Lessons From Fitzgerald

    It is no secret that I completely love (even that is an understatement) The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I find Fitzgerald, as a person, to be extremely intriguing and also brilliant. Yes, he may just write words that sound pretty (or so some people may think), but they are saturated with meaning and commentary on the human condition.
     My love for his work began my junior year of high school. For my AP language and composition class, we read The Great Gatsby. Amidst all the sour attitudes and closed minds not willing to delve into the pages and extract beauty and meaning, I fell in love. I have always loved to read, but this was very different. I grew up reading adventures that sparked my imagination like Harry Potter, A series of Unfortunate Events, tons of historical fiction, Little House on the Prairie, and even Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary book. I loved reading and my experiences with books were just beginning. After reading this book, I fell in love with words and literary devices that could be used so skillfully and beautifully that they could touch even that saddest and hardest souls. Suddenly books became much more than entertainment or a pass time. They became new ways of thinking, new perspectives, and even more knowledge.
     During my first year of college at SLCC, I took a class called Intro to Critical Theory. I had a great professor who happened to be the only professor I truly liked during my studies there. I was lucky enough to have her both semesters, but in this class particularly my ways of thinking and seeing were altered completely. We learned about all sorts of critical lenses that could be sued to analyze and understand literature such as structuralism, deconstruction, genders studies, queer theory, colonialism, and new historicism. Some of these ideas were difficult for me to wrap my mind around at first, but I was able to learn far more than I ever expected. During our last bit in the course, we were asked to choose a book that we love and have a close relationship with to explicate through any of these lenses. I chose The Great Gatsby from a feminist lens and it was so intriguing. I could go on and on about all that I learned and became aware of it the book, but that is not the point of this post.
     During this project especially, I learned how much writing can relate to our own lives and also how much we can learn from it. Any quality piece of literature (and literature by definition implies the piece is quality) will correctly display the human condition, or is other words the ways human live, react, and also why they do these things. I suddenly became hyper aware of the fact that books aren't just stories, but they are lessons for us or things that can open our minds and lead us to improved ways of thinking and conducting ourselves. This is why I chose to study English and this is also why I love to read as much as I do.
    Now, the purpose of this post is not for me to express my love for writing and reading. The proceeding words acted as merely background knowledge for what I am going to write next. In the first chapter of The Great Gatsby, the narrator Nick Carrwaway says a line that has always stuck with and of lately, seems to be quite fitting.

 

     I have never been much of a judgmental person as I quite dislike conflict and I have also been on the negative side of judgment. I think both sides are negative, so maybe its better fit to say on the receiving end. Like all people I have made unfair judgments in weak moments and like in everything, I always have room to improve. However, this quote speaks of much more than just placing judgments. To me, this quote implies that we should always see the best in people. If we do not judge, we have infinite hope in that person that they are good or that they can become better. Anyone who is familiar with this book knows of the many shady actions of the characters. There are drugs, affairs, lies, and other things that are not positive or right. Nick is exposed to all of these negative traits and actions yet he holds onto the idea that they mean well or that they will get better.

     It is easy to judge someone who had wronged us but it is hard to disregard the behavior. Now, I am no saying that because someone is mean to you or acts poorly that you need to be their best friend or let them into your life fully if you know they can and probably still will hurt you. I am saying that you can walk ways and realize that it is their live, and it is not your place to judge. All you can do is pray for them or help them, and hope that someday they will realize their actions and that they will have a change of heart to make changes and fixes. I also think that forgiveness goes hand in hand with this concept. Forgiveness does not mean letting someone who has hurt you or broke your heart or spirit back into your life, it just means you let it go and are able to accept it and move on with your own life.



  Hope in all things can bring happiness and faith to your life. Whether you are religious or not, I do believe that faith and hope in one thing or another, whether it be God or a higher power, will improve your life and help you to see good where there is bad. One thing I have learned over the past few years of struggle has been to have hope because no mater how awful things get, there is always something better ahead.