New Books in American Studies

The Great Gatsby is an American Dystopia

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It’s the UConn Popcast, and on the 100th anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, we explore what The Great Gatsby means in America today.

In this deep-dive we ask:

  • What did Gatsby mean in 1925, and how have those meanings changed in 2025?
  • What mythologies of America does Gatsby circulate, and challenge?
  • How does Gatsby read to a Brit who never read it in high school, and to an American who only encountered it as an adult?
  • Is Nick Carraway right that Gatsby is the only pure soul in the story?
  • Can we rescue utopian imaginings from this dystopic picture of America?
  • Is there a hidden story of race submerged beneath Gatsby’s overt story of class?

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