How I noticed difference of interpretations in cultures by The Great Gatsby
1. The Great Gatsby More than the novel itself, The Great Gatsby left me with a huge impact in its wake – it was an after-class discussion which made me stunned the most. When I was in middle-school, I discussed whether Gatsby is great after reading the novel with my peers. However, nine out of ten students evaluated that the word ‘great’ in the title is merely used as a satire – that Gatsby, is closer to ‘obssessive fool’ than a great character. Even my teacher interpreted in this way. Shockingly, some of the famous Korean critics was also in favor of this interpretation. To them, Gatsby was not truly "great" at all. Below are the comments made by famous Korean critics. “[Gatsby’s life] is not great …. Greatness is no more than a satire of Gatsby’s foolish act and his death.” ( 강준만 , 미국은 세계를 어떻게 훔쳤는가 (How America Stole the world), translation made by writer) “This novel is not about how great Gatsby is. The irony of the word ‘great’ is merely a sarcastic ...