The Great Gatsby Timeline

Words: 820
Pages: 4

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 180). This is the last line of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is a metaphor and it is relating a boat in harsh waters to life. Fitzgerald is saying that no matter how hard you struggle to move in one direction, the current is going to set us back into where we were in the past. To sum it all up, the meaning of this quote is that life goes on, so you must keep working hard for success. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald exposes the “American Dream” successfully, but also hints at its decline, thorough the character Jay Gatsby by including it in the plot, and by using symbolism.
First, Fitzgerald exposes the “American Dream” in The Great Gatsby successfully by using it in the through the character Jay Gatsby by including it in the plot. The “American Dream” is the ideal that if you live in, or come to the United States, you have an equal opportunity to become successful by working hard. “…so I decided to go East and learn the bond business. Everybody I knew was in the bond business, so I supposed it could support one more single man”
…show more content…
“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… And one fine morning—“(Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 180). This quote at the end of the book, is talking all about hope, and dreams. The green light at the end of Daisy’s was mentioned all throughout the book. What is symbolizes is Gatsby’s hope for the future. The stretching out of the arms symbolizes reaching out for the light of his dreams. The “American Dream” again is about success and achieving your dreams, whether it is for money, for your love, or for anything else you dream of. Fitzgerald exposes that idea almost perfectly in this