Change In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Tim Seibles Dolores Jepps, and Jesmyn Ward's foreword, all of the texts show how holding onto the past and not being able to change can lead to great disappointment. This can be seen through Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy and the author's memories from the poem. The foreword also highlights the importance of change and how it affects Gatsby's dream. Gatsby’s idea of the past and his inability to move forward is seen throughout the novel, but it is especially seen when Nick says “He wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy(Fitzgerald 85). This quote calls attention to Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy, which shows his lack of ability to move forward and accept changes. Gatsby also believed in “the green light, the orgastic

A quote from this article that perfectly shows this states “It’s ironic that he is so in love with the moment of greatest possibility in his youth, the moment he kissed Daisy, but his love for that moment has rendered all other avenues of possibility impossible, has fossilized him, sealed him in amber, turned him to stone — made it possible for him to see only one version of himself."(Ward). This quote displays the negative side of not being able to let go of the past, Gatsby is stuck on one moment from his youth, like he’s stuck on part of time. This limits him from being able to grow as a person, which can be seen in his struggle to move past his old dream of being with Daisy. For Gatsby his “dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it” but Gatsby “did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city.”(Ward). Gatsby believes that no matter what his dream of being with Daisy will come true, but he fails to realize that this dream is far behind