Queering the canon: a Queer Reading of "The Great Gatsby" (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Abstract

The present article aims at undertaking a reparative reading (Sedgwick, 2002) of the novel The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald based on the queer theory. The main objective consists in verifying the apparent queerness of the protagonist considering the choice of words in the novel, the time it was placed (1920s) and his relationship with other characters. A textual analysis has been carried out taking into consideration the queer elements of the novel, such as the gay and lesbian signs that corroborate with the queer subtext that appears as a result of Nick Carraway's gay sensibility within the narrative (Tyson, 2015). In this sense, excerpts that readers might interpret as queer-coded have been analysed. The results show that it is possible to identify not only the queer subtext of the novel but also why queer readers might relate to it. What stands out from the analysis is that queer readings might bring new and valid interpretations for the queer literary criticism field and the queer theory studies.