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Why does everyone praise the ending of *The Great Gatsby*? I think it falls flat

I was in a book club last spring and everyone was raving about how the ending ties everything together, but I just don't see it. Gatsby gets shot in a pool and hardly anyone shows for the funeral, that's not profound it's just sad in a boring way. To me, the whole buildup about the green light and Daisy feels wasted when he dies over a car accident he wasn't even driving. Am I missing something or do people just like saying it's deep?
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3 Comments
marymorgan
My book club argued this exact thing for two hours. Read it again slower.
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jadeg81
jadeg817d ago
Honestly, @marymorgan, I think the real clue is in the weather description before that scene everyone's stuck on. It practically tells you the ending if you catch the symbolism.
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christopherwilliams
Gently push back on that idea a little bit because I actually read that weather section three times last night trying to see the symbolism. In my experience, that description is more about the mood of the main character at that moment rather than foreshadowing the ending. I noticed the clouds are described as "heavy and unmoving" which could mean anything depending on how you interpret it. Your mileage may vary of course, but I think people sometimes read too much into weather and nature descriptions when the author just wanted to set a scene.
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