My Great Gatsby

I noticed this shiny, large silver dome from our dormitory and -- for whatever reason -- had to know what it was. As you'll see, we saw it time and again. As a matter of fact, it's really hard to miss it due to its location as well as the fact that the spire is brightly lit at night!

Unfortunately, as you'll see, everyone we asked knew less about it than us. Not only did they not know what it was, they denied even noticing it!

As for why do I call it my Great Gatsby? If you've read the classic American novel, you may know that the novel serves as a very symbolic meditation on the decline of the American dream. It deals with themes of greed and the pursuit of the great Amercian way of life getting twisted. One of the most powerful symbols in the novel is that of the Green Light. Barely visible from Gatsby's home, the green light represents an idealized future, distant but perhaps attainable. This is summed up beautifully in the last quote from the novel:

"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. . . . And then one fine morning—So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Since coming back from Japan and pondering upon this issue at some length, I have come to a conclusion: The building was not my Great Gatsby. Not entirely. The building was a symbol for the distant but perhaps attainable, just like the green light. Everything from the country of Japan (more importantly some things I experienced in Japan) were singularly captured in this beautiful silver mirage. Just like it, all these things are within my senses but escape my grasp.