Thursday, March 8, 2012

Oh How Great the Gatsby Is

It is late, in fact it is quite a number of hours past my bed time. However, I am inspired to write and so write I will.

I just finished a lengthy paper on why fat taxes are no good and all it did was make me want to eat hamburgers and fries, almost in defiance of the idea of taxes on delicious foods. I could preach to you more about why fat taxes are a total infringement on our rights and I could even tell you many other reasons fat taxes should be flushed down the toilet but the real reason I wanted to get on blogger and write is because I have been inspired.

Yes, I believe inspired is probably the best word.

Here is the thing, The Great Gatsby is amazing. I read it and I loved it, and about two hours (or more) ago  I finished the movie and while it was not even half as good as the book because of the books great detail, I quite enjoyed it too. Just like I could tell you more about fat taxes I could also expound on the amazing symbolism that Fitzgerald uses in The Great Gatsby, but that is also another topic that I am not willing to squander on.

No, I have not been inspired by The Great Gatsby really more about the idea that goes along with it.

Again, here is the thing, my English teacher is, among other things, inspiring. Every book we have read in English this year with the small exception of Huckleberry Finn I have been completely drawn into. I have literally immersed myself with finding hidden meanings and reading words that I have now learned were chosen with a specific purpose in mind. I am completely boggled by the idea that an author can sit and think about almost every word that they put into their writing because they know that they must pick just the right word or the interpretations of the story will be completely thrown.

I could sit here for days and list examples and explain examples of this phenomenon, and I could do it with examples from just one book. But more importantly I want to challenge people to read more and find more meaning and suck the richness from books. I want to yell to the world, "WHY AREN'T YOU ALL READING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT IS SO WORTH IT!!!!"

I want others to be inspired as I have.

I could say more, but as you have seen, there are a lot of things I could say that I have chosen not to.

Ponder those.

Love.