The Mystery that was Gatsby, The Great Gatsby

The Mystery that was Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous work of literature is unarguably his great American novel, The Great Gatsby. This is plainly evidenced by its frequent and familiar appearance in the American classroom. The protagonist of the novel is the character mentioned in the title, Jay Gatsby. Though Gatsby’s mysterious life is the focus of the novel, the reader always has a vague conception of the details that surround Gatsby’…

…that was his personality, and to the bewilderment that succeeded his death. Though other characters play roles subordinate to Gatsby’s, the details that surround their lives as they relate to the story are defined and clear, at least more defined and clear than with Gatsby. Fitzgerald describes the other characters with precision and deliberateness. Gatsby remains clouded. Without that cloudiness, the character of Gatsby would not have captured our imaginations in such a way.