Giorgi Chachanidze – The Great Gatsby

I have really enjoyed every book I have read in Book Club, but I enjoyed The Great Gatsby the most. Through Gatsby’s actions, I learnt that it is sometimes necessary to be weary of people who seem like they are “too good to be true.” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story shows the consequences of desperately building up a replicated image of a person in your mind. Doing so only makes it hard to discern reality from the imaginary. 

Gatsby was trying to build his future based on Daisy’s shadow. Sadly, this was only a pseudo-representation of a woman that he remembered from years ago. “Things are sweeter when they’re lost. I know–because once I wanted something and got it. It was the only thing I ever wanted badly, Dot, and when I got it, it turned to dust in my hand.” 

The message behind this quote from Fitzgerald’s “The Beautiful and Damned” can certainly be applied to the context of this story. A second good life lesson is that the past should remain in the past. Narrator Nick Carraway’s famous line “You can’t repeat the past” has always remained with me long after I finished reading the novel. In Luhrmann’s adaptation, it’s even easier to hear the conviction in Gatsby’s voice as he replies “But of course you can!” These tie in with the previous theme in the sense that the past should remain in the past. 

With time, the images you remember about certain people or places can change. I have often found myself thinking about the past, and whether there was anything that could’ve been done to tip certain events in my favor. The main point is that there is no use trying to imitate a memory. 

New Year

If any day in 2022 was repeated I would choose my birthday. I would choose my birthday because it was the first time I celebrated in Tbilisi with my friends and I actually enjoyed it. First we went to Mcdonald’s which we usually never do and then we went bowling and that was when I saw how good I was at it. My friends were stunned and even I was stunned, so as I said I really enjoyed that day. 

It is important to set new goals for New Year’s which I don’t usually do, but I have one goal for 2023 and that is to buy a laptop. I’m also planning on getting 10s in every school subject this semester. 

Author: Giorgi Chachanidze