The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is one of my very favorite books. I am not quite sure how to express what I feel about it, but there is something that just enters my heart and touches all of the sadness I hold there. Not in a bad way, though. In a way that helps me acknowledge that I am incomplete and gives me hope that I can be better.
In case you haven't read it yet, The Great Gatsby is just about wealthy Americans in the 1920s, focusing particularly on Jay Gatsby's obsession with Daisy Buchanan. Most of the behavior is immoral, particularly focusing on lying, adultery, and alcohol. But see, that's how these people are trying to escape themselves. They build up fantasies to pretend that they have exciting, happy lives full of everything they ever wanted. But they don't, really. Gatsby ends up dead in his own yard after having been deserted by the woman he wanted. Daisy lives with her abusive, adulterous husband Tom for the rest of forever, as far as we know. Tom lives with the knowledge that his wife doesn't really love him and having had his mistress brutally killed. Jordan just generally seems to be so empty and unsatisfied with life, for whatever reason. The only person in the whole book who seems to get away fairly unscathed is Nick Carraway, who leaves this life to go back to his rural, safe existence after having seen the misery to which the rest of the world sank.
Nobody knew where to look for happiness. Just to make sure we're clear on this; alcohol/drugs, sexual immorality, and constant parties are not going to make you happy. That's an important thing to be clear on for the rest of this post.
I don't know the backgrounds of the characters in this book. But I can guess that they are lonely, without having had any true friends in their lives. Probably their parents were distant. The frustrations, sadnesses, and disappointments of life can build up and hurt our hearts so, so badly and it is natural to turn to whatever seems most likely. If we don't have guidance and direction on truth, then we'll turn to hell in order to be comforted. Our heartaches reach for something to heal with, and if we do not have the truth the devil will take the opportunity to convince us to his ways.
I have so many people in my own life who this applies to.
It hurts so much to know that I have friends and even family members who are living in the misery depicted in The Great Gatsby when they could be healing and finding true joy.
I am not going to tell you in this post where to find that healing, because only you can know that for yourself. Just take time to listen. Find that voice within yourself and try your best. Don't listen to what the world tells you to do. Listen to your truth.
Some people find it strange that I love this book so much. My love isn't based on desire for sin, though. My love for this novel is founded on the fact that I'm not alone. Loneliness and sadness are common to humanity. Everybody is searching for their own truth. I can do a better job than the characters in this story. The Great Gatsby is a tale of decadence, yes; but that is because it is also a tale of the human condition.