Present Moment In The Great Gatsby

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Fitzgerald exhibits reunions to be hopeful through Gatsby’s declarative tone, Gatsby remembrance of such a date depicts his euphoria at being reacquainted with his beloved. Gatsby has been longing to see Daisy from the moment he left for Europe, his love for Daisy has not ceased in the years this can be see through his ecstatic- overjoyed behaviour at having Daisy within his reach. “Five years next November. The automatic quality of Gatsby’s answer set us all back at least another minute.” At this point of the narrative Gatsby feels that the gravity of the moment is not being received well. In actual fact, Gatsby's fears not only lie in anticipation but they lie in expectation. Gatsby’s expectations are unknown to Daisy and Nick, whom converse with one another without the slightest …show more content…

Reality here collides with Gatsby at the present moment, all that Gatsby has dreamed of is happening at the present moment. Gatsby’s state of stress and expectation, Gatsby’s comment “set us all back”. The idea of "set us all back" is to reflect a momentary halt that has occurred in the flow of the conversation. The characters being taken back by Gatsby’s comment is because it was completely unforeseen to the situation. Gatsby's remembrance of a decade to the month when he and Daisy first met, "set us all back" because it is an expression that weighs very heavy with Gatsby’s optimistic attitude. Fitzgerald makes this one of the most challenging elements of conveying the truth of real experience. It "sets" everyone "back" because it expresses truthfulness in a world that might not necessarily validate it. In this light, Gatsby's comment is real and authentic, "set us all back," only for "at least a