The Great Gatsby

Having a brother who has studied this in IB I was curious to find out what on earth he was talking about when him and my mother would discuss something about a green light representing hope. I did however watch the movie before reading the book (3 times at the movie theater, you could say I enjoyed it). I thoroughly enjoyed the movie (not only because of Leonardo DiCaprio, who is my favorite actor) but I found that throughout the whole movie I was captivated and extremely impressed. Since loving the movie so much I felt that I needed to read the book, which I thought must be something special if my brother had to study it so in depth. And I was right, it really was something special and I felt that it was one of those books that everyone needs to read at least once in their lifetime. F.Scott Fitzgerald portrays the theme of the decline of the American dream during the 1920's. On the surface it may seem that The Great Gatsby is a story of love between Gatsby and Daisy, but Fitzgerald focuses on the 1920's as an era of decayed social and moral values and greed. The desire for money and pleasure that surpassed more noble goals ultimately resulted in the corruption of the American Dream. 

Unlike some of the other books that I had read previous to this year, I have found that by reading the classics my general knowledge of, well, people have increased. You gain an understanding of the world by reading these books which cannot be learnt else where. I feel like I've begun to understand not only other people but myself more by exposing myself to these books. I would highly recommenced this book, and to be honest any other classics as it will open up a whole new world to you.