Class, wealth and old money were some of the many topics brought up during the Open Book discussion of “The Great Gatsby” on Jan. 13.

Jacqueline Johnson, coordinator of Collection Development of the IUS Library, led the discussion.

“Open Books is a reading group that meets the second Friday of each month in the IUS Library,” Johnson said.

Open Books started about the same time the IUS Library opened in 2006. Members of Open Books vote on all the books they are going to read each year.

“The Great Gatsby” was the first book selected for 2012.

“I read ‘The Great Gatsby’ in high school, and I re-read it now,” Johnson said. “I still feel the same way about it.”

Johnson said she was disgusted by all the characters.  She said she also found Gatsby’s constant use of “old boy” to be irritating.

However, other patrons of the book discussion, such as Regina Hollis, former adjunct professor of informatics and member of Open Books,  felt more sympathetic towards the titular character.

“He was pitiful,” Hollis said.

Nancy Totten, retired librarian and member of Open Books, said the only character she found likeable was Gatsby.

Central to the discussion of “The Great Gatsby” was the book’s criticism of the wealthy.  In fact, Hollis described the central theme of the book as “the carelessness of the rich.”  The members mentioned how the author F. Scotts Fitzgerald wrote that the wealthy had carelessly destroyed the lives of many people.

Johnson said the wealthy in “The Great Gatsby” seemed bored and did not feel like they were obligated to help anyone.

Johnson expanded on this thought, and she said there was no real depth to the characters. Johnson said the characters were rather superficial, which she said was intentional on the part of the author. She said the characters were so superficial that they were not upset when Gatsby died.

Johnson said one of the main themes of the book was how the established wealthy looked down on the self-made, including Gatsby.
“This book shows an interesting portrayal of class warfare,” Hollis said.

The group also talked about Gatsby’s attraction and love for Daisy.  Hollis said Daisy’s personality was a combination of cute, childish and sexual attributes.

Johnson said the members usually select 12 books to read in a year, but this year they picked 16 books.

“I sent an e-mail with the list of all possible books that people would like to discuss,” Johnson said. “This year, I selected the books that got more than five votes to put on the list.”

The next book discussion will take place on Feb. 10, and it will be on “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett.

By BRADLEY COOPER

Staff

bradcoop@ius.edu