The Great Gatsby Fate Analysis

“Can’t repeat the past?’ he [Gatsby] cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!” (Fitzgerald 110). With that one line, F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel The Great Gatsby seals his fate. The Great Gatsby takes place in 1920’s New York in a time of Prohibition, parties, and profound spending. In that world Fitzgerald introduces the reader to the character of Jay Gatsby. His extravagant parties in New York’s West Egg always attracts everyone from all around New York. Everyone except for Daisy Buchanan, a previous love who has married another man. But he keeps holding those parties in the hopes that she comes.

The sole reason behind his parties, Daisy is behind many of Gatsby’s decisions through Fitzgerald’s novel. Because of Daisy he builds a

For Nick and Jordan, who have been bystanders to much of the conflict throughout the novel while also dating, they were unfortunate enough to get caught in the “shockwave” of Tom and Gatsby. When talking to Jordan on the phone the day after the hotel confrontation, Nick is visibly shaken. They’re not on the same page, Jordan doesn’t like how Nick treated her last night but still wants to see him. Nick is apathetic about how he treated Jordan and while he does want to see her, he knows that he won’t be able to. He describes that know that he wouldn’t be able to talk to Jordan when he comments “I don’t know which of us hung up with a sharp click, but I know I didn’t care. I couldn’t have talked to her across a tea-table that day if I never talked to her again in this world.” (Fitzgerald 154). Just as with Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship, Nick and Jordan’s ultimately

Fitzgerald formats his novel in such a way that instills into the reader the message of that reliving the past is not possible. Having Gatsby and Daisy as the leading argument, Fitzgerald establishes that no matter what, any attempts to relive the will end with something dividing them. Whether it would be another partner, like Tom, or one of them holding a secret from the other, for example Gatsby’s involvement with distributing alcohol during Prohibition, there will be a wedge that divides the relationship. Fitzgerald then further continues his argument by extending the repercussions onto Gatsby and Daisy’s friends, Jordan and Nick. By having people that are only partially involved be affected as well, Fitzgerald argues his point even more. However, he doesn’t stop there. By including the deaths of Myrtle, George, and Gatsby into his novel, Fitzgerald concludes with the argument that there will be unpredictable effects. While they may not be to the extreme that is actual death, the effects will be there with no way to tell