Text Connections

    The novel The Great Gatsby contains many text connections to the world. Although this is a piece of fiction, the book outlines what would have really happened in the high society of the 1920’s, and is still very relevant to circumstances that would occur in this time period as well. Living in southern California, it is easy to connect to Nick’s circumstances of having “a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor’s lawn, and the consoling proximity of millionaires,”(5). But Nick’s circumstances before he moved out were “a country of wide lawns and friendly trees,”(3). I can very easily relate to this, having moved from Missouri to a southern California suburb where I am able to see the backyards of 4 people from the comfort of my room. It seems that in this day in age, society yearns for perfection. Fitzgerald creates this text-to-world connection by stating that, “I was going to bring back all such things into my life and become again that most limited of all specialists, the ‘well-rounded man’”(4). In high school, the “perfect” student is one that not only has spectacular grades in all subjects, but also participates in sports and other student activities. This “well-rounded man” is what all students and people must strive to be in order to achieve what society determines as “success”.