Why Is The Past Important In The Great Gatsby

In examining the effects of regret, turning to novels and works of literary fiction reveals aspects of human behavior one may regress to in order to soothe past regrets or dwell on the past. Through writing, authors have the ability to display the repercussions that fictional characters face when ignoring the present and future. In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, these authors display the theme with realism and intention of revealing how the behavior of ignoring the present is harmful.

Indeed, in “A Rose for Emily”, author William Faulkner explores the dissolution that stakes claim in the mind of those

Carraway talks to a friend of Gatsby and finds out that “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 61). Gatsby is blindsided by his past and his need to make his present become his past so he can fix mistakes from his past. He has regret for his past and his past for regret. His existence is built upon the hope that Daisy will one day fall back in love with him like she once was. Fitzgerald shows that Gatsby is stuck in the past and that all his choices are made with the intention of revising the past. Everything he has made for himself, like his wealth and flashy parties, has been for his hopeful desire that he will win Daisy back. In addition, Gatsby feels denial about Daisy choosing her husband over Gatsby, saying to Carraway that he doesn't “think she ever loved” her husband (Fitzgerald 116). Gatsby does not accept the fact Daisy doesn’t want to be with him anymore as she has moved on with her life. He is still trying to bring the past back to life and has made it his life mission. He starts lying to himself and rewrites the past to help ignore the present situation and how it did not live up to his desires. Therefore, The Great Gatsby shows how an obsession with the past and making every choice with the goal of revising a situation one regrets only results in denial and misery, as well as a lack of fulfillment. So, The Great Gatsby and A Streetcar Named Desire both demonstrate the negative things that

Longe shows that people, if they truly desire, can manifest the past into the present, which has its own set of issues on halting self-growth and further enabling escapism, a professor of sociology at Brandeis University, Morrie Schwartz, examines the perspective of why people should let go the past in order to live a fulfilling life, with philosophical advice. Professor Schwartz, whose teachings and wisdom are contained in the novel Tuesdays with Morrie, a novel written during Schwartz and his former student Mitch Albom’s Tuesday meetings, allows one to see the value of living in the present moment. One Tuesday, Schwartz and Albom have a discussion about death and Schwartz provides insight about living life to the fullest, saying people should know that eventually, they will die and that one should be “prepared for it at any time…that way you can actually be more involved in your life while you're living” (Albom 76). Morrie Schwartz provides the perspective he has learned being terminally ill and having studied sociology and relays that people are too caught up in their own thoughts and worries, that they forget to live life as they are too focused on the things that no longer matter, like the past. Schwartz examines how life is not fulfilling for many people because “most of us all walk around as if we’re sleepwalking. We really don't experience the world fully, because we’re half-asleep, doing things we automatically