Live In The Present In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Live in the Present In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald conveys Nick’s revelation about the duality of human nature through symbolism, visual imagery, and metaphors to illustrate one may only care for things that will benefit them in the future. Primarily, Fitzgerald characterizes humans as ambitious through metaphor and visual imagery in order to show that humans are only focused on their own futures. The society of New York wants to always be in the future and obtain what is next. Looking back at Gatsby, Nick realizes “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther....” (Fitzgerald). Again,

They want to move forward with their lives and onto the next challenges, yet they are kept in place or in the present. By “beating on”, it reveals to the reader that it is a never-ending cycle. Once a dream is achieved, all that is looked at is the future or the next dream. Humans in general always want to achieve the next goal or jump the next hurdle. Yet, by doing this, they are neglecting the present and what is around them at the moment. Moreover, Fitzgerald characterizes the society as careless through visual imagery and metaphors to illustrate that one does not care for the world around them. Nick realizes that humans only look for things that benefit them and their dreams. One revelation starts in the past, “I spent my Saturday nights in New York because those gleaming, dazzling parties were with me so vividly that I could still hear the music and the laughter faint and incessant from his garden and the cars going up and down his drive. One night I did hear a material car there and saw its lights stop at his front steps. But I didn’t investigate it. Probably it was some final guest who had been away at the ends of the earth and didn’t know that the party was over”