I just found out the original title for 'The Great Gatsby' was way different

I was looking at a book of Fitzgerald's letters at the library yesterday and saw a note from 1924. He wanted to call it 'Trimalchio in West Egg' before his editor talked him out of it. That's a reference to a character from an old Roman story, which makes the whole book feel different if you think about it. I guess they thought regular people in 1925 wouldn't get the joke. It makes you wonder how many other classic books almost had weird names we'd all make fun of now. Has anyone else stumbled on a fact that totally changed how you see a book you've already read?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_betty1mo ago

Makes me notice how many everyday things have hidden layers like that. I saw a documentary about how common brand logos have little symbols in them you never spot unless someone points it out. It changes how you walk through a grocery store. Guess we're surrounded by these quiet little decisions that shape how we see stuff.

emma7225d ago

Oh totally, @the_betty. That logo thing is wild, like the arrow in the FedEx name. But I gotta say, a lot of those "hidden meanings" people find are just made up after the fact. Like the Amazon smile isn't really an arrow from A to Z, that was a happy accident they leaned into later. Sometimes a design is just a design, and we're the ones adding the story.

sethb451mo ago

Fitzgerald's editor saved that book, and @the_betty, you're right about hidden details being everywhere.