The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther... we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" This is not a book about love. This is a book about control, or, more accurately, the lack thereof. Gatsby struggles to gain the control over his life that he so strongly desires, but ultimately fails because, as the book accurately details, no matter how fast or how far you run the past will catch up with you, and lies will come to light. This book is also about the struggle to make something better of yourself, to turn grey and dust into gold and prosperity. It is a decent moral for a piece of literature to convey, however it does reflect the times as it promotes "legitimate opportunities" as a way of avoiding tragedy, and ultimately death, however these were few and far between in Gatsby's time which explains his turn to bootlegging.