Past Or Future: What Drives Jay Gatsby?

Past or Future: What Drives Jay Gatsby? The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a complex social analysis of the effect of exorbitant wealth on the morality of individuals. One of the most mysterious characters during The Great Gatsby is Jay Gatsby who we are introduced to in the first chapter as only a rumour and when Nick finally meets him he is immediately affected by his presence. Jay Gatsby is surrounded by this mystique as he is the first character that Nick portrays as completely genuine but as the audience we wonder what truly drives Gatsby is it the hope of a good future or is he trying to retrace the past. However, although Gatsby’s success may be attributed to what he does after his relationship with Daisy, there are many times when Gatsby only sees his future and wealth as stepping stones to reach his goal, which is to remedy his past and get back with Daisy. This is clearly shown with his own belief that reliving the past is possible, his desire to remain with Daisy, and the various attractions he sets up to capture and almost ensnare Daisy.

However, this statement can only be made under the assumption that Gatsby doesn’t believe he can retrace the past but that he can help remedy what shortcoming he had earlier. This assumption is clearly not true because on pg 110 Nick tells Gatsby that he cannot repeat the past to which Gatsby responds “Why of course you can”. This shows that Gatsby truly believes that is something that can simply be retraced which is a big difference from remeding a past. Retracing the past assumes that whatever previous action was taken will be erased from the memories of those involved which is something Nick correctly states as impossible. However, with this in mind we are able to further understand the mystique surrounding Gatsby and why he does the things he