I love the Great Gatsby. It’s actually a novel I sit and take the time to re-read every year.

I taught it to my freshman last year. I think it’s a great novel about ’first love’ and how things can get distorted with time. Gatsby and Daisy might have loved each other once upon a time five years ago. But Gatsby is very changed by his experiences (in the new 2012 movie there’s a scene that looks like he’s experiencing a ptsd moment while Daisy is in his house) and Daisy has become colder and harder living with Tom.

The real question for me is, how well did Gatsby and Daisy know each other before? Did Daisy have a personality before or was it simply enough that she could coast on her looks/wealth and never bothered to develop one beyond that? How did Gatsby present himself to Daisy and did he really consider the fact that he’d have to lie to her everyday if they got together? Are either of them actually in love when the meet again, 5 years later, or is Daisy just using Gatsby to get back at Tom while he uses her as an objective goal that he’s “made it big”? I think both of them realize this thing they have over the summer is unsustainable. I even think deep down, Gatsby realized that no, you can’t repeat the past and Daisy isn’t how she used to be. But typical for him/humans-he buries himself in denial and tries to pretend everything is fine.