Pastor and author Rick Warren said, “We are products of our past, but we don 't have to be prisoners of it” (GoodReads). Warren argues that an individual’s past does indeed shape the person one becomes in the present. The past will inevitably guide one’s decisions. However, Warren says that one can not let his past gain dominance. It is when one lets his past control him that he loses track of the present all together. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald argues that a person should let go of his past, while Toni Morrison, in Beloved, believes in letting the past be one’s guide. However, in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer argues a compromise of the two conflicting ideas. Based on these texts, an individual
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Scott Fitzgerald displays how letting the past be one’s guide inhibits a person from progressing into the future. At the end of the novel, Nick Carraway describes Gatsby’s mindset about the green light. When reflecting on Gatsby, Nick narrates, “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 ----- So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (180). Nick describes Gatsby as unable to let go of the past, represented by the green light. Although the past is ever so elusive, Gatsby continues to strive to materialize the past into the present. He is never able to accept that Daisy is nothing more than a memory. Therefore, Gatsby continuously tries to regress into the past, yet he is thrusted back into the present with every attempt he makes to regain his departed bliss. Gatsby is never able to realize he must surrender his past in order to salvage his …show more content…
While Oskar is searching for the lock which the key fits into, he maintains a connection to his father, even though his father has passed. He still is not able to cope with the fact that his father is no longer in his life. However, once Oskar finally finds that the key has nothing to do with his father, Oskar says, “Looking for it let me stay close to [my father] for a little while longer,” and when the renter asks Oskar, “But won’t you always be close to him?” Oskar responds, “No” (304). The search for the key was a search for closure with Oskar’s father’s death. He held on to the past due to not properly understanding it. By searching for answers, although not finding any, Oskar starts to realize that he can not be close to his father forever. At some point, he must be willing to accept the fact that his father is dead and carry on with his life. By having this realization, Oskar discovers that he can not let his past dictate his
Scott Fitzgerald displays how letting the past be one’s guide inhibits a person from progressing into the future. At the end of the novel, Nick Carraway describes Gatsby’s mindset about the green light. When reflecting on Gatsby, Nick narrates, “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 ----- So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (180). Nick describes Gatsby as unable to let go of the past, represented by the green light. Although the past is ever so elusive, Gatsby continues to strive to materialize the past into the present. He is never able to accept that Daisy is nothing more than a memory. Therefore, Gatsby continuously tries to regress into the past, yet he is thrusted back into the present with every attempt he makes to regain his departed bliss. Gatsby is never able to realize he must surrender his past in order to salvage his …show more content…
While Oskar is searching for the lock which the key fits into, he maintains a connection to his father, even though his father has passed. He still is not able to cope with the fact that his father is no longer in his life. However, once Oskar finally finds that the key has nothing to do with his father, Oskar says, “Looking for it let me stay close to [my father] for a little while longer,” and when the renter asks Oskar, “But won’t you always be close to him?” Oskar responds, “No” (304). The search for the key was a search for closure with Oskar’s father’s death. He held on to the past due to not properly understanding it. By searching for answers, although not finding any, Oskar starts to realize that he can not be close to his father forever. At some point, he must be willing to accept the fact that his father is dead and carry on with his life. By having this realization, Oskar discovers that he can not let his past dictate his