From a Country Man to a City Man

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 1, pages. 1-5

"No-Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed in Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men" (Fitzgerald, page 2).

As an unnamed man narrates the opening of the novel, the groundwork for the novel is laid out. The first two chapters seems to play out the general focus of the novel, Gatsby. The novel gives the background of the man who will tell us the story of why Gatsby was above reproach in his eyes. The foreshadowing of the novel seems to take over in these first few pages and I like the way that the novel almost reads to me like a Disney story would open. I am imagining a Disney princess movie where the opening is the narrator opening magical book saying "Once upon a time.." as the story appears in front of my eyes. Although I am sure Fitzgerald was not exactly aiming for this to be imagined, I find it easier to relate to when I can see if for myself in a different way. Likewise, I can directly compare the narrator to any small town person moving to the Big Apple or Los Angeles. The story almost seems relatable in another sense with the almost cookie-cutter story that the narrator seems to be telling of his life going from the Midwest to the East Coast taking his ignorance and father's words with him for the journey. Furthermore, I find the narrator to be quite relatable as we all live in the Midwest and personally, I dream of moving to New York City or a big city that is quite different from the childhood life I experienced here in Indiana. "I had just left a county of wide lawns and friendly trees" (Fitzgerald, page 3).