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Introduction
No doubt, Francis Scott Fitzgerald is one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, and, probably, of all times. He has created an image of Roaring Twenties and provided future generations with the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of this period and dive deeply into it through reading his novels. The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925, and, although was not very popular at the beginning, became famous after thousands of copies were sent to American soldiers during the Second World War. Since then, the novel is regularly being reissued, and copies of the book are sold every year all over the world. Nowadays it is considered to be a perfect portrait of the Jazz Century and a great literary work, even a work of art. The Great Gatsby is practically the most successful book of Francis Scott Fitzgerald as it has been translated into many languages, has brought long-lasting fame to the author, and is still widely known worldwide.
Evaluation of a literary works success
Obviously, no one knows how to evaluate the potential and measure the success of a book better than authors and critics. Thus, their opinion is crucial for understanding what a book should have or contain to be called a masterpiece. Generally, the book is estimated by how it fulfills the list of conditions. For example, it may include a strong opening, compelling characters, an absorbing story, sharp dialogue and unique style. However, these criteria are obviously subjective, so the opinion of the critics, who apply these conditions to the books, is vital, and in some cases can even predetermine the attitude of people to it for a long-term perspective. As there are no criteria for assessing the critics work, relying on anybodys opinion may be a wrong step and lead to misunderstanding of authors intentions and the initial picture he wanted to create in the readers minds.
Why The Great Gatsby is the most successful book of Fitzgerald
To begin with, let me list the factors, which allow the book to be called successful there would be simple ones, as the aim here is to portray Francis Scott Fitzgerald as a talented author and present his novel The Great Gatsby as an extraordinary and outstanding literary work, one of the best written in the 1920s. Firstly, the book has been read worldwide for almost a century now, it has been translated into many languages for the first half of the XX century it was definitely a standing-out fact. Secondly, The Great Gatsby has made Francis Scott Fitzgerald a well-known writer, though other literary works of Fitzgerald undoubtedly deserve attention and are not less significant. Then, last but not least, the attitude towards this novel and the way people treat it, implying reading it at school or filming movies based on the plot of the book speak for its greatness. Combining these three factors, a strong, impressive and bright picture of the novels role emerges in mind.
The Great Gatsby has become well-known not only in the US, but in the whole world, and its fame was spreading continuously since the first glance of popularity. Regarding this fact, there is no need to mention that it was translated into numerous languages so that people around the world could read and understand it. The Great Gatsby alone has been translated into at least forty-two different languages (Wardle 213). In addition to this, translation to each language usually implies having various options, because translators develop their skills, someone thinks he is better than others etc. Thus, in the end there are hundreds of variations of The Great Gatsbys translations, which provide the world with an opportunity to read the works of a great American writer.
Concerning the fact that The Great Gatsby was the novel that has made Francis Scott Fitzgerald popular, there are different opinions about it. Some people claim that Fitzgeralds other books are far better, more interesting, thrilling and intense than The Great Gatsby , saying this novel is overestimated. However, there is an opinion that the critics have generally agreed that The Great Gatsby , published in 1925, is the crowning achievement of Fitzgeralds literary career (Schoenberg and Trudeau para. 2). This matches my opinion on the book: it has been popular for so long and is now strongly contextualized into the cultural background of Americans and other nations, that no one can deny its excellence.
Finally, missing the analysis of the novels image and role nowadays would have been imprudent. When Francis Scott Fitzgerald is mentioned in any kind of discussion held among any kind of company, the first book in mind of almost every person in this situation would be The Great Gatsby . This does not mean that the peoples knowledge of Fitzgerald is limited by this book, in contrast, this highlights the importance of it. Personally, I think that the reason for such popularity of this novel even 96 years after its first publication is the fact that artists turn back to it regularly since then. For example, there are at least two films created in the XXI century based on The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, one of which is was an enormous success when it was released. I am implying The Great Gatsby film version by Baz Luhrmann with star cast including Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan. Moreover, critics constantly write new reviews or express their opinions on the novel, which provides its maintenance in the cultural context of the US and the world.
One more aspect to emphasize, The Great Gatsby is included in the school curriculum in the US, which is why the novel is still well-known. Schoolchildren, by getting acquainted with Francis Scott Fitzgerald, memorize the plot and the idea of the book better, because they are discussed during literature lessons. Then, even after leaving school, the book stays in their mind as an example of a great book by a great writer. That is why is remains a part of American culture code, being central for it.
The critics view
According to Maureen Corrigan, one of Americas most trusted and beloved book critics, the main peculiarity of The Great Gatsby that makes it so unique is the language. She claims that the novel takes ordinary American language and makes it unearthly (McClurg para. 3). Corrigan also points out that The Great Gatsby and its characters resonate with contemporary readers. This happens because of a sense of the poor boy trying to remake himself, aiming for the stars , which is familiar to teenagers and young people in general (McClurg para. 7). On the contrary, the novel is even more special because it teaches people that no matter how hard one tries, how lucky they are, in the end no one knows what is waiting for them. This is the feature that makes the novel special the imperfection, a merely noticeable flaw in a beautiful story, which makes it look exactly like real life.
In addition, Corrigan says that the brevity of the novel makes it especially charming. She considers Fitzgeralds writing to be like poems, which makes them even more attractive because it is amazing how Fitzgerald could put so much sense into short phrases. Brief and laconic, with intense, streamlined powerhouse of a novel is The Great Gatsby (McClurg para. 13). Considering the uniqueness of this writing manner in a combination with the expression and brightness of colors described in the book, the novel appears to be even more surprisingly great than expected.
Conclusion
Summarizing all the above said, The Great Gatsby can be concerned as the greatest work of Francis Scott Fitzgerald. It has become widely known in the world, and so popular that people still make film versions of it and compare new books to it. The fact that children read the novel at school reflects the attitude of the government to it, emphasizing the importance of this literary work in education. The Great Gatsby is more than a book, it is not limited by those boarders it is a work of art, an example of a true masters talent, a part of a cultural context. Its complex interactions between the characters, their natural feelings, fates, dreams and fears seem real and approachable in the virtue of Francis Scott Fitzgeralds language.
Works Cited
McClurg, Jocelyn. Why The Great Gatsby is the Greatest of All. USA Today, 2014.
Schoenberg, Thomas J. and Trudeau, Lawrence J. The Great Gatsby Introduction Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, vol. 157, 2015. eNotes.com. Web.
Wardle, Mary. Gatsby? Which Gatsby? How the Novel Fares in Italian Translation. The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review, vol. 16, no. 1, 2018, p. 213. ResearchGate, doi:10.5325/fscotfitzrevi.16.1.0213.
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