I agree with Mrs. Tysons queer reading of The Great Gatsby because we discussed these same suspicions in class before we even knew about queer theory. Tyson keeps on suggesting it takes a trained eye topull these hidden sexual sings from the novel but I disagree.Just leave it to the teenagers of the world to turn everything into an overtly sexual reading and suspect everything of being gay. That aside i do agree with her statements but i disagree that they are part of a subtext. I think the sings are there for a reason and came out because of the writers personality, not because he wanted to hint at topics such as these. I have a feeling if you were to ask Fitzgerald if there were any hints at queer characters or subjects in his novel he would firmly tell you no and live by it. In regards to the book being a heterocentric novel, I dont think it would have become so popular if all the couples in the story were gay couples. I think the society during the time period in which this novel first came out would have been opposed to the idea of a romantic storyline based around gay couples and thus the fame this book has come to know would never have come to be.
I agree with you, it isn't terribly difficult to pick out a lot of the allusions to Nick's possible homosexuality. It's difficult to say whether or not the author wanted the book to have these 'queer' characters, and since we can't really ask him we'll never know. But, there is that one end up chapter that clearly has some very strong allusions to Nick being gay, or atleast bi, so I guess that says something. I also agree that the book probably never would have been as famous if all the couples were homosexual, and if it did become famous it would have only been so for it's shock value.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Fitzgerald knew that, but wanted to include some aspect of it, so he kept it a bit more discreet.
-Phineas
Basically gonna roll with what both Phineas and Joey have already stated. Tyson's statements and analysis of the book are awfully redundant for us. These ideas have been stewing in our minds since we first began reading the book. Given the fact that we have looked at both Feminist and Psychoanalytical theory, there isn't much that's new to be said on the topic of sexuality and heterocentrism in Gatsby. I simply feel like we have discussed ad nauseam whether Nick likes girls, boys, or girls and boys. With that said, I liked seeing my ideas reiterated by someone with a PhD.
ReplyDelete-Willie