Jake, Reinvented

Jake, Reinvented is a retelling of the American classic The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and originally published in 1925. The Great Gatsby is set on Long Island near New York City and tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made man committed to the unattainable dream of rekindling his past love with the upper-class beauty Daisy Buchanan. Through the eyes of World War I veteran Nick Carraway, the novel tracks Gatsby as he throws incredible parties to impress Daisy, who is unhappily married to the wealthy and unfaithful Tom Buchanan. While Gatsby nearly succeeds at winning Daisy’s heart, Daisy and Tom’s selfishness ultimately triumphs, setting off a chain of events that leads to Gatsby’s tragic downfall.

Korman connects his story to The Great Gatsby in a variety of ways. He begins with a dedication to Jay and Daisy—the central characters of Fitzgerald’s novel—and then follows with a direct quote from The Great Gatsby, which hints that Jake Garrett, Korman’s version of Jay Gatsby, is also doomed to fail in achieving his romantic dream. Korman models most of his characters’ names and personalities after Fitzgerald’s and makes playful allusions to the novel, such as by naming the high school F. Scott Fitzgerald High.

By reframing Fitzgerald’s story about adults in the 1920s through the lens of modern high school students, Korman suggests that the original novel’s themes continue to apply in the 21st century. For example, he suggests that the hedonism that defined the Jazz Age still exists in American high schools today, as do the carelessness, selfishness, and materialism that Fitzgerald described in his novel.

Korman makes some changes to shift Fitzgerald’s narrative in a more positive direction. Unlike in The Great Gatsby, Jake’s life is not over as the novel closes. Like his classmates, he will get another chance as he grows to adulthood; his failure with Didi won’t necessarily define his whole life. The text implies that Todd and Didi are also likely to change, since their relationship will end eventually, and the door is open for them to become better people in adulthood.

Jennifer—modeled on the self-interested Jordan Baker in Fitzgerald’s novel—has already demonstrated the ability to change for the better by the end of Korman’s story. Jordan Baker never acquires a sense of morality, but Jennifer does, showing an inner conscience by coming to Jake’s trial. Jennifer’s evolution hints at a brighter future than the one envisioned by Fitzgerald and allows the story to end optimistically, with Jennifer and Rick hand in hand.