Itisanovelwhichhasintriguedandfascinatedreaders.Clearly,asaself-proclaimed"taleoftheWest",itisexploringquestionsaboutAmericaandwhatitmeanstobeAmerican.InthissenseGatsbyisperhapsthatlegendaryopus,the"GreatAmericanNovel",followinginthefootstepsofworkssuchasMobyDickandHuckleberryFinn.

　　Wewillreturntothisaspectofthenovelinmoredetaillateron.However,wealsoneedtobeawarethatitisanovelwhichhasmuchtobesayaboutmoreabstractquestionstodowithfaith,beliefandillusion.Althoughrootedinthe"JazzAge"whichFitzgeraldissooftencreditedwithnaming,itisalsoanovelwhichshouldbeconsideredalongsideworkslikeTheWasteLand,exploringthat"hollownessattheheartofthings"whichliesjustbelowthesurfaceofmodernlife.