Great Gatsby vs. Huckleberry Finn

Recently, I've noticed something interesting. Great Gatsby, the supposed "Great American Novel" written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, seems to be popping up everywhere in pop culture, or more specifically the Internet. (Warning: LINXPLOSION) There's this really cool game that's kind of amazing. Basically, it takes the Great Gastby setting/plotline, and puts it into a Mario-esque video game. As someone who's not a video game nerd, but does like Gatsby, I've gotta say it's a really fun game.

Then there's the Vlogbrothers, otherwise known as Nerds Unite, who are actually doing a book discussion on The Great Gatsby. It's really fascinating, partially because it's a good video, but also just because it's a book discussion... on Youtube. You just don't see that very often.

As if that isn't enough, there's another Youtube video, this time a song, which claims to be a "rap" about Gatsby. Now, I'd argue it's more rap-esque, but I don't know the rap genre all that well, so I could be wrong. But the basic point is that it's a pretty good song that's inspired by The Great Gatsby.

And I realized, Fitzgerald has gotten a lot of attention from pop culture recently. And I was wondering why. A part of it is simply that it has that reputation as the "Great American Novel," so whenever Americans want to talk about a book, there's a good chance they'll choose Gatsby.

But there's more to it than that. Scarlet Letter is mentioned in that rap song I linked to above, and it also got a semi-adaption in the recent movie, Easy A. Hemingway's always got tons of attention, probably due to his insane macho antics. One of the theaters near me recently put on a play adaptation of Old Man and the Sea (it went about as well as you'd expect.) Midnight in Paris featured Hemingway (I think. I didn't actually see it, so for this one I'm merely going by word-of-mouth.)

And my basic point with all of this is to point out that there really are quite a few references to literature, specifically the American kind, in our popular culture. But y'know who you never see mentioned? Mark Twain. When's the last time you saw a film adaptation of Huckleberry Finn? Tom Sawyer? Songs? Hell, there was a good amount of discussion on the radio about his new memoir, but other than that, and other than all the controversy over his use of the N-word, how much has society really talked about Twain?

In all honesty, it's not been much at all. Which is a shame, because Mark Twain is an awesome writer. However, there are a few problems with him that make him removed from the American zeitgeist. First of all, he uses the N-word a lot. This makes reading his book aloud really awkward. Trust me. For English class, I had to read some passages aloud. In front of my teacher and peers. Awkward.

Then there's the problem that his most revered work, Huck Finn, is kind of a kid's book. It's a fun book. It's a good book. But it's also a kid's book. It features a young boy, who learns various life lessons along a river as he travels with his best friend/former slave, Jim. In all honesty, the book reminds me a lot of that old Disney Channel movie, The Color of Friendship, except that the Disney movie features more girls in it... and less slavery. It's a good kid's book and it's an interesting read, but I'm not sure if it's worth all of the hype it sometimes get as an "American Classic."

Unfortunately, it just doesn't have the chops to make it in the vicious circle of American pop culture, whereas Gatsby has so much about it that's even relatable to the modern day. The protagonist, Nick Carraway, isn't so sure about the American dream. Gatsby has flung himself into the American dream, and climbed the socio/economic ladder , but hasn't stopped to think if it's been for the better. And there are a bunch of rich whiny people. Lots and lots of whiny rich people. Huck just doesn't have that sort of relatability, unless you own slaves, in which case I'd like to smack you.

Anyway, it's a shame that Mark Twain hasn't gotten as much attention as I think he deserves. However, there was a bright light when his memoirs were released after a hundred years (feel free to shit yourself, it's a long time to wait for a book. And you thought it was a long wait between the Harry Potter books!) People were actually talking about him. On the radio. And y'know what? It was an amazing book that deserved its attention. I can confidently say it's ten times better than Huck Finn. And numbers can't even express its relation to Twilight. Really. One guy tried. He exploded.

It's difficult to describe, but some reviewer-guy on the back of the book said it was kind of like a Cubist Autobiography, and I totally see where he's going with that. Essentially, it feels like you're sitting on a porch, listening to Twain tell various stories about himself. He's not going in chronological order. He doesn't give a damn about chronology. And you shouldn't either. Quite frankly, I think it's a lot closer to a "Great American Novel" than Huck. Unfortunately, it's not a novel. But it's still really good.

Maybe that's why Twain hasn't gotten the attention he deserved. Huck Finn is really popular among classrooms. And modern-day Americans could really learn to love Twain. But they're not going to learn to love Finn. And until the classrooms realize that, Twain will probably be in the ghetto of "Great American Authors."

Addendum: Yeah, so I got interested in seeing what Huck Finn adaptations were out there. Not a lot of recent stuff, but there was this Disney movie called The Color of Slaves. Wait, I'm sorry, that's not right. Uh, here we are. It was just called The Adventures of Huck Finn. I was close. But the more interesting adaptation was probably two Japanese anime called Huckleberry Finn No Bouken and Huckleberry Finn Monogatari. It simply amazes me that more Japanese children might have been exposed to an American classic, than actual American children.

I was also curious what other books were considered American classics. It was cool to see Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird on the list, because I love both of them. PBS mentioned On the Road as a possibility, which made me shit sunshine (which means I like the book and therefore liked the mention, just in case that wasn't clear.)

Less promising was the mention of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita as a possibility. I mean, it's got a good prose style, but it's all about an old perv who wants to get into this little girl's pants. I mean, maybe if it was the Great Republican Novel, or even the Great Priest's novel, but the Great American Novel? (ZING!)