Classical literature is often prevalent in the typical public high school curriculum. From novels like Tom Sawyer to 1984, certain books are simply shelved as high school classics. However, one class on campus is debating the value of one of these “essential” novels:  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

“I think there’s value in exploring major artworks that have shaped culture,” GT American Studies teacher Swapna Gardner said via email. “I love that I get to show my students something that has been deemed important by academics for decades or something that is often referred to in pop culture. It’s sort of magical for me as a teacher to have the opportunity to do that. Some works are so grounded in the curriculum for a specific age, it almost feels like a coming of age experience to read it.”

Junior Biyanka Hati agrees with the prominence of Gatsby in both history and English class. 

“To me, reading classic literature is like opening an avenue into the minds of those who lived in the past and see history through their lenses,” Hati said via email. “I think reading classic works provides new perspectives on society today and continues to connect with readers. Schools should continue to read Gatsby. It’s short enough to enthrall students without them getting bored quickly, and it provides insight about idealism, social classes and wealth that still remain relevant today. Reading the novel [also] provides a great way to start conversation about the ‘American Dream.’”

Although the classics aren’t something junior Risha Thimmancherla reads often, she credits it to still have a valuable influence. 

“I believe The Great Gatsby can have an impact on students if it is taught well,” Thimmancherla said via email. “It captured the ideas of the [1920s] well, such as the themes around identity and materialism.”

As American Studies combines both AP English Language and AP US History, reading Gatsby is intended to introduce students to both the history of the time as well as critiquing its values through the lenses of literature.

“This is a fun piece to cover while we study the ’20s in APUSH,” Gardner said via email. “It has a ton of references to life in the ’20s, like technology, music, and society. The book itself is not meant to be a textbook, however. Fitzgerald didn’t write it to teach high school juniors what the 1920s looked like. Rather, it’s a book that shows glimpses of life in that time, and instead goes more into critiquing the values of people at that time. Gatsby is culturally significant enough that I think you should at least have this book under your belt. Even if [you] hate it and hate everything about it, it’s something that can help us have discussions about wealth disparity, gender expectations, and even the lack of representation and what that means.” 

Hati agrees the book helped her incite thoughtful conversation, especially in writing techniques and understanding the 1920s. 

“The book [emphasizes] the hedonistic, materialistic culture of the roaring 1920s through capturing the romanticized culture of the wealthy,” Hati said via email. “The novel also sheds light on the superficiality, the flaws of the American Dream, which dispelled a lot of the illusions I had about the 1920s. I don’t think the novel and its core components are out of date. This quality of encouraging students to contemplate, whether it be upon the nature of the characters or upon the themes, is a key reason classic literature remains in the English curriculum. Another reason would be because of the prose that students need to be exposed to to help build their own foundations in writing and comprehension.” 

Additionally, Gardner suggests that while Gatsby should be kept in the syllabus, it should also be supplemented with more diverse, or current, books. 

“Many of the classics that we study in school are chosen because they were influential at the time they were published, because they changed the world of literature in some way, or because they can help students learn to write better,” Gardner said via email. “That being said, I think we can’t just focus on the classics. Ideally, it should be a little bit of everything, and a lot of what gets students excited to read and helps them grow as thinkers. A lot of our students critiqued [Gatsby] because of its lack of diversity, which is a valid criticism. However, I don’t think we should take the book out of curriculum. Even if the characters have values that are out of date, it gives us an opportunity to discuss what is similar and what is different today, and why.”