The prospect of Jay Gatsby being a man of colour initially left me raising an eyebrow, unable to determine how anyone could read the novel and interpret Gatsby to be anything but a white man. Throughout my reading of The Great Gatsby I had pictured Gatsby as white (okay, as Leonardo DiCaprio), just as the vast majority of people seemed to. But when I began to really think about the titular character being a man of colour who possessed the privilege of passing as white, I realized just how plausible the concept was.
Carlyle Thompson, professor of African American and American Literature at Medgar Evers College was the first person to suggest the interpretation of black Gatsby, regarding his cropped cut to be reminiscent of a black man’s hair, Gatsby’s mansion residing on 40 acres of land just as freed slaves were promised 40 acres, and of course Tom’s confrontation of Gatsby, subtly accusing him of being a black individual when he asserts that interracial marriage will destroy the sanctity or family life. Jordan, to Gatsby's defense, states "We're all white here." But are we really?
I’m certain that, regardless of this evidence, many people will still roll their eyes, will dismiss, or even express anger towards the interpretation. But in response, I quote Thompson: “When I ask people what basis there is for Gatsby being white, I get silence. I have asked students, colleagues. They don’t know. They cannot give me any evidence to back up the speculation.” (http://www.salon.com/2000/08/09/gatsby/)
The fact of the matter is simply that the Eurocentric society of America enforces us to view whiteness as the default. I recall a personal anecdote where I was reading a childhood book and had pictured a character as white until three chapters in, when the character was described as having “chocolate coloured skin.” I myself am a person of colour, however growing up in Canada (which I believe is just as Eurocentric as America) has ingrained in me to view whiteness as the norm (something which I struggle to deconstruct in my day to day life.)
But this is why the suggestion of favourite characters being anything but the norm is such a shock. This is why, when actor Donald Glover desired to pursue the role of Peter Parker and created the #DonaldForSpiderman hashtag, he was met with thousands of tweets calling him the n-word and expressing disgust towards the idea of a black Spiderman. Glover ignored the slurs, yet became infuriated when someone messaged him stating, as if it were a fact, “the thing about it is there’s no black kids like Peter Parker.” Glover responded with his frustrations, questioning us that “it’s fucking 2011 and you don’t think there’s a black kid that lives with his aunt in Queens? Who likes Science, who takes photography?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgko-xReFSs)
Why is the prospect of our favourite characters being marginalized so difficult to cope with? Why do we immediately disregard Gatsby as black, why do we raise an eyebrow at Nick being anything but heterosexual, why do we detest the marginalized? Why is a mere interpretation enough to instill anger and hatred within ourselves? I believe that the answer to this is the Eurocentricism of America (along with heteronormativity in regards to Nick’s sexuality, but that’s another topic), but I’m interested in hearing why others do or do not believe that Gatsby could, in fact, be a black man.
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