The Great Gatsby at 100 (March 4)

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s lyrical Jazz-age novel resonates in the present. It is vibrant and thought-provoking 100 years after its publication. The story feels remarkably modern in the way it captures moral dissolution and entrenched class disparities of American society. In exposing an American Dream detached from morals or ethics, the novel offers a deft critical assessment of American culture and the myth of the self-made man as corrupt at heart.

With Gatsby, Fitzgerald critiques the myth of America as a land of opportunity. The story is a morality tale that explores the tension between the goodness of innocence and the cold, self-serving nature of cynicism. The novel captures the crippling power of social class, the frustrations and status anxieties that arise from the conflict between a profound wealth gap, and the mythology of self-transformation.

What makes this novel so compelling even today? Participants are encouraged to read or listen to an audiobook of the novel and to watch either the 1974 or 2013 film versions. Together we can attempt to answer the question of the novel’s enduring power.

Mary Murphy, Ph.D., received her doctorate in English and American Literature from New York University. Her expertise is in the 19^th-century American novel. Newport artists and writers are an area of interest as are classic films. Mary taught English at the university level for many years before retiring to Newport.