let's start at the beginning...

If you have somehow wandered onto my blog, you have probably already read The Great Gatsby, but if you haven't, now is a good time to do so. After all, the new year just began, and wouldn't it be nice to start it off by reading one of the classics? I promise you that you will not regret reading it, even if it doesn't turn out to be your favorite book.

Right now, I am about to begin re-reading the novel for the third time. I will still post while I'm in the process of reading it again. I might post quotes that I find particularly interesting, or things that I thought of after reading certain passages. If you too are reading the book, whether it's your first or seventh time doing so, feel free to comment! Of course, you can comment even if you aren't currently reading it.

Before I end this post, I thought that I would tell you a little bit more about myself. I am, as I said before, just a college student. I am studying English Literature and French at the University of Southern California. I am in no way an expert on F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Great Gatsby, or the Jazz Age. I have just been very interested in learning about the Jazz Age and making connections to today's society.

If you haven't read the novel before, the one advice that I would give, which was given to me by a teacher, is to pay close attention to details. But most of all, enjoy the book and DO NOT JUST WATCH THE MOVIE. In fact, I have been advised to not watch the movie at all, so personally I plan on never doing so. There's no need for a film adaptation of the book, in my opinion.

Happy reading.

my valley of ashes

Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Halle and I am just another college student who loves to read. I first read F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby when I was in eleventh grade, and never before has any novel captivated me as much as it did. Of course, I loved the imagery and language in the novel, as well as the characters and story. But the thing that most resonated with me was how much the disillusionment of society in the 1920's could be applied to today, the second decade of the 20th century. Of course, there are too many differences to count; the world has changed so much since 1925. It is a different world than the one that F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Gertrude Stein wrote about in Paris and the French Riviera. But I know that I am not alone in saying that what makes any novel become a classic is its ability to put forth universal themes, so that one year or 85 years after its publication, readers can still identify with it. I think that The Great Gatsby is still read and loved by millions of readers today because we can learn just as much from it now as readers in the 1920's could. I especially feel that today's society, and my generation, can identify with the 'Lost Generation' of the twenties. In a world where writers seem to be running out of ideas, the United States is fighting to maintain its standing in the world, and morality seems to be disappearing, I often feel that America is coated in ashes... in other words, life is lackluster and more and more people are feeling lost. You might not feel that way, but then again, maybe you do. Maybe this is another 'Lost Generation'. But it does not matter if you think so; you don't have to in order to appreciate the writing and culture of the 1920's. This brings me back to this blog. The Great Gatsby and the Jazz Age that it depicts are the inspiration for this blog, because I feel that America today is my valley of ashes.