Appreciation post: Our group spent a whole meeting arguing about a character's motive in 'The Great Gatsby'

I've been in this book club for about two years now, and I keep seeing the same thing happen. People get so focused on whether a character is 'good' or 'bad' that they miss the whole point of why the author wrote them that way. We just finished 'The Great Gatsby' last week, and for a full hour, half the group was mad at Daisy for being selfish, calling her a 'villain'. But the book isn't about labeling people good or evil, it's about showing how the American Dream is broken (you know, the whole system). I tried to point out that Fitzgerald gives us her background and her limited choices for a reason, but the debate just turned into a blame game. It matters because reducing complex characters to simple morals makes us miss the bigger themes the author worked so hard to build. Has anyone else had a book club talk get stuck on judging characters instead of understanding the story's message?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_olivia22d agoMost Upvoted

Totally get that, my book club argued for weeks about whether Gatsby was pathetic or noble.

the_nina22d ago

That argument is a classic! My college lit class almost came to blows over whether we should feel sorry for Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Half the room thought he was a tragic hero, the other half just found him annoying.

the_claire22d ago

Ever notice how people will fight over fictional characters but stay quiet at family dinner?