Great Gatsby Report- Obsessing over the Past Theme

Once he was sure that the troopers were gone from the outside of his cell, he sighed out loud and rolled carefully over onto his back. That had been the first intentional sound that he'd made since his declaration to the interrogator, however many hours, or days earlier. The troopers that tried to get information out of him, after the formal meeting, didn't get what they

All in all, as presented through this work, Gatsby was indeed in love with Daisy for the most part, in the beginning of their relationship, but it all change when Gatsby lost Daisy and so he let himself believed that his past was the one to blame for this circumstances. It is after this, that Gatsby became rather obsessed with the idea of Daisy and having a lovely future with her, because having her meant having it all: stability, confidence, love, happiness and so on. Also, it meant that he had succeeded in life as a whole. “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.” (Chapter 9) All his life, Gatsby intended to escape

      Gatsby's tragic flaw lies within his inability to see that the real and the ideal cannot coexist. Gatsby's ideal is Daisy. He sees her as perfect and worthy of all his affections and praise. In reality she is undeserving and through her actions, proves she is pathetic rather than honorable. When Daisy says "Sophisticated-God I'm sophisticated" (18), she contradicts who she really is. The reader sees irony here, knowing she is far from sophisticated, but superficial, selfish and pathetic. Gatsby's vision is based on his belief that the past can be repeated, "can't repeat the past? Why of course you can" (111)!  The disregard for reality is how Gatsby formulates his dream (with high expectations), and the belief that sufficient wealth can allow one to control his or her own fate. Gatsby believes youth and beauty can be recaptured if he can only make enough money. To become worthy of Daisy, Gatsby accumulates his wealth, so he can rewrite the past and Daisy will be his. He establishes an immense fortune to impress the great love of his life, Daisy, who can only be won with evidence of material success.  Over the five years in which Gatsby formulates this ideal, he envisions Daisy so perfect that he places her on a pedestal. As he attempts to make his ideal a reality things do not run as smoothly as he plans. Daisy can never live up to Gatsby's ideal, though

Themes of hope, success, and wealth overpower The Great Gatsby, leaving the reader with a new way to look at the roaring twenties, showing that not everything was good in this era. F. Scott Fitzgerald creates the characters in this book to live and recreate past memories and relationships. This was evident with Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship, Tom and Daisy’s struggling marriage, and Gatsby expecting so much of Daisy and wanting her to be the person she once was. The theme of this novel is to acknowledge the past, but do not recreate and live in the past because then you will not be living in the present, taking advantage of new opportunities.

Gatsby has not only perfected Daisy’s image, but he is also stuck in the past. As previously mentioned, he idolized all of his good memories from the past because they gave him happiness. He had a girlfriend whom he loved and all of the other soldiers wanted. The fact that many of the other soldiers liked Daisy made her like a trophy to him. This, like the perfected image of Daisy, is viewing her as an object that he must obtain. After Gatsby becomes wealthy, he buys the house across from Daisy’s to show off his wealth and draw her in. He sought out Daisy as his final valuable possession or trophy. Gatsby states that, "After [Daisy] was free, [Gatsby and Daisy] were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house--just as if it were five years ago" (Fitzgerald 109). This quotation thoroughly displays Gatsby’s infatuation with the past because he furthers the conversation by assuring the

After the war, Gatsby’s only goal was to posses enough wealth to bring Daisy back. He acquired millions of dollars from businesses he did. “Gatsby bough this house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (78). His love for Daisy was the only thing that made him the man he was. He was intelligent, rich and even famous, all because of her. He threw big parties were many celebrities went and were thousands of dollars were spent in liquor and food just to call Daisy’s attention. “I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night…” (79), recalled Jordan, Gatsby’s friend, one night. All that Gatsby possessed was only and exclusively to show Daisy he could give her the life she wanted.

His material world reflects Daisy. Daisy is sometimes a symbol of the American dream. “Her voice is full of money... That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money - that was the inexhaustible

For years, Gatsby has designed and obsessed over this moment in his mind, creating his ideal reunion with Daisy. All he has thought about is the day they would once again meet. Daisy, of course, does not live up to these impossible expectations. As Nick Carraway states in his narration, “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (96). Gatsby became disillusioned, realizing he will never have exactly what he wants, for Daisy to be completely devoted to him. Gatsby knows this deep down, and now his life has been built around a disappointment. Gatsby’s one reason for life has slipped through his fingers and all he is left with is a big empty house and meaningless money. Furthermore, Gatsby’s actions and thoughts reveal the reality of life: disappointment is inevitable. Sven Birkerts further explains the feeling of disillusionment, in his article A Gatsby for Today, when talking of “the reckless rush away from the centers of gravity, and the sudden, terrible realization that gravity writes no exceptions” (123). Often times one builds up expectations, as Gatsby did, only to realize they are

When someone comes off too eager for something they desire, sometimes the satisfaction won’t meet the expectations they primarily had. The thrill to chase that dream has vanished and has now turned into a bland, dull thought. Gatsby’s memory of Daisy had changed and then builds her up to more than she actually is. He then proceeds to market Daisy as something completely different. The tendency for Gatsby trying to lie to himself about his memory of Daisy has faded and is now trying hopelessly to revive his past feelings about Daisy. “He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity”(Fitzgerald 92). The cumbersome attitude of Gatsby towards

Gatsby suddenly asked “How can you love him Daisy? He does not care as much as I do.”

Gatsby believed that in order to fulfill his own concept of the American Dream he needed to win Daisy’s love, and to do that he would need to “establish himself as Somebody.” Although he loves Daisy, he also sees her as more of a goal – a step toward the perfect life promised by the American Dream. In a way, Gatsby views Daisy much the way

In another instance, Nick Carraway relates the obsessive behavior of Jay Gatsby towards Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby has achieved substantial monetary success and prominent social status, but his life, in his eyes, is incomplete. He believes that Daisy is the only person who can bring him total fulfillment. In effect, Gatsby’ s desire for Daisy had become an

However, Gatsby’s life is ultimately taken away due to his burning desire for hope. His naivety in re-creating the ‘love’ he had with Daisy causes him to become a victim of his own wrong doing, the lies and the wealth all catch up to him in the end.

He realized he must be starting to go delirious he needed motivation. His mind felt so clouded he was struggling just

Next Ogi the magician got up from the stool and paced about three yards further on stage, and then he halted his steps and closed his eyes slowly.