Jay Gatsby: A Black Man in Whiteface

by Janet Savage

WHAT IF JAY GATSBY IS A BLACK MAN PASSING AS A WHITE ONE? "Jay A Black Man in Whiteface" expounds upon the thesis that Jay Gatsby, the much beloved hero of "The Great Gatsby", is a man of mixed black and white parentage who pretends and appears to be a white man. Through a close examination of the text, a review of F. Scott Fitzgerald's life and letters, and a discussion of the racially charged climate of the Jazz Age, the book explains how America’s troubled conscience about race laces through the novel and that Fitzgerald wrote from his conflicting racial beliefs and his insider/outsider status to support the novel’s central the doomed pursuit of the American Dream. Fitzgerald himself said that even the most enthusiastic contemporary reviewers failed to understand what the novel was about. It is often referred to as a novel where much is said by implication and ellipsis which must be weighed and measured to appreciate its artistic grandeur. Jay A Black Man in Whiteface does the weighing and measuring to see what we may have missed in a direct and fun prose style and provides easily accessible supporting annotation and bibliography so you can follow along.

112 pages, Paperback

Published April 10, 2017

Reviews

[Jude Brigley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not fully convinced but this is an interesting read. I think these points raised are in the background of the writer's mind but that it is not clear cut. However, it was interesting to follow this line. I suspect Gatsby, like Hamlet is all things to all men. And women.

[Maria DeVenuto Kasang · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've read Gatsby, this will make it all make sense. This book has all the evidence you would need. Savage brings the receipts. It is undeniable that thia is an important layer of the book that was missed because of eurocentrism.

[Emma]

super interesting. i think her theory is absolutely plausible, but a few of her points were a little bit ridiculous.

[Kim Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Janet Savage brought some points for the readers of TGG to ponder on or to see if they missed what she thinks she figured out about Jay Gatsby

[Mary Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Janet Savage's thesis about Fitzgerald's Gatsby is fascinating. Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby deserves the distinction of being called the Great American Novel.