How Did The Great Gatsby Become a Classic?
Friends, Romans, countrymen lend me your ears eyes.
I come to shatter your beliefs about the Great Gatsby.
Calm down.
This is not a critical review of the book but rather an objective analysis of its evolution to “classic” status.
There’s a backstory you need to know.
Let’s Talk About Classic Books
But before I get to that back story, let me explain why I decided to do this and subsequent blog posts.
On various social media platforms and opinion pieces on multiple news outlets, I’ve read people railing against any change to the required reading list for middle and high school students.
People claim to have pulled their children from public schools in favor of private school or homeschooling because children should only read the classics.
Here’s a question for people committed to maintaining the list of classics that they read when they were in school.
What book did Gatsby knock off?
The school year is finite. There are a limited number of books that can be read.
Students aren’t just reading novels. They’re reading plays, poems, and short stories as well.
When a new book is added to the list, an existing one has to be removed. When Gatsby was added another book bit the dust.
So, here’s another question.
What makes a book a classic?
In general, the consensus is books that are highly regarded, timeless in theme, and have stood the test of time.
Well, that’s vague and subjective.
The History of The Great Gatsby
So now, let’s look at the Great Gatsby.
Would it surprise you to learn that when it was first published Gatsby wasn’t a critical or commercial success?
It wasn’t panned by critics but many believed that it didn’t live up to the quality of Fitzgerald’s previous works.
Upon its first release, Gatsby sold more copies than another, older classic book (I’ll tell you which one in an upcoming post) but it didn’t land on any best-seller list, either.
The book faded from store shelves and was forgotten.
At the end of 1940, Mr. Fitzgerald went to his grave lamenting the failure of his tome.
It was the not-so Great Gatsby.
So, what happened?
World War 2.
Wait, what?
Yep, that’s correct. The Great Gatsby owes its vaunted position to the Second World War.
Here’s the short version of what happened.
A group of book publishers, librarians, and authors created the Council on Books in Wartime to provide relaxation to U.S. troops, while also shaping the way they thought about issues and the purpose of the war.
I’m not going to dwell on the latter.
In 1943 after laying dormant for almost two decades, the Great Gatsby was edited and republished.
The Armed Services Edition of the book was sent overseas to U.S. servicemembers.
For whatever reason, it resonated with many of the troops. They shared their excitement with family and friends back home.
This produced discussion and reexamination by a new set of critics and the general public.
From there it was off to the races and the top of best sellers list.
It would be several more years before it landed on required school reading lists.
Final Thoughts
Here’s something else to consider when discussing the classics.
Times change – tastes change. Not everyone has the same taste and what’s intriguing today may not be so tomorrow.
Regardless of how popular a book, movie, or TV show is, it’s not going to appeal to everyone.
Required reading should cross a broad range of themes, cultures, human conditions, etc. while having the potential to resonate with a large segment of its captive audience.
In an upcoming post, I’ll share the story of a well-known, much-revered children’s book that was banned by the Brooklyn Public Library for the use of a single word.
Trust me by today’s standards it’s a head-scratcher.
It’s not a bad thing to expose young people to fiction from decades or centuries ago. Not appreciating that today will be a century old in one hundred years is a bad thing.
If you only stick with what you know, you won’t know very much.
Keep things in perspective.
Reference Links
Book Bans Aren’t the Only Threat to Literature in American Classrooms
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