Discussing F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” with a friend.
Him: Fitzgerald was drunk about 90% of his life right?
Me: Yeah that’s about right.
Him: Well then that means he probably wrote most of his works, including Gatsby, in a state of drunken delirium.
Me: Yup
Him: And you can’t really understand a work of fiction unless it is looked at through the eyes of the author. *Cite Tolkien’s experiences in WWI and C.S. Lewis’ religion as support here*
Me: Ok…
Him: Then that means you can’t truly understand the ideas behind “The Great Gatsby” unless you read it out right and completely drunk.
Me: This…… makes sense….
48
