The Great Gatsby: Living the Dream in the Valley of Ashes 

Great Gatsby also known as The Bae across the Bay

I think Gatsby's love for Daisy is ironic, he hasn't been with her for years, so perhaps, he, like everyone else, is in love with an idea that they think will make them happy. Daisy isn't the promise of status and wealth. She is to Gatsby, what status and wealth are to everyone else

What is Gatsby's favorite superhero? Green Lantern.

And then Gatsby gets to use his pool :'(

Just finished writing an essay on Gatsby, one of my favourite quotes is about the one about Daisy- 'Her voice is full of money'- i think it just materialises the old money background she comes from so precisely and singularly, and it could show that Gatsby ultimately could never be with Daisy because no matter how much he earned he could never have that intrinsic quality about him that Daisy has.

As a guy that grew up in extreme poverty, found my opportunity to advance above my station through a combination of networking and military service, I find Gatsby insanely relatable. I myself had to reconcile the realities of my life against the dreams that fueled the advancement in my early 30’s. Having accomplished every childhood dream while also being terribly sad and alone. Gatsby’s death breaks my heart.

I just finsihed reading Gatsby, and the one thing that really struck me was Gatsby's profound loneliness. He got fame and money and a following, but only gossipers and curiosity seekers show up for him in the end. It really reminded me of today's search for the 15 Minutes of Fame.

Legit I watched this just after the crash course episode and the parallels are remarkable xD

Since I first read Gatsby, I feel in love with it. The imperfect characters,the love, the raw emotions, the pain,and just everything. Though some complain about the characters not being relatable, the overall themes in this book are timeless, much more than any character could ever be. Gatsby may not be the most heroic person but he sure was great.

Okay, I love the Great Gatsby and have read it more than five times so here's what I think: One of my favorite things to discuss about the Great Gatsby is the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy (even though I pretty much hate everything about Daisy). To me it seemed that when they were younger Gatsby and Daisy really did love each other, however as the years passed and they stopped talking to one another everything twisted. Here's what I mean: I'm gonna compare this to John's book Looking for Alaska (please don't hate me), because of the fact that Gatsby went so many years without speaking to Daisy he ended up doing exactly what Pudge did in LFA. Fantasy twisted into reality and he loved the "idea" of being with Daisy. Therefore, when the reality didn't add up with the fantasy, it sort of sent him teetering off the edge, hence when he lost his temper with Tom. With Daisy it's pretty different. While Gatsby hung on to the idea of Daisy being with him, she ended up moving on. So in a way I believe Daisy did love Gatsby at a certain part of her life, however she couldn't deal with him being gone for so long when he went off to war that eventually she did what any person does when they break up with someone...SHE MOVED ON. She couldn't say she didn't love Tom because she did, yes there's probably still is a part of her that loves Gatsby because you never really forget your first love, but unlike Gatsby she was able to move on from her first ever love and learned to love someone else. (mind you it's a selfish kind of love, but still love). Here's something else to recognize: ALL OF THE CHARACTERS ARE SELFISH IN THE BOOK! That was exactly what Fitzgerald was trying to prove. Yes, Gatsby is probably one of the most redeemable characters in the entire book (or Nick depending on your outlook), but essentially all the motives of each character started with something selfish (except maybe Nick, but why did he get involved in the first place?). Gatsby while his motives were romantic and "heroic" in the end if he ended up with Daisy, it would've been for his benefit and that was Fitzgerald's goal. I would also love to say that I love these kinds of videos from John and Hank because as a reader sometimes you wonder if authors like analyzing stories just as much as they love writing them so it makes me really happy to know that authors love analyzing books just as much as their readers do. :)

I watched this right after the crash course Gatsby video. you recycled a lot didn't you :)

I don't think Gatsby's quest is heroic. I admire his determination to achieve his goals but his relentless pursuit of Daisy isn't heroism. It reminds me of a tumblr post 'be successful enough so that your celebrity crush will consider you' or something like that. Daisy has become so distorted in Gatsby's mind that she is little more than an ornament to complete his transformation: otherwise he could have happily run off with daisy without the need to get her to say she never loved Tom. He was not heroic in that quest, though his willingness to take the fall for Daisy in the end could be seen to be. But like most of Gatsby's persona, it's wrapped up in so many layers of frontage it's hard to know what his true intentions are

When you mentioned that what we really want is to go back in time to some place when we felt safe, innocent, naive - this portrays the desires of Gatsby as well as Daisy's wishes for her daughter's destiny (to be a little beautiful fool - in order to feel safe and secure and be ignorant - by lacking intelligence - of the concept of corruption).

This is exactly like the Crash Course episode

Kurt Vonnegut's Rules for Writing #2: Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

I don't think Gatsby was heroic. He didn't save anyone, anything, or even himself. Out of all the characters, he was the most genuine, but heroic isn't an adjective i'd use to describe Gatsby. He's a dreamer. His goal was to break up a marriage so he could be with Daisy. That's not heroic, but Fitzgerald romanticizes Gatsby's quest in the same way Gatsby romanticizes having Daisy.

and then gatsby finally got to use his pool. epic.

It's really kind of pleasing to watch John's progress with the tfios signing. I mean I know he's already done but it still make me happy

Gatsby is not so much a hero but a part of us. There is something so relatable about his character. His wants and desires are so very human.

In a certain sense, I identify Gatsby as a classical hero. He's an amazing person, someone who came from nothing and became everything. He has money, power, influence, everything material that Americans desire. His weakness is the femme fatale, his sentimentalism and love for Daisy. It's what kills Gatsby, for trying to reach too far and being destroyed. American society is romantic in it's nature. Materialism seems like everything, we need more and more, we have a desire to end at the top. When we reach for something of true meaning, it's perhaps too far or too demanding. We reach for it, ignorant it will ruin, yet we still do. Our ambitions are too great, almost delusional. It's like all the consumerism is the foul dust. Past the materialism, money and all, is meaning, something we despise and are utterly alone in obtaining something that doesn't have a price tag on it.

Alaska Young is the Daisy Buchanan of Looking For Alaska. Minus the lust for material things.

I'd like to say thanks for this video on behalf of my English literature class for some great points!

hearing a writer talk about books is one of the best things the Internet has to offer

I'm here because I have my English Literature exam on The Great Gatsby tomorrow. Thanks John for making revision slightly more bearable!

I think that Gatsby is heroic, in the way that heroes and legendary characters of the ancient world were heroic. He isn't heroic for being virtuous, or having pure motives. Quite the opposite. He is a tragic hero who is undone by his shortsightedness. His tunnel vision and his narrowly focused goals were his downfall. He achieved great wealth for all the wrong reasons, even if love was a better reason than simple greed. You could almost say he's like Achilles, only his Achilles heel is irrational fixation on Daisy. He suffered from hubris, and failed in his quest.

This makes me want to read the Great Gatsby again ahhhhhhhh

"And then Gatsby finally gets to use his pool." A beautiful way to describe it, John. A beautiful, haunting, and sweet way to look at it.

I'm sorry, John, but I need to disagree with you in regards to Daisy. I do not think she is more likable than Tom even if she doesn't come off as obnoxious as he does. Despite Tom's behavior throughout the book, he still displayed a capacity for caring about others, moreso than Daisy anyway. What do I mean by that? Well, for those reading, you might want to stop here if you haven't read the book but... ...for me, it comes down to how Tom and Daisy reacted to the deaths of their respective affairs, Myrtle and Gatsby. When Tom learned what had happened to Myrtle, he CRIED over her demise, showing that his affair was just as much an emotional one as a physical one. With Daisy, we've been lead to think that her story with Gatsby has been purely emotional (at least I don't remember them going to bed. You'll need to forgive me if I've made any errors; it's been years since I've read this book), that he could offer more than that creep, Tom. And yet, after slaughtering Myrtle, not only does she allow Gatsby to take the fall for her without confessing what had really happened, but when Gatsby died she doesn't even give any hint of pain over his passing, this despite the fact that she claimed to love him (at this point, I'm starting to wonder if she ever really knew what love is). For her, life moves on. No remorse. No shame. No pity. No sadness. The same is mostly true with Tom, but at least he had a human relationship of some kind. If he didn't, he wouldn't show sadness either. Tom is a prick, but Daisy is just as bad, if not worse.

taught me more in 10 minutes than I've ever learnt from my a level teacher this whole year, so yeah thanks john

There is simply no way that Gatsby is anything but heroic. This is because he has the audacity to dream, and even though he has built up this huge façade and is really pretending to be someone else (essentially), he has the audacity to dream and isn't that just the most admirable thing?! Because we are truly vulnerable when we reveal our dreams because they are so intrinsically us. And also, his love for Daisy, although it is admittedly misplaced and exaggerated, still strikes us as incredibly true and unwavering. Despite his flaws he is so himself and so worthy because he does everything in the pursuit of something noble - love, and perhaps, the innocence he has lost for Daisy.

His quest is heroic in a way that he strives to capture his long-awaited dream! He hopes in an illusion filled future of reaching his green light goal. But even though it is an illusion, he still believes in his hopes and dreams and doesn't give up which is something we all need to introspect on ourselves.

watching you guys have a mini reunion was probably the best thing I've seen in the past month

I had a green light I believed in once, but I got over it.

Gatsby was the one and only Gatsbae, a better bae than Tom could ever Gatsby.

When I first watched this, I hadn't read the novel. Now, I love how you saw "Gatsby finally gets to use his pool" in such a way. It amazes me that I knew so little about the actual content of the novel when so many people talk about its greatness in the world around me. :)

the great gatsby is one of my favorite books, and this video reminded me of why. you pointed out a few details and some symbolism that i hadn't caught before. one of the best things about that book is how it's not only the literal story that fitzgerald is telling, but also the story of the 1920s and the age of materialism and searching for the american dream.

Gatsby is a hero for his own, private, almost delusional cause. He made himself "his hero" or to an extent, Daisy's hero. Exclude Daisy form his train of thought, and everything banishes, nothing left. She is his motivation and final objective, Alpha and Omega in a single woman that is blatantly unaware of the pain that she is causing to almost any man that touches her.

On the whole likeable thing, I actually really do love the Great Gatsby but I think it's more that characters who are unlikeable are frequently unrelatable. I could go and explain how humans have this natural tendency to want to view themselves in a black or white good/evil way and how they can't see themselves as the shade of gray that Daisy and Gatsby and Nick are, and really that we all are, but that's complicated so I will say this I think things are easier with a foil ya know? Like in comedy you stick a straight faced normal-ish person in the show to have the same reaction as the audience because just want to project themselves into everything, and Nick is supposed to be written as that boring foil but he isn't really. I mean he is a little annoying and pretentious but seems totally oblivious to the fact that he is in "it" with the rest of the characters. People can't see themselves or more accurately don't want to see themselves as him. I think this is purposeful like Fitzgerald's saying all the readers are Nick's. We are all in it and yet trying to pretend we are above it. We think we are the normal ones, the foils, but we aren't really; we are in the valley of ashes and TJ's owl eyes can see it. Okay that is all.

Thou hast made us for thy glory, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee ~ Augustine

Was looking for a good review for this book because I recently got my copy and am about to start reading it and then I came across a vlogbrothers vid with the same review. John and Hank, you really are perfect! Thank you!

Please do this with other books!!!

"And then Gatsby finally gets to use his pool." Well that is one way to put it...

Omg please make more of these! I just finished this book and I absolutely loved it. I have no idea why I never read it sooner.

Honestly one of the best reviews of this book I've ever had the privilege to hear, and that includes all the years of high school spent forced to study it. Bravo on the lack of spoilers too (although the book has been out for 90 years, so..)

Just thinking about Gatsby, what if Owl Eyes is T.J. Eckleburg? We never learn his name, but know he has big eyes and glasses. He was the only other person to show at Gatsby's funeral, despite never being told he died. Just speculation though.

this video would have been very helpful if I had watched it before doing that essay on the Great Gatsby and not like an hour after I have finished it like I am now

No one can quickly summarize and then critically analyze this great novel in less than 7 minutes but John.

The thing I love about John Green is that not only is he entertaining, but I can also quote and cite him as a source in my essay. So thank you for being awesome Mr. Green.

"and then Gatsby finally gets to use his pool" holy shit dude

Studying The Great Gatsby for A level English Literature and this helps so much!!

John Green, I love you for making this video. I just finished the novel and I have so many feels about it; and this video was the perfect vent for them. Thank you

I know it’s 7 years after this video was made, but now I’ve read The Great Gatsby and I like having a better understanding of the book from the point of view of John Green. Thank you for an interesting video about a book I read for school because school definitely makes it seem a lot more boring (maybe because there are no jump cuts)

I've watched the movie and have been wanting to read the book ever since, but this just makes me want to read it more. #dreams

Everything Gatsby did was essentially for daisy. Whether he thought of this as heroic or whether this was just part of gatsbys normal life, we can never really know. I think Daisy made Gatsby blind and deluded or maybe her love and teasing did this too, which doesn't make Gatsby's act heroic in his eyes, but clearly in nicks. Nick fell in love with the idea of Gatsby and how he was so different from Tom and Daisy and to him he truly was a hero. To me? No. I think that what he did may have been heroic from some points of view but he was driven to it by the idea of creating himself again and making Daisy love him and only him.

John green you amaze me, you just covered like half the book in four minutes and I got more from that than 4 months of being taught about this book at school. Thank you :)

so i am reading this book currently and when john talked about the yellow stuff i am reminded of a part where nick describes the MUSIC coming from the pit orchestra as yellow and wow i never noticed all this stuff!

Gatsby's quest is so remarkably unheroic it's almost nauseating. He is frankly stupid for being so short sighted and he's basically wearing blinders throughout the whole book. I'm not denying that Gatsby was enterprising and perhaps even brave but we should never confuse bravery with heroism because heroism constitutes someone being saved and Gatsby couldn't even save himself.

I love The Great Gatsby too and I've watched all your videos on it, including Crash Course. I know you don't like to discuss the author's purpose, but don't you think the connection between Daisy and Zelda Fitzgerald merits a mention? I would love to hear more about your take on women during the 1920s and how Daisy compares to reality.

I am reading this book a second time for a school assignment (it's just as fantastic as the first time around), and I'm pretty sure this video is going to help me impress my teacher a lot. Thanks, John, for making me notice incredibly awesome things in this book that otherwise would have gone over my head.

Goosbumps. Love you John!

Personally I think in most discussions about the Great Gatsby people are too loose with the term "love". Actual real love is not present anywhere. Love has two components to it: it is have strong/intense romantic feelings for another person coupled with genuinely valuing the other person's happiness above your own. The second aspect tends to get neglected not just in discussions about The Great Gatsby but in most discussions and representations of love (The only place I personally have ever see this aspect of love addressed is in the first Futurama movie, Bender's Big Score). Gatsby's feelings for Daisy may be strong but the fact that it isn't enough for him to get Daisy back alone is more than enough proof that he does not truly love her. Having her love him shouldn't just be enough it should be more than enough. If she had been happy with Tom, which she wasn't but if she was, that alone should have been enough.

Go, John, Go! :D

I've cited this video in three different school projects this year (english paper on Gatsby, History paper on 1920s, multimedia presentation on RU-vid) and done well on every single one of them because of all i've learned from it...thank you, John Green, for teaching me more than my AP teachers :)

I love how passionate you two are.

I feel like it's sacrilegious for me to say this but, I really didn't like The Great Gatsby at all. I was excited to read it and then once I started it was torture. Took me forever to finish it because I couldn't stand more than 5 pages at a time. The best part was the end (not because it was the end) but because of the "twist" that was in it. But I feel like Fitzgerald ended the book perfectly. It was a realistic ending in terms of how the characters go about their lives once it's over.

I think Jordan is pretty likable...

In college my lit professor had a mental breakdown and we ended up spending 3/4 of the semester on The Great Gatsby; but we didn't get to have good in depth discussions. With that said the best line I've heard is "And Gatsby finally gets to use his pool."

Dear John Green, just to say that I'm studying The Great Gatsby for my English Lit GCSEs (public exams in the UK), and your little analysis really helped me get the bigger picture! Thank you very much indeed- your passion for literature really resounds in this great video :)

Gatsby's quest is both heroic and not heroic. The idea of working your way to a fortune, creating your own identity, and becoming a local legend is one that many people are quite fond of. Gatsby's determination is admirable, and his thirst for more is not a bad thing. It can be seen in a bad light because it becomes obvious with Daisy, but his desire for more can be seen in the party scenes and particularly in the tour of Gatsby's house. His desire to make something of himself is a desire that everyone holds in some way. However, what is Gatsby working for? For what admirable cause did he waste five years of his life? He worked five years for a girl who he may or may not have loved. This girl forgot him when a more suitable option came along. I have severe doubts that Daisy loved Gatsby at all. While Gatsby's quest can appear both heroic and not heroic, it is far more interesting to think about everyone's reaction to Gatsby's quest. Gatsby is a set of pretty clothes that everyone loves, but when a set of clothes goes out to conquer a dream, people are confused. Is my quest heroic? If you glamorize hard work, I suppose it is. Having ambition and achieving goals is over-rated.

Gatsby's quest was definitely heroic. It was a classic quest for love, to save the woman he loved from the clutches of another who has taken her from him against his will. He worked hard, had experiences and set out on this journey and reached his goal, but being a hero, he died a hero's death. On the cusp of his dreams, before it all crumbled from him no longer reaching for it but finally grabbing it and having nothing else to look forward to. He died happy and succeeded in his quest for love.

i loved this book. i love how when i was done i was sad for the characters and gatsby, and that it felt like something was missing. like the book will forever be unfinished, while at the same time being completely whole.

You have explained this wonderful novel FAR better than my AP English teacher ever could have. Beauty.

John, I loved the insights on this, however I always play devil's advocate when it comes to character analysa, analysises, analyses, [ idk the plural so someone help:) ]. We read Medea the play by Socrates I believe and I vouched for Medea. We read The Crucible by Arthur Miller and I vouched for Abigail. Now in the Great Gatsby, I am vouching for Tom Buchanan. So this wasn't very helpful for me, but was for the rest of my class with whom I had shared this video with. Anyways, my points on Tom Buchanan being the"good guy" are that he is totally in love with Daisy. He does go off and have affairs, but they've stuck with each other throughout each others affairs. They've moved around TOGETHER to be free of affairs and let other people clean up their mess. Rich people don't understand the word "consequences"; therefore, they do whatever and whoever (whomever? I never really learned this) they want. He also never planned on leaving Daisy and vice versa. He told Myrtle that Daisy was Catholic because he didn't want to leave Daisy for Myrtle. Guys are usually really stupid, so they go do whatever they want praying that the girl they love sticks with them. However, that may be biased based on previous relationships and the fact that I am a girl.

The Great Gatsby is my favorite novel. Though Gatsby is the titular character I don't see him as a hero or even an anti-hero. He's a subject, Nick is the narrator and Gatsby is the subject of his documentary.

You explained the book better to me than any of my English teachers ever could. Thank you, John Green! It makes so much sense now.

So i have waited to watch this video until just now, because I wanted to read The Great Gatsby first. And i'm glad I did. John please do these more often! ~Michael

Dear John, Thank you for writing my book report.

@vlogbrothers My english literature teacher took you as a credible source in my notes... and I got extra credit for being a nerd fighter who loves Fitzgerald. Woohoo!

Hearing you talk makes me feel motivated, even if I have no idea what you're talking about.

Finished reading the book, immediately came to watch this video. "And then Gatsby finally got to use his pool," totally got to me, John. I felt the whole weight of the book on me.

We've just spent several months learning about Gatsby for our GCSE's next year, so as much as I appreciate these videos, in order to save myself from not just hating both F Scott Fitzgerald and my english teacher, but also eventually John, I think I'll save watching them for revision before the exams. Seriously, the book is amazing, but if I hear the name Gatsby one more time in the next 3 months I'll scream...

This video was so helpful to my understanding of "Gatsby". Thanks, John Green!

If anyone has seen the movie Midnight in Paris, you'll see a similar theme of wanting to go back to what one believes to be the "Golden Age". My amazing English teacher showed us this movie in conjunction with teaching us The Great Gatsby and I have gained so much more respect for literature and English and just everything is wonderful and nothing hurts. Thank you John Green for making these videos, these are why I can thrive.

Dear John, Thank you so much for helping me write a paper for my Language arts class.

His energy is something i thought i would never see as a newer viewer

I love your comment for it shows how brilliant F. Scott really is. I didn't notice it the first time I read Gatsby but I did the second time and it just blew my mind! DFTBA

Listening to The Mountain Goats watching Vlogbrothers videos. THIS is an introverts perfect world.

One of my fave books (along with 'Catcher...) and you make me even more excited and in love with it, thanks John! Re: Jay and Daisy... his infatuation has turned to idealization, one of the dangerous things about falling for someone and then being seperat ed from them - you inflate all their good points to the sky and forget all their less than good points. That she is wealth helps, as Gatsby, like most (all!!!) of us, he equates wealth with happiness. Cue: Rolling Stones 'Can't Always Get...'

We're studying The Great Gatsby. I came back to this video. Thank you John for being more knowledgeable than my teacher.

Thanks John for making me look up and understand the word Conflate once and for all.

You are my hero! Every video that you and Hank create reminds me of this, you two are heros of mine :)

John Green, you have yet again proved how brilliant and amazing you are to me because FINALLY I understand Gatsby's love for Daisy and the fuel for this novel, I sort of did before but now I definitely do, thanks to you :)

My favorite novel. You just reenergized it for me with the beauty of it. Also, I own a Great Gatsby sweatshirt. SO WONDERFUL

I have no ideas for my Gatsby essay. So I search 'Great Gatsby Analysis' in RU-vid. THEN I FIND JOHN TALKING ABOUT IT AND SAYING SO MANY THINGS AND EVERYTHING MAKES SENSE!

I love how John is practically shrieking by the end of this video out of pure enthusiasm about the book

I just finished this for school and I loved it, but homestly, I think you helped to explain it better. What you said about Gatsby finally using his pool... Oh my God. And the last chapter pretty much made me upset for two full days. It was so sad!!

I shall keep this in mind when we read it in English this year!:) Thanks for being awesome John!

Gatsby may have been motivated by Daisy, but he didn't do things for her, he did things to get her attention and then when he got it, she didn't live up to his expectations because he selfishly expected her to be like he had constructed her in his mind. "Daisy tumbled short of his dreams--not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion"

Listening to this again reminds me of how much I loved this novel, I definitely plan on rereading it sometime in the future :) "And then Gatsby gets to use his pool." Is literally oh my gosh John so perfect of a description of the final chapter :/

So I didn't really enjoy reading The Great Gatsby, but I thoroughly enjoyed hearing John's analysis of it