My other (and last) Comp II paper was an analysis on The Great Gatsby and I recommend reading the novel before reading my analysis because it will make more sense (that's a nice logical line of thought now isn't it?). This doesn't mean you can't read my analysis without reading The Great Gatsby it means I don't recommend it. By the way I want to note that I didn't recommend reading The Great Gatsby I recommended reading it if you choose to read my analysis; I felt the need to clarify this because I wasn't impressed with the novel (it was darn near depressing and had a terrible ending) and wouldn't recommend the novel for any other reason. Now that that's cleared up here is my analysis; please enjoy.
The past is an intriguing theme that is deceptively simple to become trapped in; Gatsby fell into its alluring arms and was never able to escape. Robert Frost wrote about the past’s deadly embrace in his poem “Ghost House.” He tells of a man who “dwell[s] in a lonely house I know that vanished many a summer ago” (Frost). The ghost house of Frost’s poem parallels Gatsby’s dream and mirrors the results of living for the dream alone. Gatsby has created an image of Daisy that is based purely in the past and from this image he has built an ethereal house that cannot truly live in the present. Frost’s protagonist “dwell[s] with a strangely aching heart” whereas Gatsby built his house upon his “aching heart” (Frost). Sadly an “aching heart” does not lend itself as a firm foundation when laid in the present; Gatsby dooms himself to complete failure by placing the cornerstone of his dreams directly on his “aching heart” of the past. Gatsby has created a world that effectively welds the past with the present and future to produce a fantastic and predestined dream fated for disaster that survives through him alone (Mizener 121). This is immediately clear from his response to Nick’s warning that the past cannot be repeated: “‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why, of course you can!’” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby’s dream of living in the past is eventually fulfilled completely. He enters the past in the only way one can, the same way the man lives in Frost’s ghost house; Gatsby is transported swiftly into the past by a single bullet. In his death Gatsby’s dream is fulfilled in a way it never could be in life, as he becomes an eternal part of the past that he once held so dear. The past provides company to Gatsby, a group of “tireless folk . . . slow and sad . . . with none among them that ever sings . . . as sweet companions as might be had” (Frost). Perhaps his companions open Gatsby’s eyes in a way they never could be opened in life and reveal to him where the past dwells, deep within the dominion of Dr. Eckleburg, living as nothing more than ashes.
As with the past, the future is a tempting frame in which to live, but hidden within its depths are only death and destruction for any who choose to dwell in it. The opposite of Gatsby, Daisy chooses to live wholly in the future, forever looking ahead so that she misses the present. A discerning reader could compare Daisy’s obsession with the future with Shel Silverstein’s poem “Where the Sidewalk Ends” whose protagonist could be interpreted as one moving toward the future and always seeking “the place where the sidewalk ends” past the dark time of the present “where the smoke blows black and the dark street winds and bends” (Silverstein). In the same way, Daisy is searching for the place where her sidewalk ends and “grass grows soft and white, and . . . the sun burns crimson bright” (Silverstein). She is so focused on the future that she completely overlooks its transition to the present, as shown by her conversation with Tom, Jordan, and Nick when she admits to diligently waiting for the longest day of the year only to miss it when it arrives (Fitzgerald 11). Daisy reaches for the ethereal future and is shocked when she realizes that it slips through her fingers as easily as smoke. Fitzgerald hints at Daisy’s flaw when she attends Gatsby’s party; the only person she likes other than Gatsby is the actress who is little more than a ghost herself, a human who only exists on the silver screen, much like the future Daisy values so highly (Mizener 133). Daisy is unable to grasp that she must enter the future in the same way as everyone else with “a walk that is measured and slow” (Silverstein). Eventually she is awakened to the harsh present when she ruthlessly runs down Tom’s mistress, but her stay in the present does not last long and she soon flees back into the dark comforting arms of the future. She “retreated back into . . . [her] vast carelessness,” never once considering the consequences of her actions in the present (Fitzgerald 179). The Buchanans leave a trail of destruction, looking forward but never back, leaving only Dr. Eckleburg to watch their fires burn down into ashes.
Gatsby clings desperately to his past and Daisy reaches wistfully for her future while Dr. Eckleburg holds silent vigil over the only frame of time one can touch, the omnipotent present. Tragically none of the characters in The Great Gatsby seem to grasp the reality of the present; each dance around it in different ways, Gatsby with his past and Daisy with her future while Nick dapples in both. Nick, however, comes closest to grasping the present, understanding that “the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us . . . elude[s] us,” but he chooses to “run faster, [and] stretch out [his] arms farther” hoping to touch the ever elusive dream in the future rather than to dwell in the frame of the present (Fitzgerald 180). By living in the future or the past, one will quickly lose perspective, forgetting the future is not locked in place but in flux; one may change the future by changing the present. Richard Bach claims “you’re always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past” (Bach 63). Any of Fitzgerald’s characters would have done well to take Bach’s advice; had Gatsby altered his view of the past, an entirely new dream could have come into place; likewise, had Daisy set her mind to change the future, her time in the present would have gained enormous significance. The past and the future are mere vapors next to the reality of the present; they are smoke, untouchable and temporary. Bach describes the times to come and times passed as “a dream[,] [but t]he beauty is real” (Bach 126). The reality of the “beauty” lies in the present and the ability to alter time through one’s choices in the present. In the novel the valley of ashes represent reality, a promise of hopelessness for those who live in outside the current time frame. The only reality is the present, and Dr. Eckleburg watches carefully over this reality, tracking time only as it passes; he alone sees with clarity the dead fires of the past and future that become ashes of the waste land in The Great Gatsby.
Through the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, Fitzgerald provides an excellent point of focus for his novel, an anchor for the reader as the characters chase times gone and yet to come; Dr. Eckleburg “sees everything” while watching over his domain of the present (Fitzgerald 160). Throughout The Great Gatsby, the reader encounters a trepidation of the present; T.S. Eliot describes this phenomena in his masterpiece “The Waste Land,” warning “[y]our shadow at morning striding behind you or your shadow at evening rising to meet you; I will show you fear in a handful of dust.” Fear in The Great Gatsby manifests itself, not in a handful of dust, but in mountains of ash, harsh and blatant reminders of the present deep within the kingdom of Dr. Eckleburg. The discerning reader discovers that it is as pointless to reach for the past or future as attempting to return the ashes to their original forms.
Bach, Richard. Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. New York: Dell, 1977. Print.
Eliot, T.S. “The Waste Land.” Eliot’s Waste Land. Tripod, n.d. Web. 30 April 2010.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print.
Frost, Robert. “Ghost House.” Internal. Unknown, n.d. Web. 30 April 2010.
Mizener, Arthur, ed. F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Collection of Critical Essays. “The Great Gatsby: Thirty-Six Years After.” Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1963. Print.
Silverstein, Shel. “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” Famous Poets and Poems. FamousPoetsandPoems.com, May 2010. Web. 1 May 2010.
The Omnipotent Present
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby stands testament to an age past and a dream that seems to have died long ago, but the eternal significance of the novel lies in the analysis of time that it presents. Within its pages lie a host of contrasts: old money vs. new money, Gatsby and Nick vs. the world, and James Gatz vs. Jay Gatsby, but the principle conflict unites everyone against the eternity of the time. This conflict resounds throughout the ages and is present in the works of many modern authors and poets. Fitzgerald’s characters fight against the present in different ways: Daisy looks toward the future and Gatsby treasures the past, but none have the capacity to grasp the here and now. Only through the impartial eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg may the reader observe time as it passes, past, future, and the supreme present.The past is an intriguing theme that is deceptively simple to become trapped in; Gatsby fell into its alluring arms and was never able to escape. Robert Frost wrote about the past’s deadly embrace in his poem “Ghost House.” He tells of a man who “dwell[s] in a lonely house I know that vanished many a summer ago” (Frost). The ghost house of Frost’s poem parallels Gatsby’s dream and mirrors the results of living for the dream alone. Gatsby has created an image of Daisy that is based purely in the past and from this image he has built an ethereal house that cannot truly live in the present. Frost’s protagonist “dwell[s] with a strangely aching heart” whereas Gatsby built his house upon his “aching heart” (Frost). Sadly an “aching heart” does not lend itself as a firm foundation when laid in the present; Gatsby dooms himself to complete failure by placing the cornerstone of his dreams directly on his “aching heart” of the past. Gatsby has created a world that effectively welds the past with the present and future to produce a fantastic and predestined dream fated for disaster that survives through him alone (Mizener 121). This is immediately clear from his response to Nick’s warning that the past cannot be repeated: “‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why, of course you can!’” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby’s dream of living in the past is eventually fulfilled completely. He enters the past in the only way one can, the same way the man lives in Frost’s ghost house; Gatsby is transported swiftly into the past by a single bullet. In his death Gatsby’s dream is fulfilled in a way it never could be in life, as he becomes an eternal part of the past that he once held so dear. The past provides company to Gatsby, a group of “tireless folk . . . slow and sad . . . with none among them that ever sings . . . as sweet companions as might be had” (Frost). Perhaps his companions open Gatsby’s eyes in a way they never could be opened in life and reveal to him where the past dwells, deep within the dominion of Dr. Eckleburg, living as nothing more than ashes.
As with the past, the future is a tempting frame in which to live, but hidden within its depths are only death and destruction for any who choose to dwell in it. The opposite of Gatsby, Daisy chooses to live wholly in the future, forever looking ahead so that she misses the present. A discerning reader could compare Daisy’s obsession with the future with Shel Silverstein’s poem “Where the Sidewalk Ends” whose protagonist could be interpreted as one moving toward the future and always seeking “the place where the sidewalk ends” past the dark time of the present “where the smoke blows black and the dark street winds and bends” (Silverstein). In the same way, Daisy is searching for the place where her sidewalk ends and “grass grows soft and white, and . . . the sun burns crimson bright” (Silverstein). She is so focused on the future that she completely overlooks its transition to the present, as shown by her conversation with Tom, Jordan, and Nick when she admits to diligently waiting for the longest day of the year only to miss it when it arrives (Fitzgerald 11). Daisy reaches for the ethereal future and is shocked when she realizes that it slips through her fingers as easily as smoke. Fitzgerald hints at Daisy’s flaw when she attends Gatsby’s party; the only person she likes other than Gatsby is the actress who is little more than a ghost herself, a human who only exists on the silver screen, much like the future Daisy values so highly (Mizener 133). Daisy is unable to grasp that she must enter the future in the same way as everyone else with “a walk that is measured and slow” (Silverstein). Eventually she is awakened to the harsh present when she ruthlessly runs down Tom’s mistress, but her stay in the present does not last long and she soon flees back into the dark comforting arms of the future. She “retreated back into . . . [her] vast carelessness,” never once considering the consequences of her actions in the present (Fitzgerald 179). The Buchanans leave a trail of destruction, looking forward but never back, leaving only Dr. Eckleburg to watch their fires burn down into ashes.
Gatsby clings desperately to his past and Daisy reaches wistfully for her future while Dr. Eckleburg holds silent vigil over the only frame of time one can touch, the omnipotent present. Tragically none of the characters in The Great Gatsby seem to grasp the reality of the present; each dance around it in different ways, Gatsby with his past and Daisy with her future while Nick dapples in both. Nick, however, comes closest to grasping the present, understanding that “the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us . . . elude[s] us,” but he chooses to “run faster, [and] stretch out [his] arms farther” hoping to touch the ever elusive dream in the future rather than to dwell in the frame of the present (Fitzgerald 180). By living in the future or the past, one will quickly lose perspective, forgetting the future is not locked in place but in flux; one may change the future by changing the present. Richard Bach claims “you’re always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past” (Bach 63). Any of Fitzgerald’s characters would have done well to take Bach’s advice; had Gatsby altered his view of the past, an entirely new dream could have come into place; likewise, had Daisy set her mind to change the future, her time in the present would have gained enormous significance. The past and the future are mere vapors next to the reality of the present; they are smoke, untouchable and temporary. Bach describes the times to come and times passed as “a dream[,] [but t]he beauty is real” (Bach 126). The reality of the “beauty” lies in the present and the ability to alter time through one’s choices in the present. In the novel the valley of ashes represent reality, a promise of hopelessness for those who live in outside the current time frame. The only reality is the present, and Dr. Eckleburg watches carefully over this reality, tracking time only as it passes; he alone sees with clarity the dead fires of the past and future that become ashes of the waste land in The Great Gatsby.
Through the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, Fitzgerald provides an excellent point of focus for his novel, an anchor for the reader as the characters chase times gone and yet to come; Dr. Eckleburg “sees everything” while watching over his domain of the present (Fitzgerald 160). Throughout The Great Gatsby, the reader encounters a trepidation of the present; T.S. Eliot describes this phenomena in his masterpiece “The Waste Land,” warning “[y]our shadow at morning striding behind you or your shadow at evening rising to meet you; I will show you fear in a handful of dust.” Fear in The Great Gatsby manifests itself, not in a handful of dust, but in mountains of ash, harsh and blatant reminders of the present deep within the kingdom of Dr. Eckleburg. The discerning reader discovers that it is as pointless to reach for the past or future as attempting to return the ashes to their original forms.
Works Cited
Bach, Richard. Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. New York: Dell, 1977. Print.
Eliot, T.S. “The Waste Land.” Eliot’s Waste Land. Tripod, n.d. Web. 30 April 2010.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print.
Frost, Robert. “Ghost House.” Internal. Unknown, n.d. Web. 30 April 2010.
Mizener, Arthur, ed. F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Collection of Critical Essays. “The Great Gatsby: Thirty-Six Years After.” Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1963. Print.
Silverstein, Shel. “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” Famous Poets and Poems. FamousPoetsandPoems.com, May 2010. Web. 1 May 2010.
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