Essay On Aphorism In The Great Gatsby

The Gods of Greek mythology condemned Sisyphus to forever roll a boulder up a hill, only to have it continually fall back down the hill before he could finish his task. This eternity of progression followed by regression is seen not only in the death of a mythological character, but throughout life as well. Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, and Nick from The Great Gatsby, and even 1920’s society itself, move both forward and backward simultaneously as they navigate the waters of life. F. Scott Fitzgerald addresses this aphorism throughout the novel, and his final lines summarize it succinctly: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Fitzgerald, 189). F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the main characters in his novel, The Great Gatsby, to portray the ebb and flow …show more content…
At first, his intentions are kind and caring, albeit excessive. He throws lavish parties in hopes of meeting Daisy and invites her to tea, hoping to imitate their romantic past. He goes too far, however, and becomes obsessed with his fanatical expectations of their relationship: “He talked a lot about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy” (Fitzgerald, 117). As soon as he begins moving forward with Daisy, Gatsby ruins their relationship with his need for perfection. He tries to force Daisy to forget her past life, to lie about her feelings; he uses his last energy in pursuit of an ever-retreating goal. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” (Fitzgerald, 189). The green light represents Daisy. Gatsby’s belief that their relationship required perfection is what made it impossible for them to be together. Gatsby’s living in the past moved him so far backward that he could not escape its pull, eventually giving