Reading Report

Reading ReportIn this summer holiday, I have read the novel The Great Gatsby. It’s so popular and famous novel in the Unites States, even in the whole world. There are two reasons why i choose the novel. The one is that I watched the latest film adaptation.This is a successful film, and i was attracted by Leonardo’s performance. In this movie capture the luxurious lifestyle of certain New York socialites during the 1920s. The film made a deep impression on me.And the another reason is thatinformation about the author from the Internet,then glanced the basic content of novel1、Introduction of AuthorF. Scott. Fitzgerald was one of the novelists of the 1920s. He was not onl y an active, leading participant in the typically frivolous, moneymaking li fe of the decade, but also a detached, profound observer of it at the same t ime. His own life was a mirror of the times. He led a priceless life and ac hieved much during the “Roaring Twenties”, drinking hard whisky, drivi ng fast cars, and taking much delight in it.Like Nick in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald found this new lifestyle seductive and exciting, and, like Gatsby, he had always idolized the very rich. Now he found himself in an era in which unrestrained materialism set the tone of society, particularly in the large cities of the East. Even so,like Nick, Fitzgerald saw through the glitter of the Jazz Age to the moral emptiness and hypocrisy beneath, and part of him longed for this absent moral center. In many ways, The Great Gatsby represents Fitzg erald’s attempt to confront his conflicting feelings about the Jazz Age. Like Gatsby, Fitzgerald was driven by his love for a woman who symbolized everything he wanted, even as she led him toward everything he despised. BackgroundThe Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is hailed as one of the foremost pieces of American fiction of its time. It is a novel of triumph and tragedy, noted for the remarkable way its author captures a cross-section of American society. In The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald, known for his imagistic and poetic prose, holds a mirror up to the society of which he was a part. The initial success of the book was limited, although in the more than 75 years since it has come to be regarded as a classic piece of American short fiction. In 1925, however, the novel served as a snapshot of the frenzied post-war society known as the Jazz Age, while today it provides readers with, among other things, a portal through which to observe life in the 1920s. Part of Fitzgerald's charm in The Great Gatsby, in fact, is his ability to encapsulate the mood of a generation during a politically and socially crucial and chaotic period of American history.To understand Fitzgerald's genius more fully, one must be aware of the politics that underlie the story. To remove the story from its full historical context is to do it a grave injustice. The novel, published in 1925, explores life in the early- to mid-1920s. Politically speaking, this was a time of growth and prosperity, as well as a time of corruption. World War I, the first war of its kind anyone had ever known, had ended in 1919.The novel is told us the story of Gatsby by Nick’s tone. Nick came to Ne w York from his hometown the America Middle West, and he rent a smal l house nearby Gatsby’s luxurious mansion where hold a grand banquet e very night. The story began with the meet between Nick and Gatsby. And Nick had an exploratory interest to Gatsby and understood that there was a lost love in Gatsby’s deep heart. Gatsby and Daisy loved each other wh en Gatsby was young, but because of Gatsby’s poor family they were bro ken up. Then G. joined the First World War. While Daisy was married to Tom who was a rich dandy, but her marriage was not happy because Tom had a mistress. Therefore, the material couldn’t satisfy her spiritual empt y.Gatsby was very painful and he believed that Daisy betrayed the pure hea rt for the money, so he resolved to be a man of wealth and a few years later he managed it. What’s more, in the opposite direction of Daisy’s house Gatsby built a mansion. In order to attract Daisy and aroused thelost love, Gatsby spent money like water.Nickwas moved by Gatsby’s passion of love, so he visited to his young female cousin Daisy and told her Gatsby’s mind. Then Gatsby made date with D aisy, often. Finally, Gatsby found Daisy’s vanity, vulgar and selfish. Gats by’s pink dream finally broke up, but he still insisted it, still retained any i llusion about Daisy, and even led to his tragedies.One day Daisy was in a drunken driving Gatsby’s car ran over and caused an accident that killed Tom’s mistress, and she planned a plot with Tom to put the crime to Gats by. It led to the mistress’ husband shot Gatsby. Gatsby died, only his fath er and Nick attended the funeral.Nick witnessed the virtual mood of huma n reality. At the end, Nick backed to his hometown with a tragedy mood. Mainly CharacterJay Gatsby - The title character and protagonist of the novel, Gatsby is a fabulously wealthy young man living in a Gothic mansion in West Egg. He is famous for the lavish parties he throws every Saturday night, but no one knows where he comes from, what he does, or how he made his fortune. As the novel progresses, Nick learns that Gatsby was born James Gatz on a farm in North Dakota; working for a millionaire made him dedicate his life to the achievement of wealth. When he met Daisy while training to be an officer in Louisville, he fell in love with her. Nick alsolearns that Gatsby made his fortune through criminal activity, as he was willing to do anything to gain the social position he thought necessary to win Daisy. Nick views Gatsby as a deeply flawed man, dishonest and vulgar, whose extraordinary optimism and power to transform his dreams into reality make him “great” nonetheless.Nick Carraway - The novel’s narrator, N ick is a young man from Minnesota who, after being educated at Yale and fighting in World War I, goes to New York City to learn the bond business. Honest, tolerant, and inclined to reserve judgment, Nick often serves as a confidant for those with troubling secrets. After moving to West Egg, a fictional area of Long Island that is home to the newly rich, Nick quickly befriends his next-door neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. As Daisy Buchanan’s cousin, he facilitates the rekindling of the romance between her and Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is told entirely through Nick’s eyes; his thoughts and perceptions shape and color the story.Daisy Buchanan - Nick’s cousin, and the woman Gatsby loves. As a young woman in Louisville before the war, Daisy was courted by a number of officers, including Gatsby. She fell in love with Gatsby and promised to wait for him. However, Daisy harbors a deep need to be loved, and when a wealthy, powerful young man named Tom Buchanan asked her to marry him, Daisy decided not to wait for Gatsby after all.Now a beautiful socialite, Daisy lives with Tom across from Gatsby in the fashionable East Egg district of Long Island. She is sardonic and somewhat cynical, and behaves superficially to mask her pain at her husband’s constant infideli ty.Tom Buchanan - Daisy’s immensely wealthy husband, once a member of Nick’s social club at Yale. Powerfully built and hailing from a socially solid old family, Tom is an arrogant, hypocritical bully. His social attitudes are laced with racism and sexism, and he never even considers trying to live up to the moral standard he demands from those around him. He has no moral qualms about his own extramarital affair with Myrtle, but when he begins to suspect Daisy and Gatsby of having an affair, he becomes outraged and forces a confrontation.SymbolThe Green LightSituated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from Gatsby’s West Egg lawn, the green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Gatsby associates it with Daisy, and in Chapter 1 he reaches toward it in the darkness as a guiding light to lead him to his goal. Because Gatsby’s quest for Daisy is broadly associated with the American dream, the green light also symbolizes that more generalized ideal. In Chapter 9, Nick compares the green light to how America, rising out of the ocean, must have looked to early settlers of the new nation.Personal feelingAfter reading it,something reverberates in my heart. I have three opinions. First of all, in 1920s, Some people,especially the people of the upper class,lived an aimless life.They just enjoyed dancing, singing, making friends and other entertainments, because they had enough money and no aim. What’s pointless lives! To see this phenomenon deeper,there were two circumstances underlying it.The first is the lack of dreams.They wasted their time and money and took an indifferent attitude towards life.They chased for temporary ecstasy but lost their identity in eternity,namely Daisy and Tom.The second is the misleading of dreams.Some others like Gatsby,bravely pursued their dreams,yet going to a diverged way unconsciously.They might mix up the concept of a richer life and a happier life,viewing a higher social state and a peaceful fulfilled life as equality.Unfortunately,when they were busy chasing their dreams,everything changed with time. So Daisy is no longer the one she used to be. Secondly, I suppose that people who want to live a meaningful life,they should carefully choose some dreams topursue. Nowadays, the society is in information age. We can get abundant information ,however, we shouldn’t be affected by the wrong values at the same time. Anyhow,only by pursuing the proper dreams can wefinally get to the deep springs of happiness. Finally, as far as concerned, about love, Gatsby is a pitiful guy. Every night he looked the green light a cross the river, missing his lover. Every Saturday night he hold big parties , invited all the celebrities to his big house, just want to attact Daisy to co me. He asked Nick’s for help, just wanted to meet Daisy. His nervousness and before meet Daisy makes me feel he is a young guy who first meet hi s little girlfriend. Aside all the other things, for love, he is loyal through th ick and thin. That’s the point which makes me feel pitiful about Gatsby an d the tragedy.。