Abstract
What are the practical uses of literature and how can philosophy help in determining these uses? This article attempts to answer these questions by examining Gilles Deleuze's application of Spinoza's ontology in a philosophy of immanence. This examination is carried out through a close and practical reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. By showing how Fitzgerald's text invites a double reading, one of both transcendence and immanence, the practical consequences for literature and philosophy are revealed in terms of ‘intensity’ and an active ‘positioning’ of oneself in life in order to effect changes toward immanence.