In 2025, the tension F. Scott Fitzgerald captured between optimism and pessimism a century earlier remains. Notably, while young people remain optimistic about the economic future, four in 10 adults under 50 doubt they can achieve any semblance of the American Dream.

And yet, while Gatsby¡¯s tragic death at the hands of a jealous suitor sounds a cautionary note, Nick¡¯s affirmation elsewhere in the novel that ¡°anything can happen . . . anything at all¡± sounds a note of renewal and regeneration that still echoes today.

Read the full column from Cleveland State Professors Richard M. Perloff and Jeff Karem on cleveland.com.