The Achieving of The Great Gatsby
How Fitzgerald grew from a promising young satirist into the writer of The Great Gatsby.
Robert Emmet Long’s study of how F. Scott Fitzgerald came to write The Great Gatsby. He follows Fitzgerald’s development from 1920 to 1925, the reading and literary influences, including Joseph Conrad, that shaped the novel, and then examines its structure, language and imagery.
Recommended by 1 Person
Sarah Churchwell
This is something that many critics have explored at great length, but I think Long does a good job of conveying the main ideas about what Fitzgerald does with his images, themes and metaphors and the importance of symbols in the novel. It’s just a very solid overview of what the main themes and ideas of Gatsby are, so it’s a good introduction for someone trying to get a sense of what all the fuss is about.
Interview · June 2012
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