Twayne's Masterwork Studies: The Great Gatsby

Twayne's Masterwork Studies #36

by Richard Daniel

Written in an easy-to-read, accessible style by teachers with years of classroom experience, Masterwork Studies are guides to the literary works most frequently studied in high school. Presenting ideas that spark imaginations, these books help students to gain background knowledge on great literature useful for papers and exams. The goal of each study is to encourage creative thinking by presenting engaging information about each work and its author. This approach allows students to arrive at sound analyses of their own, based on in-depth studies of popular literature.Each volume:

-- Illuminates themes and concepts of a classic text

-- Uses clear, conversational language

-- Is an accessible, manageable length from 140 to 170 pages

-- Includes a chronology of the author's life and era

-- Provides an overview of the historical context

-- Offers a summary of its critical reception

-- Lists primary and secondary sources and index

Genres: Nonfiction, American

168 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1989

Reviews

[~ Cheryl ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second commentary on The Great Gatsby I’ve read, since reading Fitzgerald’s haunting novel. There were some lofty concepts in this critical analysis that I didn’t fully grasp, but there was enough here that I found wonderfully interesting and thought provoking.

Author Richard Lehan is a UCLA English professor, and in a classroom setting, other major works for comparison would be assigned reading. (T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, and Oswald Spengler’s Decline Of the West to name just two.) My lack of knowledge of these and other writings put me at somewhat of a disadvantage. However Lehan has not written a study that is dense or dry or even long (130 pages). He does such a good job supporting his reasoning, that I gained a lot of new insight into the novel, and come away with an even deeper appreciation for what an extraordinary piece of writing The Great Gatsby truly is.

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I browsed through this quickly but enjoyed the analysis of The Great Gatsby. It was fascinating to read some of the critiques of this book when it was published in 1925. I also learned a bit more about Francis Scott Key Fitsgerald's alcohol fueled life. He died young.

[Nathaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely incredible book. The second-to-last page has a weird, vaguely homophobic paragraph which took the wind out of my sails a bit, but I'm still very impressed with the way Lehan so thoroughly dissected the novel (and the context in which it was written) for its readers. Excellently done.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful and useful companion to the book that enhanced my appreciation for The Great Gatsby.

[CR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely the best introductory collection to Gatsby out there.

[Rhonald Capada]

I think this story is interesting :)