Reader Response: The Ambiguity of Hope Hope is the driving force in our lives that keeps us going even though there is an inevitable end to our lives. Without hope there would be no reason to continue living regardless of what it is that you may hope for. According to dictionary.reference.com, hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. If this is the case then with no hope that would mean that you would not believe that things will turn out for the best additionally, if what is wanted cannot be had then there would be no point in continuing to live. With these ideas of hope it would be difficult to see hope as something that can be detrimental to your life. In The Great Gatsby, the …show more content…
Gatsby idolizes Daisy and sees her as his only goal in life. He makes all his money for her, buys his massive and magnificent mansion for her, and throws extreme, expensive parties in order to try to get her attention. He devotes his entire life to trying to win over the love that he shared with her in the past. Nick even warns him when he says “You can’t repeat the past.”, but Gatsby replies with “Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!”(Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby is blind to the fact that the past is the past and that you live in the present. His infatuation takes away from any fulfillment he may have in his life because the only true fulfillment he will have is if he achieves mutual love with Daisy. Friedrich Nietzsche stated, “In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs man’s torments.” If Gatsby had just forgotten about Daisy when he went to war he may have lived a life that was much more enjoyable, but because he is not willing to let go of the hope that he will someday win her back; his negative feelings are prolonged. According to psychologytoday.com, “…hoping that things will be different is stupid and thus evil in its effects.” Gatsby hopes that things will change, but in reality they will not. The bay that separates them can be used as a symbol for the distance that has grown between them; furthermore it is the impossibility that they will ever be together again. Gatsby hoping that things will be different is like hoping that the bay will dry up magically and he will be able to cross it and achieve what he has devoted his life
He is insistent upon Daisy admitting that she has never been in love with her husband. Gatsby says to Daisy, “just tell him the truth—that you never loved him—and it’s all wiped out forever” (Fitzgerald 7,139). Jay Gatsby believes, with all his heart, that his dream of recapturing his long lost love is dependent upon erasing and forgetting the past five years. Nick tells Gatsby that the past cannot be repeated. Gatsby foolishly denies this and continues to believe that he can fix what has already occurred. Gatsby is only thinking with his heart and not with his mind. Gatsby feels as though his past with Daisy can be recreated if he could hear that he is the only man who Daisy has ever loved. Unfortunately, Gatsby is not Daisy’s only love; she has also loved Tom. Daisy informs Gatsby that he is asking too much of her and it devastates him.
Gatsby’s quest to acquire Daisy was enlarged by his colossal obsession with the idea of being reunited with her, until the time actually came in which something so simple as a tea date was all he asked for in order to meet her. The purpose of acquiring such wealth and an extravagant home seems so pointless when Gatsby decides to meet with Daisy in Nick’s underwhelming cabin. The extravagancy of his vision deeply contrasts the modesty of the acquisition of his goal in this case. This shows a different side of Gatsby and his visions on what he thought would happen when he reached his goal and what actually occurred. Gatsby starts to panic when his visions do not occur when Nick and Gatsby are sat in Nick’s home, waiting for Daisy, Gatsby argues “Nobody’s coming to tea. It’s too late...I can’t wait all day” Fitzgerald 85). Gatsby is clearly very antsy and nervous about seeing Daisy again. He was very deeply in love with her and after 5 long years of waiting to see her again and they are finally reunited. All of his plans will be put into action and all of this planning will make him terribly self conscious
The first impression that the reader gets of Gatsby is Jay’s initial explanation of him. Nick describes Gatsby as having an “extraordinary gift for hope” (2) or the ability to always be hopeful for the best outcome. This “ability” directly correlates to Gatsby 's platonic conception of himself and the world. Gatsby’s gift was not that he was able to see the best out of the worst situation but rather assume that the best situation would always occur for him. This “ability” lead Gatsby to take many risks especially the risk of believing that Daisy had only loved him. Gatsby also hopes that Daisy would call him back, leaving the phone lines open for Daisy when swimming in his pool. These acts only further lead to Gatsby becoming enemies with Tom, who gave Gatsby’s life up to Myrtle’s husband whose final act was shooting
Gatsby is unrealistic. He believes he can relive the past and rekindle the flame he and Daisy once had. He is lost in his dream and accepts that anything can be repeated, "Can't repeat the past…Why of course you can!" (116, Fitzgerald). For Gatsby, failure to realize this resurrection of love is utterly appalling. His whole career, his conception of himself and his life is totally shattered. Gatsby's death when it comes is almost insignificant, for with the collapse of his dream, he is spiritually dead.
Gatsby has many issues of repeating his past instead of living in the present. A common example of this would be his ultimate goal to win Daisy back. He keeps thinking about her and how she seems perfect for him, but he remembers her as she was before she was married to Tom. He has not thought about the fact that she has a daughter, and has been married to Tom for four years, and the history there is between them. The reader cannot be sure of Gatsby trying to recreate the past until the reunion between him and Daisy. This becomes evident when Nick talks to Gatsby about how he is living in the past, specifically when Nick discusses Daisy with him. “‘I wouldn’t ask too much of her,’ Gatsby ventured. ‘you can’t repeat the past.’ I said. ‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” (110). This excerpt shows how Gatsby still has not learned that eventually he will have to just accept the past and move forward with his life. If he keeps obsessing about Daisy, and trying to fix the past, more of his life will be wasted on this impossible goal. Througho...
Upon first meeting Gatsby we find him staring at the green light at the end of the dock owned by Daisy. The exact wording of this moment is “But A I didn’t call to him, for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone-he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling” (Fitzgerald, 19-20). This instance alone shows nothing, save a longing, but when combined with the next few chapters it shows Gatsby obsession with all things related to Daisy. Another instance of Gatsby's longing for Daisy is showed in that his parties are meant to be for her. This conversation between Nick and Gatsby from late in the book shows Gatsby's concern when Daisy is actually at his party ““She didn’t like it,” he said immediately. “Of course she did.” “She didn’t like it,” he insisted. “She didn’t have a good time.” He was silent, and I guessed at his unutterable depression” (108-109). The major flaw in Gatsby's plan is that Daisy is old money, and old money and new money...
Mansions, cars, jewels, and extravagant parties- what more could a person want? Gatsby had it all, yet he was still empty inside, craving more. All the riches Gatsby has mean nothing without his great love, Daisy. Gatsby strived to become successful for the sole purpose of capturing Daisy's heart. However, Gatsby's dream is an unattainable and hopeless dream for he can never win her love. Daisy and Gatsby live only miles apart, but their relationship is eons apart, as Daisy is already attached. Gatsby is pursuing "a transcendent significance outside of society and beyond the notability of history" (Lynn 180). Gatsby is dreaming "the American dream" that anything is possible, but the tragic flaw within him is that he is living in the past and cannot see the destructive future that lies ahead. Gatsby says, "I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before,... She'll see," and he does not realize that he cannot make it the way it was before (Fitzgerald 114). When Gatsby does get the chance to prove himself to Daisy, it is already too late. According to Fitzgerald, "the whole caravansay had fallen in like a card house at the disapproval in her eyes," (Fitzgerald 114). Gatsby's downfall is in the fact that he is unable to determine the fine line that divides reality and illusion in his life. The green light at the end of Daisy's dock burns bright for Gatsby, but Gatsby does not realize that he cannot ever capture the light. He continues to dream blindly. This is evident when Nick tells Gatsby that he cannot relive the past and Gatsby replies, "Why of course you can, old sport!" (Fitzgerald 116). Gatsby's dream of capturing Daisy's love is based on a fantasy of romance, but the truth is that Daisy is already taken and no amount of money or popularity can change that.
Based on the consequences of the past, Gatsby’s priority is to earn a place in high ranks in order to win Daisy. Remaining faithful through the years he endures apart from her, Gatsby builds a reputation of being affluent, for her. He expresses his loyalty towards Daisy through the wealth he establishes, for her. In the hopes that she will return to him after seeing his newly gained assets, Gatsby flaunts his mansion and possessions to Daisy. Everything he earns plays an important role in displaying his wealth to Daisy, as well as his dedication to her. Gatsby devotes several years to earning a fortune for Daisy, never deviating from his original motive of living the past, except with Daisy. However, Gatsby becomes “dazed” because her physical existence erases the importance of his belongings. Even though Gatsby’s valuables once signified the path to Daisy, because Daisy is now with him, the items mean nothing. Gatsby proves consistency in his love for Daisy as she is the motivating force that occupies his life. Gatsby’s persistent hope gives him the belief that he can and will live his happy ending with Daisy. When Gatsby’s imagination of Daisy does not align with the existing Daisy, he tells Nick, “Can’t repeat the past?...Why of course you can!” (110).
Gatsby is determined to relive his past, but Nick points out, “You can’t the past,” and Gatsby replies with, “Why of course you can!” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby has dedicated his whole life reliving the past with Daisy. Gatsby whole-heartedly believes he can repeat the past, “I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before,” he says (Fitzgerald 110). In Gatsby’s fantasy, he believes that Daisy and him can be together now that he has the money she wished he had in the past. “In the end, it is this romantic idealism that destroys Gatsby; he refuses to relinquish the illusion that has propelled his life,” Gatsby’s inability to let go of a fantasy built upon events from past, Daisy, is ultimately what led to his death (Hickey). There is one character in the Great Gatsby that proves to be the only one not drowning in a fantasy, Nick. “They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together,” Nick says to Gatsby (Fitzgerald 162). He says this because he realizes that everyone around him is corrupt and living in a fantasy world, including Gatsby, but Nick realizes that this is the very thing that is destroying
In the book Gatsby says, “Can’t repeat the past? He cried incredulously. Why of course you can!” (110). This quote explains one of mistakes leading to his downfall by stating that he does believe that you can repeat the pass when you can’t. In the book Gatsby tries his hardest to repeat his past relationship with Daisy and it leads him to trouble. He tries different tactics to gain her attention, like throwing the extravagant parties at his house. He hoped one night that Daisy would wonder in so he could see her again. The scene in the book where Gatsby, Nick, Tom, Daisy, and Jordan were in the apartment you can see how Gatsby’s actions had a toll on the other characters. Daisy specifically showed this when she said, “Oh, you want too much! She cried to Gatsby” (132). When Daisy said this it clarified that Gatsby was asking too much of her and that ultimately lead to his
We all want to get better. We always want our future to be brighter and more hopeful, and we strive for perfection. We dream big and do what we can to accomplish these dreams. Jay Gatsby was no exception. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby, the wonderful man who is admired greatly finds himself optimistic for the future, always yearning for the green light. Throughout the concluding excerpt from Chapter 9 in the novel, Gatsby’s optimism is evident and he is ready took look onto a better tomorrow. Even though it may appear as though Jay Gatsby has everything he can possibly desire, he truly wants one more thing, and is constantly fighting to achieve something that he cannot accomplish.
The theme “blind pursuit of an ideal is destructive” is the main message of The Great Gatsby. Gatsby is on a blind pursuit of happiness. His ideal is to be with Daisy as he was in the past. Although, you can not ever really grasp the past and have things the same as they once were. This pursuit is destructive because Gatsby can not be satisfied with Daisy anymore. He really longed for an image of the past and how he and Daisy used to be, but she is not the same as she once was. Her past self is unobtainable but Gatsby is persistent. Gatsby vision of Daisy is unrealistic and much better than her true self. Nick stated in the book, “Daisy tumbled short of his dreams- not through her own fault, but because of his colossal vitality of his illusion”.
In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby functions under the illusion that Daisy is perfect and is living in such distress because she was forced to marry Tom due to Gatsby being away at war and being poor. This illusion leads Gatsby to spend his entire adult life pining after Daisy and cheating his way up the social and economic ladder in order to win her over. Gatsby believes that Daisy will someday come back to him because she loves him so much and they will live happily ever after together.
Past is that puzzle that can be delightful to remember but trying to chase it is like a dog chasing its own tail, and throughout the novel F. Scott Fitzgerald shows how abnormal the minds become when it is still beating in the past.The narrator introducing the main character for the first time, but not countering a verbal conversation but has a sight of him where he “decided to call to him, but for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone- he stretched out his arm toward the dark water in a curious way.” (Fitzgerald 20). This caused Gatsby to have the motive of reach out for the past before he met the sources that led to his goal or love of his life Daisy Buchanan. As a result his ego and his anxiety increases to a point where he tries to grab more than fate wrote for both of them, and when the person or thing have moved on or belongs to someone else then it is never too late to move on with your life. Gatsby stretched out his arm towards the green light; minute or far way, that was the dock of Daisy’s house. Along the same line the light does not represent the past but it was a light of hope for Gatsby that Fitzgerald convey that even it is across the bay he tends to try to reach for her even its physically impossible to do. Hence the disillusionment is what Fitzgerald is trying to convey that if a mind is still living in the past then it disarrays from the present along with the future. “His [Gatsby] tragedy lies in the ...
Gatsby, a man resentful of his past, has transformed his lack of confidence in the truth into a hopeless infatuation with Daisy and what she meant to his past and his