Letting Go Of The Past: The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Mrs. Forker

Re’Sean Dupree

English 11, Honors

27 February 2023 Letting Go of the Past The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald draws attention to the inequalities in how people lived in the 1920s. The story concentrates on Jay Gatsby's life and the money that comes with it, as seen by his home, possessions, and the numerous lavish parties he hosts for large crowds. When Jay Gatsby first meets Nick, he asks him to help revive the love between him and Daisy. His strategy for winning her back was to show off his money and drown her in it, but it didn't work out that way, and his actions ultimately caused his demise. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the imagery of Nick's clock, Doctor Eckleburg's spectacles, and Gatsby's lavish

Eckleburg's glasses are another representation of how sticking to the past is not a great choice, and they emphasize how there is always a higher power watching over all individuals. In Gatsby’s case, they highlight the haunting waste of the past, and as they stare down upon him they are judging him and the rest of society. The eyes are described very well as Fitzgerald explains in the passage, “The eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg are blue and gigantic - their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face but instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose” (Fitzgerald 27). The glasses don't belong to a face but instead are staring down out of spectacles, this makes them more ominous as they’re noticed. The way they’re depicted makes them stand out and is hard to miss. Although the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg might be located in the Valley of Ashes, they stand high and look over all the dust and ash as they reflect on and impose consequences on individuals' actions. Fitzgerald writes, “But above the gray land and the spasms of black dust, which drift endlessly over it, you perceive, after a moment, the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg''(Fitzgerald 27). The eyes highlight the moral and spiritual deterioration of American society, regardless of position in social class they enforce consequences based on actions. Gatsby trying to revisit the past resulted in accidents that changed many people's lives for good, and the eyes of Dr. Eckleburg

Before Gatsby was aware of Nick being familiar with Daisy, he was living perfectly fine, throwing lively parties with lots of guests and it was all smiles. Fitzgerald writes in detail. “On weekends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight. While his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bag to meet all the trains”(Fitzgerald 44-45). Gatsby's life was going well and everything was positive for him, this all changed when he came up with the plan that involved using Nick to talk to Daisy again and show her his home. While Gatsby may have thought things were going to work out with her, he was only putting himself in a vulnerable position. Fitzgerald shows exactly how different Gatsby and his house were before he re-encountered Daisy, “The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music and the opera of voices pitches a key higher”(Fitzgerald 44-45). The energetic feeling given off by his house represents how he would feel, if Gatsby was happy his house would be crowded with happy people. When events don't go as Gatsby hoped, it is clear how he and the things around him change. The house also reflects Gatsby as a whole, and its appearance ties back to how Gatsby is feeling and how things are working out for him. This is made