The Great Gatsby (Penguin Critical Studies Guide) [Paperback]

Kathleen Parkinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2003

Kathleen Parkinson places this brilliant and bitter satire on the moral failure of the Jazz Age firmly in the context of Scott Fitzgerald's life and times. She explores the intricate patterns of the novel, its chronology, locations, imagery and use of colour, and how these contribute to a seamless interplay of social comedy and symbolic landscape. She devotes a perceptive chapter to Fitzgerald's controversial portrayal of women and goes on to discuss how the central characters, Gatsby and Nick Carraway, embody and confront the dualism inherent in the American dream.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Global; Stg edition (November 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140771972
• ISBN-13: 978-0140771978
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > General
  • #10 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > United States > History & Criticism
  • #26 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Humor > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decadence at its Finest, February 23, 2002

By 

Acnoth "acnoth" (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Gatsby (Penguin Critical Studies Guide) (Paperback)

This is a tremendous indictment of the superficiality of elite society. Surprisingly, it is Gatsby himself who is both the most real and the most fake of the elite described within. Gatsby utterly invents himself to become a part of elite society, and as a result his pretensions of cultured society remain mere pretensions. However, throughout all of this pretended culture Gatsby has a singular very real purpose in mind, and in so doing becomes thoroughly real because of those pretences. By showing us Gatsby's defined purpose, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows us the reality of Gatsby far more than is ever seen of Jordan Baker or Tom and Daisy Buchanan. (Admittedly, Nick Carraway is the most real character within the novel, but he not actually part of the elite he describes.)

That indictment of elite society aside, the real beauty of "The Great Gatsby" is its lesson that life cannot be relived. Gatsby devotes his life to recapturing a period of happiness from his life and recreating it exactly as it was, trying in the attempt to obliterate the years and events that have fallen between. In this attempt he comes very very close - close enough to be forgiven his belief that it was possible - but in the end his dream is impossible. Had he been willing - or able - to accept the changes that the intervening years necessitated then this more realistic dream might possibly have been achieved, but by insisting on a return to events as-they-were Gatsby dooms himself to an inevitable failure of his dream. It is said that you can't go home again; "The Great Gatsby" is an almost perfect metaphor for that maxim.

Ultimately, this is a beautiful and tragic novel. It is eminently readable, and its status as an American classic is well-deserved.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Warning: Not the real book, just a commentary, January 20, 2010

By 

Wiwse (Roswell, GA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Great Gatsby (Penguin Critical Studies Guide) (Paperback)

I thought this was the real Great Gatsby book with additional commentary, but it is primarily a commentary with little of the original text.
This version does not include the complete text of the book like some of the other editions do.


The commentary is okay, but not as helpful as some other study guides.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars E'gads Gatsby, June 26, 2009

By 

Chris S. Rogers "Chris" (Delaware) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Great Gatsby (Penguin Critical Studies Guide) (Paperback)

Well written and researched book on the Great Gatsby by an insightful and thoughtful scholar. I found it interesting to see her take on a major, popular, male American author during an intriguing time of change in American society. For the Gatsby afficcionando, the Fitzgerald student, as well as the individual interested in American social thought post WWI, will find this study, particularly since it is done from a British viewpoint, a valuable perspective. Many insightful footnotes and asides. References are made to Penguin's edition of the Great Gatsby but it is not necessary to have this edition. For the general reader who wishes more understanding about this tremendous novel I suggest Kathleen Parkinson's fine study an important companion.