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The Great Gatsby has just been re-movied. I recall trying to read the book, and watching the first (as far as I know) movie version. It obviously made little impression on me, because all I remember is a bunch of degenerate behaviour culminating with Gatsby getting shot in the pool.
With all the publicity hype going on I reached for a summary that confirmed for me the apparent worthlessness of the story.
So what was missing for me I think was that I couldn’t have cared less about MC Nick (and by extension, the other characters). Maybe the story was supposed to be a lesson against social climbing.
Anti-heros aside. I believe it is necessary for the reader to have feelings for the main character, even if they’re those of sympathy or perhaps disgust, but feelings.
Funny — I did an online course on characters with the Gotham Writers, and their book of choice to illustrate how to bring characters to life was The Great Gatsby. Funny how different opinions can be.
Here’s a site with a number of quotes. I’ll not say that they don’t bring out character, but it’s a trite, uninteresting character about whom I could not care. So he gets popped at the end of the book, and my question is, what stopped the author from dong it earlier?
ErinMH wrote:Funny — I did an online course on characters with the Gotham Writers, and their book of choice to illustrate how to bring characters to life was The Great Gatsby. Funny how different opinions can be.I think there are two separate issues here. A dead, wooden character is not likely to work for any reader. The Great Gatsby does succeed in bringing its characters to life – but, just as there are living, breathing human beings each of us don’t care much about, caring about a particular set of characters is a very individual thing. A writer can learn how to bring their characters to life, and how to make a reader who is capable of caring about those characters care – but if their story includes a character who is “alive” but just doesn’t appeal to that reader, I don’t think there’s a thing they can do to change that.
I have to agree with Wandering Author on this one. I think the characters in the book are richly drawn. However, they have strong flaws that some readers might find they cannot like.
I agree that writers have to build characters who are strong. But likeable? That’s often a very personal thing the author can’t completely control. It’s not unlike genre — some readers like mysteries, some hate them. If a reader hates mysteries there’s not much a mystery writer can do to make that reader like their book.
–June
JuneDrexler wrote:But likeable?–June
I believe I said feelings. These can be of disgust etc. But if nothing is felt, what’s the point?
I think the point is that just because these characters made you feel nothing doesn’t mean this is true for everyone. What leaves you utterly cold could well deeply move someone else. Likewise, there may be characters who moved you deeply, who leave another reader feeling nothing at all. Just things are very personal.
–June
It was just coincidence, honestly. I didn’t go looking, it was suddenly there on my screen; a selection of authors opinions on chaaracter likeability and why the whole idea is, as I think Zette said, somewhat ridiculous.
I tend to like Claire Messud’s narrator right off because, as I think it was Margaret Atwood remarked — she’s at least alive , as Gatsby and company are not for me, no matter how beautiful their corpses are.
ErinMH wrote:Funny — I did an online course on characters with the Gotham Writers, and their book of choice to illustrate how to bring characters to life was The Great Gatsby. Funny how different opinions can be.Yes, but….
That was the Gotham Writers and creative writing. Most of the characters I’ve seen come out of creative writing courses have been moribund, at best. Now I know that there are people whose hobby is to attend funerals of strangers (there are also those who sneak into weddings etc.) is this good for writers?
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