What Is The Key Theme In The Great Gatsby

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Reminiscing over memories can bridge the past and the present together, allowing people to learn from their mistakes and experiences so that they can grow. This is what encourages development in people over time, but what happens in the past is destined to forever stay that way. It is impossible to recreate a perfect replica of previous experiences. There are too many variables to account for; thousands of differences that, no matter how insignificant, will change the course of any attempts at reliving the past. F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates this in his book, The Great Gatsby, through Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan’s relationship. The couple’s aversion to moving on from their past is a key theme throughout the book. As a result, Fitzgerald’s …show more content…

This further supports the theme as the two are more focused on recovering their past than on the present. An efficient example of this is when Gatsby hopes Daisy will “go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you,’” and that “after she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could [...] be married from her house—just as if it were five years ago” (109). In desiring this, Gatsby is essentially attempting to get Daisy to rewrite their past so that they can be happy together. Gatsby continues to put further pressure on Daisy and enforces this idea by stating, “Just tell him the truth–that you never loved him–and it’s all wiped out forever” (132). While these quotes are not typically literary elements, they are theme kernels that focus on the love that Gatsby and Daisy are trying to recreate. This continues on in the next quote, as well, as they all focus on the theme. In Gatsby’s first few moments of disillusionment, he attempts to defend his actions by echoing, “Can’t repeat the past?” before replying with, “Why of course you can!” (110). This line is important evidence to support that it is hopeless to try and recreate the past. It illustrates Gatsby’s determination to rediscover the bond between himself and Daisy, despite how bleak the situation is for him. During this same scene, Nick observes, “[Gatsby] look[s] around him wildly, as if the past w[as] lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand” (110). Seeing as the past cannot physically lurk, this quote is an example of personification. It helps to demonstrate the effects of Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship on him, as he is struggling with

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