--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mr. Scott Fitzgerald deserves a good…" description: "\"Mr. Scott Fitzgerald deserves a good shaking. Here is an unmistakable talent unashamed of making itself a motley to the view. The Great Gatsby is an ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/l-p-hartley-22537_absurd_mr-scott-fitzgerald-deserves-a-good-shak_2215539.jpg" --- # Mr. Scott Fitzgerald deserves a good shaking. Here is an… ![“Mr. Scott Fitzgerald deserves a good shaking. Here is an unmistakable talent unashamed of making itself a motley to the view. The Great Gatsby is an absurd story, whether considered as romance, melodrama, or plain record of New York high life.” quote by L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/l-p-hartley-22537_absurd_mr-scott-fitzgerald-deserves-a-good-shak_2215539.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/l-p-hartley-22537_absurd_mr-scott-fitzgerald-deserves-a-good-shak_2215539.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79a/l-p-hartley-22537_absurd_mr-scott-fitzgerald-deserves-a-good-shak_2215539.jpg) > “Mr. Scott Fitzgerald deserves a good shaking. Here is an unmistakable talent unashamed of making itself a motley to the view. The Great Gatsby is an absurd story, whether considered as romance, melodrama, or plain record of New York high life.” [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The novel satirically portrays the emptiness of the American Dream, showing that wealth and romance can mask moral decay. **In simple terms:** The Great Gatsby mocks the idea that money guarantees happiness. Key Takeaway Look beyond surface glamour. Themes American Dream illusion social critique Mood critical reflective Type literary analytical When to use this quote - literary analysis - teaching - cultural criticism - media adaptation Key Concepts materialism moral emptiness Questions to Reflect On - What does the novel suggest about wealth and authenticity? - How does satire expose societal flaws? A Different Perspective Some readers may miss the satire and take the story at face value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Deserve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserve/) [Fitzgerald Deserves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitzgerald-deserves-4923625/) [Gatsby Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gatsby-absurd-4923624/) [Great gatsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-gatsby/) [Melodrama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melodrama/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Scott fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scott-fitzgerald/) [Shaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaking/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > ['The Great Gatsby,' by F. 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Scott Fitzgerald book is that it is peopleless fiction: Fitzgerald writes about spectral, muscledsuits; dresses, hats, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dahlberg/what-is-most-appalling-in-an-f-scott-fitzgerald-book-is-that-it-is/) [Edward Dahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dahlberg/) > [“let the story go, and still clutched F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise in my arms as if to let it go would”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/let-the-story-go-and-still-clutched-f-scott-fitzgerald-s-this-side-of/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [The seriousness or otherwise of the subject matter is often irrelevent to the question of whether a book is any good. F Scott Fitzgerald…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-lynch/the-seriousness-or-otherwise-of-the-subject-matter-is-often/) [Declan Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-lynch/) > [“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/the-test-of-a-first-rate-intelligence-is-the-ability-to-hold-two-2/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [I'd like to do Nicole Diver in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'Tender Is the Night,' if that ever gets made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamund-pike/i-d-like-to-do-nicole-diver-in-f-scott-fitzgerald-s-tender-is-the/) [Rosamund Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamund-pike/) > [...Baltimore. It's imperfect. Boy, is it imperfect. And there are parts of its past that make you wince. It's not all marble steps and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lippman/baltimore-it-s-imperfect-boy-is-it-imperfect-and-there-are-parts-of/) [Laura Lippman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lippman/) > [“I am asking Scribners to insert as a subtitle in everything after the eighth printing THE SUN ALSO RISES (LIKE YOUR COCK IF YOU…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-am-asking-scribners-to-insert-as-a-subtitle-in-everything-after-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Poetry died as a commercial form and then it died as a serious art form. No one serious touches it. It used to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/poetry-died-as-a-commercial-form-and-then-it-died-as-a-serious-art/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [If you look at any list of great modern writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, you'll notice two things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern-writers-such-as-ernest/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) ## More by L.P. Hartley > [“But I was not so much interested in facts themselves as in the importance they had for my imagination. I was passionately interested in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/but-i-was-not-so-much-interested-in-facts-themselves-as-in-the/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [“I had never met a lord before, nor had I ever expected to meet one. It didn't matter what he looked like: he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/i-had-never-met-a-lord-before-nor-had-i-ever-expected-to-meet-one-it/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [“How terrifyingly efficient she sounds," said Stephen. "I think I should faint in her presence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/how-terrifyingly-efficient-she-sounds-said-stephen-i-think-i-should/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [You insisted on thinking of them as angels, even if they were fallen angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/you-insisted-on-thinking-of-them-as-angels-even-if-they-were-fallen/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [My dream had become my reality: my old life was a discarded husk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/my-dream-had-become-my-reality-my-old-life-was-a-discarded-husk/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [“...for the first time I couldn't feel really interested in my mother's letter. The small concerns of home, instead of coming close to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/for-the-first-time-i-couldn-t-feel-really-interested-in-my-mother-s/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [“I should not have cared to see it as an act of self-sacrifice even if it had been one; for there is nothing clever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/i-should-not-have-cared-to-see-it-as-an-act-of-self-sacrifice-even-if/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [“Not Adam and Eve, after eating the apple, could have been more upset than I was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/not-adam-and-eve-after-eating-the-apple-could-have-been-more-upset/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [“Even the most impassioned devotee of the ghost story would admit that the taste for it is slightly abnormal, a survival, perhaps, from adolescence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/even-the-most-impassioned-devotee-of-the-ghost-story-would-admit-that/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [“If my twelve-year-old self, of whom I had grown rather fond, thinking about him, were to reproach me: 'Why have you grown up such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/if-my-twelve-year-old-self-of-whom-i-had-grown-rather-fond-thinking/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [Grown-ups didn't seem to realize that for me, as for most other schoolboys, it was easier to keep silent than to speak. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/grown-ups-didn-t-seem-to-realize-that-for-me-as-for-most-other/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [It's better to write about things you feel than about things you know about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/it-s-better-to-write-about-things-you-feel-than-about-things-you-know/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [“To my mind's eye, my buried memories of Brandham Hall are like effects of chiaroscuro, patches of light and dark: it is only with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/to-my-mind-s-eye-my-buried-memories-of-brandham-hall-are-like-effects/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [“You flew too near the sun and you were scorched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/you-flew-too-near-the-sun-and-you-were-scorched/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [“No, I thought, growing more rebellious, life has its own laws and it is for me to defend myself against whatever comes along, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/no-i-thought-growing-more-rebellious-life-has-its-own-laws-and-it-is/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) [Explore all 26 L.P. Hartley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." 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Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. 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But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mr. Scott Fitzgerald deserves a good shaking. Here is an unmistakable talent unashamed of making itself a motley to the view. The Great Gatsby is an absurd story, whether considered as romance, melodrama, or plain record of New York high life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "L.P. 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