Personal Reflection

Before I chose The Great Gatsby for this assignment, I had already attempted to read it on several occasions, and had not been successful. Every time I tried I would give up after the first chapter or so. So when I discovered I could read The Great Gatsby as my classic novel, I was excited because I knew that I would get the chance to push myself and finish it. I am so glad I did.

I absolutely loved The Great Gatsby. It was a novel that I was able to merely enjoy rather than think intensely while reading. However, once finished, I thought deeply about the events that occurred within the pages. The fact that I was able to do this with this novel was what I found set The Great Gatsby apart from other classic novels. So many classic novels are a workout to read due to the fact that you are often struggling to comprehend the ideas and untangle the sophisticated language. I find that because of the effort it takes to read such novels, their messages do not linger past the moment you finish the last page. However, I found that the messages and ideas of The Great Gatsby have lingered with me. I feel as though The Great Gatsby has altered my opinion on what classic literature has the potential to be.

The fact that I enjoyed my classic novel made this assignment a much more pleasant experience. The work was difficult because the story was so complex and well-crafted that I needed to push my thinking and comprehension of ideas past its ordinary levels. During this assignment I tried to focus on making my writing more concise, and less “flowery”. I especially tried to do this during my apologia. I tried to do this because The Great Gatsby is written in such a straight-forward manner that I felt that when writing about it, I should be straight-forward as well. I feel this assignment not only helped me achieve my goal of finally finishing The Great Gatsby, but it also helped me to begin to change my writing style to the way I want it to be. Therefore, this assignment has helped me to begin to evolve academically and become a stronger writer. This goal of increasing the sophistication and conciseness of my writing is one that I hope, unlike Gatsby’s goal, is in my reach