Examples Of Delusion In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story about the life of Jay Gatsby as seen through the narrator, Nick. The story takes place in New York in the 1920s as the narrator Nick Carraway live as a neighbor near Jay Gatsby. The novel depicts the life of Nick as he grows close as a friend to Gatsby. As the novel goes on, there are more and more characters that largely affect the outcome of the story. The novel also depicts how each character has his or her own conflicts that affect everyone else. Gatsby wishes to marry Daisy after they have not seen each other in a long time, while Nick tells Gatsby that he cannot repeat the past. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the theme of delusion through the idea that the past cannot be repeated through Gatsby, Nick, and Daisy.

Scott Fitzgerald uses the theme of delusion through the idea that the past cannot be repeated through Jay Gatsby. In the criticism, Harold Bloom states that Gatsby “relives the years when he and Daisy dated, thinking that his new money will return him to the happiness of his youth and to the woman of his dreams” (Bloom 1). Gatsby is a different person, so is Daisy, and the past cannot be repeated. Bloom depicts how Gatsby views the idea of delusion. Gatsby sees Daisy as she was when he first left her. This view of Daisy through Gatsby is one of the reasons why he wants to be with Daisy. Nick has to tell Gatsby directly that he “cannot repeat the past” (Fitzgerald 110) and cannot date Daisy. Even after Nick tells him, Gatsby denies the fact that the lady he dated years ago is not the same person anymore and is no longer interested in him. Gatsby’s character is one who constantly looks back on the past and wishes to repeat