“A literary interpretation may or may not reveal the meaning of the text, but to a discerning eye it always reveals the psychology of the reader”. –Lois Tyson
The application of the psychological reader-response theory assisted me in understanding The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald more efficiently; it helped me to understand why I analyzed the novel the way I did using identity theme throughout my reading. I was unaware of my method of critique and didn’t remember ever learning how to analyze text prior to this course. However, using psychological reader-response, I was able to fully comprehend why I analyze literature the way that I do. I am sort of a control freak; I like to get to the bottom of things. No beating around the bush. The fact that throughout this entire novel I was left in the dark (so to speak) about who Gatsby truly is made me unsure of what I was reading, and hindered my opinion of the book as a whole.
I have conflicting ideas of the relationship between Daisy and Jay Gatsby. My beliefs against adultery sway me to dislike Gatsby for trying to intrude on Tom and Daisy’s marriage, as well as Daisy for her eagerness to travel down the road of temptation to Gatsby’s front porch. How dare Gatsby threaten the institution of marriage! This thought process initiated the defense mode, in which I despised Gatsby for allowing Daisy the chance to abandon her vows which contradicts my beliefs in the sanctity of marriage. Tom’s affair made me think negatively of him as well, which led me to believe that Daisy should leave him, even if she didn’t choose to be with Gatsby.
However, in fantasy mode, the feminist in me allowed me to romanticize about a man that would go to such great lengths to be near me after five years, a child and a marriage. This is the only part of the text that drew me to Gatsby in a positive way because of his shimmer of hope that caused me to emotionally respond and ultimately identify with Daisy on a personal level. It allowed me to think outside of the box and think about how Daisy isn’t happy in her marriage anyway, and maybe she belonged with Gatsby. Trickery! Gatsby was not the man he claimed to be. However, I was still convinced throughout my reading that Daisy and Gatsby should run away and live happily ever after together.
In transformation mode, I realized that although Daisy and Gatsby loved each other, the fact still remains that she was married to another man. No matter how romantic the idea of Gatsby appeared to be, this was not sufficient reasoning for her to leave her husband and small child. Although Tom had his own affair, it did not give Daisy the right to start her own. Like my mom always says, “two wrongs don’t make a right”. Gatsby was romanticized not only by Daisy, but by the narrator and other characters as well, which contributed to the idea for Daisy to leave Tom, who came across as a bad man and start over with her long lost love. In the end, though, Gatsby was a fraud and Tom and Daisy’s marriage prevailed.
The psychological reader-response method helped me to understand why I felt the way that I did about the characters and ultimately my opinion of The Great Gatsby. Through the process of Holland’s three stages consisting of defense mode, fantasy mode, and transformation mode, I realized that my original response to the characters stemmed from my unconscious. My lack of ability to identify with the characters initially was due to my ego and my psychological need to control. This method of reader-response has broadened my critical thinking skills and allowed me to look at the text from different perspectives and interpret it on a more intellectual level and put my controlling ideas aside.
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