The Great Gatsby Bibliography

Keywords: the great gatsby annotated bibliography

Barret, Laura. “From Wonderland to Wasteland: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Great Gatsby and the New American Fairy Tale.” Papers on Language and Literature. 42.2. 2006; 150 153.

Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to reflect his own perception on the American dream. Barret, however, in analyzing the New American Fairy Tale, classifies the novel as being an example of an “Anti-Fairy Tale.” The novel, according to Barret, illustrates “The unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy’s wing” (150). As such, the novel does not have a fairy tale ending, which is contrasted by the Wizard of Oz, which does have a more classic ending consistent with traditional fairy tales. Gatsby, as a result, “paints the failure of the American dream twenty Five years later” (150).

Bloom, Harold. Gatsby. New York: Chelsea House, 1991.

This book examines Gatsby as a romantic hero being entirely crafted from the perspective of the narrator Nick. According to the author, Nick’s biased interpretation of Gatsby leaves “the individual’s essential qualities forever hidden” (178). Bloom further explains, “Gatsby depends on his efforts to translate the mysterious man’s dramatic gestures into a revelation of their hidden significance” (178). The reader, as a result, has to either accept the perspective of Nick or attempt to read between the lines to draw his/her own conclusions on what is really occurring.

Canterbury, E. Ray. “Thorsetin Veblen and ‘The Great Gatsby.'” Journal of Economic Issues. 33.2. 1999; 297-301.

This particular article denotes the connection between the Gatsby narrative, the American Dream and Social Darwinism. According to the author, the point of view provided by Nick is outlining an American Dream that is unrelenting and that can swallow up those who dare seek it out. Like Darwinism, the only the most suitable and adaptable will survive. For Gatsby, his death at the end of the tale is a caution that he was ill equipped to deal with the rigors related to the pursuit of the American Dream. Rather than something to be celebrated, the American Dream and the pursuit thereof is something to be viewed with caution and scrutiny. Dyson, A.E. “The Great Gatsby: Thirty Six Years After.” F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. A. Mizener. New York: Prentice Hall, 1963. This article illustrated how the novel is distinctly American and is part of the cultural attributes of being an American and the American Dream for its respective era. For people reading the novel outside of the country, Dyson suggests that the novel still is of value; however, he suggests that some of the finer attributes that would be recognizable to an American would not be apparent to an outsider. Nick, as a narrator, takes some of these attributes for granted in the storytelling process.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York, Scribner, 1995.

As the primary source from which the study is being conducted, the use of this novel will be done with specific regards to critical statements that back the relevant theses. For example, the primary quotes that will be employed are those that reflect Nick’s perspective on Gatsby. These will be coupled with outside character point of view perspectives on Gatsby when Nick switches from first to third person in the narrative. Two of the examples that will be employed of the third person nature are one conversation between Henry Gatz to Nick about Gatsby and one Jordan and Lucille talking about Gatsby.

Giltrow, Janet and David Stouck. “Style as Politics in ‘The Great Gatsby.”” Studies in the Novel. 29.4. 1997; 476-480.

This work pays particular attention to the historical era in which the novel was written with attention to Nick’s role as a narrator. As the voice of the people living in that time, “Nick is the medium by which those voices are heard and, as principle speaker in the text, he serves as a translator of the dreams and social ambitions of the people who surround him” (476). Nick’s voice, however, is suspect to interpretation and the reader is forced to figure out if Nick is critical of Gatsby’s romantic notions or if Nick is truly a conservative reflection of the events that are taking place. “Great Neck.” The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th Edition. Columbia University Press; New York, 2009. This particular article illustrated the “Great Neck” area and explains how the setting pertains to The Great Gatsby. According to the entry, geographically, Great Neck is located on the North Shore of Long Island in Nassau county. It is commutable proximity to New York City and is therefore a popular retreat for the rich as an opposition to city life. Fitzgerald lived in this area and based the fame novel on the region. Gross, Dalton and MaryJean Gross. Understand the Great Gatsby: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources and Historical Documents. New York: Greenwood Press, 1998.

Gross and Gross identify the basic plot of the novel as being fairly simple. On the other hand, it is the symbolism and mechanisms used by the author that makes the story compelling and classic. On a cursory glance, the novel simply recounts a story of man who takes on a life of crime to make the necessary money to woo a female from his past. When she finds about about his past, she rejects him and this ultimately leads to his downfall. Hawkes, Lesley. “And One Fine Morning: Gatsby, Obama, and the Resurrection of Hope.” Social Alternatives. 28.8. 2009; 20-24. Hawkes attempts to draw connections between the hope and the American Dream attributes of Gatsby to the recent Obama campaign in the United States. Gatsby, which is referred to as “The unfinished American Epic,” has a potential to be resurrected in modern times through hope and a new political paradigm (20). This article is not infallible and it has a high amount of personal bias, however, it does indicate how the novel is an enduring part of the American cultural experience. In terms of point of view, the entirety of the experience is based on the point of view provided by Nick, the novel’s narrator. Layng, George W. “Fitzgerald’s the great Gatsby.” The Explicator. 56.2. 1998; 93-95.

The point of view presented by Nick in The Great Gatsby is one that is able to articulate and make sense of the past in such a way that it is conveyed to the reader. According to Layng, “Gatsby’s decline is alluded to in the very next sentence…and Nick begins to save and assemble his own history. By the novel’s end, Gatsby is the ghost – literally dead, his past with Daisy lost – and nick emerges as the apostle-protagonist.” (93).