Right of Interpretation

Any piece of literature can be interpreted in countless ways, as we learned about The Great Gatsby by reading articles that explained different "lenses" that can be "looked through" while reading the novel.  We focused on five distinct interpretations: psychoanalytic, African-American, feminist, historical, and queer.  By reading about these, we gained insight into the novel and learned about different ways that Fitzgerald might have intended to portray characters and topics.

Many of us have said that we think the critics who wrote these articles about The Great Gatsby are just reading into what Fitzgerald wrote too heavily. While some of the textual evidence could support these viewpoints, in my opinion, the only possible realistic interpretation was the historical one that related Gatsby to a self-made man, but even that might not have been a conscious effort. In reality, however, Fitzgerald could have subconsciously included phrases or scenarios that reveal his opinions of these topics.  Because we can't just call up Fitzgerald and ask what his intentions were with this novel, the only thing we can do is believe what we want to believe, as long as there is support for it. It's open to our own interpretation.

No matter what, many things are going to be subjective. How many feet does someone mean when they say something is "long"? Or what is the real definition of "pretty"? Both of these words are abstract; there is not only one "correct" answer to those questions. This is like many things in life. There is no way to define beauty, love, success, or hope since they aren't concrete objects.

Just as the articles about different interpretations of The Great Gatsby show different analysis of the text, these words are up to your own interpretation. No two people are going to interpret text, abstract words, or pretty much everything else in the world in the exact same way, but everyone is entitled to giving their own take on them.