Episode 29
The Great Gatsby is an American Dystopia
A Discussion with Stephen Dyson and Jeffrey R. Dudas
April 11, 20251h 43m
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Show Notes
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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