The Great Gatsby is an American Dystopia

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?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies