordan are finally personally introduced to the one and only Gatsby. Following a private
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conversation with Gatsby, Jordan reveals to Nick more about his mystifying...