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.