Cameron Carpenter

12/13/12
The Irretrievable Past
In F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby, Gatsbys death at the end of the novel is the
physical embodiment of the consequences of living in the past. His fate is sealed by attempting
to live his life in some bygone era, as a past version of himself. This is certainly Jay Gatsbys
fatal flaw, and the one that indirectly leads to his demise. Living in the past, in constant denial of
ones own present is emotionally stunting, and leads Jay Gatsby to his doom, physically and
emotionally.
Gatsbys love for and obsession with Daisy stems from Gatsbys perception of her as the
rich, perfect girl who will make his life complete. He cannot let go of the time before he went
off to war, when he and Daisy were young and in love. As Fitzgerald writes, She vanished into
her rich house, into her rich, full life, leaving Gatsbynothing. He felt married to her, that was
all. (Fitzgerald, pg. 149). To a young Gatsby, Daisy was the perfect embodiment of the life he
never had. She was rich and carefree. She never had to worry about having enough food to eat
or a place to live, those were foreign concepts to her, and Gatsby envied that. He wished he
could have lived that kind of a life and he subconsciously equated winning Daisys love with
realizing his dream of vast wealth. That is why, even though Gatsby became wealthy through his
own means, winning Daisys love was still the ultimate prize in his mind. In a way, Gatsby did it
all for Daisy, so that in his mind he could be the kind of man he believes she deserves. Nick
talks about the young Gatsby as a man who took what he could get, ravenously and
unscrupulouslyeventually he took Daisy one still October night, took her because he had no
real right to touch her hand. (Fitzgerald, pg. 149). Nick describes the way Gatsby is enthralled

by Daisy by saying, I think that voice held him most, with its fluctuating, feverish warmth,
because it couldnt be over-dreamedthat voice was a deathless song. (Fitzgerald, pg. 96).
Also, that is why Gatsby was never content with his life of luxury, and why he had to constantly
throw grand parties to show off his wealth. He was trying to fill the hole left by losing Daisy.
Gatsbys inability to let go of his past and start anew indirectly leads to his death.
Gatsbys intense fixation on Daisy had not wavered in the entirety of the five years they were
apart. As Fitzgerald writes, No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store
up in his ghostly heart. (Fitzgerald, pg. 96). After going off to war and losing Daisy, Gatsby
could never let go of her. She filled his dreams, his desires, and his thoughts. She became the
pinnacle of perfection in his mind. When Gatsby and Daisy were reunited by Nick, Gatsby was,
of course, overjoyed. For a few weeks, it seemed to Gatsby that life was perfect. He had
achieved the ultimate goal, been awarded the ultimate prize. As Nick describes Gatsby and
Daisys first kiss after separation, At his lips touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the
incarnation was complete. (Fitzgerald, pg. 111). However much Daisy may love Gatsby, she
doesnt love him to the point of obsession the way he loves her. Gatsby loves Daisy to the point
where he would die for her, and he indirectly does. Daisy, though, is content to let Gatsby take
the fall for her when she kills Myrtle Wilson in Gatsbys car, and, as if to add insult to injury, she
chooses to just fly out of Gatsbys life, leaving him to deal with the burden of Myrtle Wilsons
death alone. Despite all that, Gatsby still holds on that image of the rich girl he fell in love with
as a young man, and, as if in a final act of his eternal and misguided devotion to this grand image
of perfection, Gatsby stands out in the cold and the dark all night death outside Daisys house
after Myrtles death, just to make sure shes safe. Gatsby even says, I want to wait here till
Daisy goes to bed. (Fitzgerald, pg. 145). Gatsby gave Daisy everything he could give her, and

in the end, he gave his life for her, as he is murdered because he took the blame for the car
accident. Daisy isnt even there at Gatsbys funeral, after he gave his life for her. She never had
the kind of devotion to him that he had for her. He could not let go of the girl he fell in love with
in the past, and in the end, he gave his life for that afterimage of perfection he thought he
captured once, a long time ago.
F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby is cautionary tale. It is a warning to all its readers
of the dangers of choosing to live in ones past, and refusing ones present. The beautiful lens of
nostalgia through which humanity looks at its past, individually and as a whole, is a siren, calling
to people with promises of a better life, a simpler age, all the while leading them to their demise.
Those who turn their heads from the present towards the past trap themselves in a vicious cycle.
They torture themselves over what they should have done in the past, ignoring present
opportunities of joy and happiness. If there is only one message that one takes away from this
novel, it is to forget the past, whether it be good or bad, and build from today, towards tomorrow.