How Does The Great Gatsby Affect The Future

ysy Lopez-Zamora
Mr.Tracy
AP Language and Composition
12 April 2023
Confrontation with the past Even small decisions can impact or alter what the future may look like for each person as an individual, but they may also affect those whom they surround. One of the biggest decisions for Jay Gatsby, had him commit to an illusion of a life alongside someone beyond reach. The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F.Scott Fitzgerald, shows how Gatsby’s past affected the way he made decisions for the present day by showcasing the motives and value behind some of his choices, the kind of reputation he has built from his past, and how all his actions led him to his ultimate misfortune in order to prove how one’s past can really affect the future.
There are

Gatsby was very secretive and kept mostly to himself for years, which was why many came up with their own conclusions. For example, on page 50, some believed that Gatsby had been a German spy. His reputation has built upon what he had done, which in this case, Gatsby built an empire from almost nothing as his “parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people. (Fitzgerald 91) With such speculations, Gatsby always had to be careful with what he did, such as who he was seen with, and where he went to. But the past he confronted in the present could also be said that it affected him in some good ways as well. This is important because Fitzgerald gives the reader a way of Gaysby’s thoughts, such as when he confronted the police officer and Gatsby says that he “was able to do the commissioner a favor once.” (Fitzgerald 68) This shows that whatever past he had with this certain character, like when the police officer pulled him over, on page 68, Gatsby simply showed him the relationship between him and the commissioner by showing the Christmas card, giving a kind of friendly advantage. Another example would be through the own perspective of Nick Carraway. It could be seen that Nick thought that Gatsby was “worth the whole damn bunch put together” and when

This is mostly illustrated near the end of the book when all the pieces start adding up. First, it is seen when Gatsby takes up the offer of switching cars with Tom on page 109, and it later affects him with Myrtles’s misunderstanding and her death. Although Gatsby is not the one who committed the crime, he was then responsible because it was his car that had run Myrtle over. Such even like this comes from a small decision that seemed harmless when it was taken at the time, but decisions like these from the past, that he had to confront throughout the book. Another example would be when Gatsby decided to befriend Wolfshiem. Although it was presumed that he and Wolfsheim were great friends, when such friends are criminals, it makes it difficult for them, to be loyal, especially during times of need. After Gatsby's death, Nick sets out to find Wolfsheim to attend Gatsbys’ funeral, but because of Wolfsheims criminal antecedents, he is unable to attend, as he states that he couldn’t “get mixed up with it.”(Fitzgerald 147) Similar to Wolfsheim, another one of Gatsby’s so call friends called Klipspringer, also decided not to show up, and even thought that materialistic things were far more important than showing up to his funeral. This just shows that not only Gatsby was not good at making decisions about who to become friends with, but that it all led