The Great Gatsby: A Work of Literary Merit

What is literary merit? It’s okay if you don’t know the answer because before my

AP Literature and Composition teacher mentioned it, I had no idea what it was either. If I were to define literary merit, I would define it as a book that is considered quality work by professionals. Professionals include people like English professors. These types of books have a certain level of skill in them that proves their worth. They allow for further analysis that teaches some sort of insight.

One example of a work of literary merit would be my current independent reading book which is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Why would this book be considered of literary merit? The Great Gatsby is a book that follows Jay Gatsby, an extremely wealthy man who has all the luxuries in life but the one thing he wants he can’t have which is a lady named Daisy. This book presented the idea of the American dream which is having the opportunity to have a wealthy lifestyle where you can have whatever you want. Gatsby had this but what he really longed for was to have something money could not buy. Through this, Fitzgerald wanted to show that just because Jay Gatsby had every component that would satisfy the true American dream, he was still unhappy because he couldn’t have Daisy. This analysis lends itself to teach that money isn't everything. Just because one may be wealthy does not mean that you should forget about the simpler things in life like love, family, and friends because those are the things that will make you truly happy.

Therefore, The Great Gatsby could be considered a work of literary merit because it is quality work. This book has a strong underlying message that can be understood once the reader takes time to fully analyze the reading. Now, I want you to see whether the book you are reading would be considered a work of literary merit. If not, identify why and try to pick a book to read that would be considered quality work.

Welcome To The Start Of Rekindling Our Love For Reading!

Welcome Everyone! I know what you are thinking, why would anyone want to create a blog about reading?! Well here’s my answer and no it’s not because it was required by my English teacher even though that may actually be a little bit of the reason. However, I think this blog can help me really get back to appreciating books they way I did when I was younger and if you are having this issue as well maybe my blog can help you too. This blog will focus mainly on different works of literature and the many observations I have for each reading. Therefore, I think it’s appropriate to tell you guys about how my journey with books all started and how it has progressed over time. The first book I ever fell in love with was the Junie B. Jones series. I love these books because I was able to connect with them on a personal level. I read every single book in the series and I still remember the famous sentence that opened every book which was “My name is Junie B. Jones. The "B" stands for Beatrice. Except, I don't like Beatrice. I just like "B" and that's all.” The series starts when Junie is a little girl and in each book she talks about different events that occur in her life as she grows up. My best friend at the time and I would always challenged each other on who could finish the books first. As I started to grow up, I lost that sense of excitement to read. I began only reading books that were assigned in class and even then I didn’t enjoy the books I was reading. The hardest thing for me to do know is to connect with a book and its deeper meaning. So, my goal for this blog is to be able to get back to that enjoyment I had while reading and being able to share my experiences along the way with you guys.