Holding onto the past will always haunt you, even when you try to pretend it never happened. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald proves to us that no matter what, wealth cannot help you escape what is haunting you from the past. Fitzgerald’s use of irony and flashbacks, and showing us critical scenes of how Gatsby is haunted by the past and how he can not escape Daisy’s grasp, and how he came into this world, and left this world in poverty. Gatsby’s love for Daisy in the past will always keep a hold on him, and he is always haunted by the fact that Daisy couldn’t wait for him. In chapter six, we are met with a scene between Daisy and Gatsby. A scene from 5 years prior, when Daisy and Gatsby were alone together, before they had to say goodbye. …show more content…
He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God” (Fitzgerald 70). This scene shows us that Gatsby saw this kiss as the last. He knew that at the end of the day, he and Daisy would split because she could no longer wait for him. Gatsby’s past will always have a hold on him, because all he wants is to regain Daisy’s love again, which will ultimately be his demise. When Fitzgerald writes -- “He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath.” (Fitzgerald 70). We can see that Gatsby knew that he would wait for this girl. Gatsby’s attempts at winning her back with his wealth were never enough, and Gatsby would never be seen as who he really is to Daisy. Gatsby’s need for wealth stems from his family. He watched his parents barely get by, and grow up poor. The entire point of Gatsby’s gain of wealth was to impress Daisy and win her