The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is not only one of the greatest American novels but also one of the most perplexing. Is its theme a peculiar and simplified view of the American Dream as the masculine drive to pursue status, material wealth, and sensual gratification—and the consequences of that pursuit? Fitzgerald’s masterwork certainly presents the pains of amorous loss and seems to suggest that wealth does not make for enduring happiness. But is there more to this modern literary classic? Something deeper? Are there elements of what C. S. Lewis called “the dialectic of desire”? Does the failure of all worldly desires to satisfy our deepest needs suggest a desire and a need for something the world can't provide? Is The Great Gatsby a cautionary tale? If so, about what is it cautioning the reader? These great questions asked by the novel are in need of answers. Such answers are offered or at least suggested by the critics whose essays accompany this edition of Fitzgerald's beguiling novel.