I know that people talk a lot about not liking this book in high school, but I had a very good experience with it (mainly because I had an awesome teacher). We compared characters to junk food (Tom was a Ho-Ho, Myrtle was Apple Jacks, Daisy was a Twinkie... It all made sense when you thought about it), we played 'Pin the Wheel on the Drunk's Car' (which I took home and kept until the storm flooded my house), we had a flapper party with sparkling grape juice and did the Charleston... It was the best class ever.
I look back on the characters and I just can't help hating every one in this book. Gatsby did stupid things to get back something that he never had and then didn't want to adjust his thinking when he got the best he could hope for. Daisy got used to the good life even with a cheating husband. Jordan was literally just a cynical pot stirrer who cared about nothing. Tom was... Tom. Nick was blind and prejudice-ly opinionated while simultaneously indecisive and easily swayed.
But despite all of this, I love this story. It's like it takes a love story, an underdog story, a story about hope and completely destroys everything and leaves you with a sense of disappointment and disdain, but also the need to carry on.
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