Carpe Librum

This was one of those classics that left me wondering why exactly it has stood the test of time. Some of the figurative and symbolic language is lovely and effectively used, but the characters were mostly shallow and unlikeable. I guess that's the point, they are shallow people who chase after riches and happiness without ever truly finding it. Daisy is initially presented as the perfect woman seen through the eyes of Nick and Jay. It is only as the story progresses that the reader realizes that she is a user of people. She draws them in and spits them out. This story could be just as easily set in present day as the 1920's with young people grasping for wealth and popularity in place of anything meaningful in life.