In the two novels, The Great Gatsby and The Things They Carried, Jay Gatsby and Lieutenant Cross share a common obsession with the past. Both men embellish and spend a great amount of time trying to recreate the past. Gatsby’s unrelenting love for Daisy consumes his every thought, while Lieutenant Cross’ daydreaming about his sweetheart lead to his men’s demise in the jungles of Vietnam. While reflecting on the past can be productive, to dwell upon it or try to recreate it is detrimental to personal progress. Gatsby and Lieutenant Cross both exhibit a fixation on the past which inhibits their ability to live fully in the present.
Jay Gatsby’s love for Daisy never extinguished after the burning chemistry they had during their brief encounter …show more content…
Although their romance never really took flight, Lieutenant Cross was fully enveloped with his college love, Martha. He would often reminisce on their first and only date while he was in Vietnam, to the point of excluding his military duties. “Remember[ing] touching that left knee… He would always remember the feel of the tweed skirt and the knee beneath it” (4). In the heat of war, Lieutenant Cross recollects the nonviable dream of his love with Martha back home. It is the mystery of his “she loves me, she loves me not”, the very uncertainty of their relationship, that ushers him through the war and ultimately back home to find out the truth. At his class reunion after the war, Lieutenant Cross, “Took [Martha’s] hand, there was no pressure in return, and later still, when he told her he still loved her, she kept walking and didn’t answer” (28). After carrying photos of his one true love through the war in the hopes that he would be requited with Martha, Lieutenant Cross’s fantasy came up short. Martha’s feelings about him had not changed since their awkward encounter at the movies, although he liked to imagine they had while at war. His pursuit of Martha’s love had gotten him through one of the most difficult times in his life, but ultimately the feelings were not mutual and he was let down. Once again, lofty expectations of a relationship ultimately left love’s pursuer
Jay Gatsby’s love for Daisy never extinguished after the burning chemistry they had during their brief encounter …show more content…
Although their romance never really took flight, Lieutenant Cross was fully enveloped with his college love, Martha. He would often reminisce on their first and only date while he was in Vietnam, to the point of excluding his military duties. “Remember[ing] touching that left knee… He would always remember the feel of the tweed skirt and the knee beneath it” (4). In the heat of war, Lieutenant Cross recollects the nonviable dream of his love with Martha back home. It is the mystery of his “she loves me, she loves me not”, the very uncertainty of their relationship, that ushers him through the war and ultimately back home to find out the truth. At his class reunion after the war, Lieutenant Cross, “Took [Martha’s] hand, there was no pressure in return, and later still, when he told her he still loved her, she kept walking and didn’t answer” (28). After carrying photos of his one true love through the war in the hopes that he would be requited with Martha, Lieutenant Cross’s fantasy came up short. Martha’s feelings about him had not changed since their awkward encounter at the movies, although he liked to imagine they had while at war. His pursuit of Martha’s love had gotten him through one of the most difficult times in his life, but ultimately the feelings were not mutual and he was let down. Once again, lofty expectations of a relationship ultimately left love’s pursuer