"Can't repeat the past?" Why, of course you can!"

"Can't repeat the past?" Why, of course you can!" Gatsby is saying this as he's talking with Nick about his reuniting relationship with Daisy. It is significant because it is he is trying to catch up with the time he has lost in his life, for example the scene where he catches the clock he knocks over in Chapter 7. He is trying to redo his life but is trying to perfect past events, like his relationship with Daisy, and his lifestyle.

"They're a rotten crowd. You're worth the whole damn bunch put together." An excerpt from The Great Gatsby, showing the deep and subtle nuances of the text. In the passage Nick is speaking to Gatsby as he leaves. It's the last time Nick ever sees Gatsby and is important as such. The passage is important because it's the only compliment Nick ever gave Gatsby. It's also important because it's one of the few passages that subtlety shows Nick's true sexuality.

"They were careless people....They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money...and let other people clean up their messes."

Nick was talking about Daisy and Tom Buchanan when he said this in chapter nine, page 179. This was towards the end of the book, after Gatsby died and Tom and Daisy went away and came back to the state. Nick saw Tom outside a jewelry store and they shook hands. Nick says this right after he is thinking about how he could never forgive or like Tom. His justification for not liking or forgiving him is that they were careless. The quote says that "They smashed up things and creatures..." This part of the quote could be saying that rich people or those with a lot of money cause havoc. They ruin fun of things and act too proper. The rest of the quote "...And then retreated back into their money...and let other people clean up their messes." You could take this literally and say that they were rich and when they were done causing their havoc, they went right back to all of their things they bought with their riches and let the maids clean up after them. It shows how materialistic Tom and Daisy were. Other people in this book were mentioned as being materialistic, also.

gatsby quote analysis

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us....so we beat on, boats against the tide, borne back ceaselessly into the past." The significance of this quote is the attitude Gatsby had, opposed to the popular attitude in the 1920's. Gatsby was looking forward to the future, even planning it out. Others in the time period cared only for the present, thus dooming themselves to ever repeat the past. The irony is that Gatsby was the one who wanted to repeat his past in the future.

Gatsby final quotes

For this assessment, you are asked to post your reaction to one of the 10 quotes/passages. Your response should tell us who is speaking and in what situation and then go on to explain its significance in terms of one of the themes of the book that we have discussed. You must choose a quote that has not already been chosen, so don't procrastinate!

1. "Can't repeat the past?" Why, of course you can!"

2. "I hate careless people. That's why I like you."

3. "I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea you can count me out."

4. "It makes me sad because I've never seen such beautiful shirts."

5. "It doesn't matter any more. Just tell him the truth -- that you never loved him -- an it's wiped out forever."

6. "They're a rotten crowd. You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."

7. "They were careless people....They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money...and let other people clean up their messes."

8. "Oh you want too much! I love you now... isn't that enough? I can't help what's past."

9. "Gatsby turned out all right in the end -- it's what preyed upon him, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of man."

10. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us....so we beat on, boats against the tide, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Socratic seminar questions about Gatsby

Here are the topics we will be discussing in Socratic seminar style. You should be prepared to discuss all four of them -- and, you will be graded on your part in each discussion. You will then choose one of the four as the subject of 2-3 page essay over vacation, supporting your point of view with quotes from the text.

1. Tom Armstrong, a literary critic, wrote in the magazine Zen Unbound: "It is easy to dislike Tom and identify him as the villain of the book...But Tom clearly is trapped by his unhappiness and dissatisfaction with life. He is blocked in his spiritual development by the very success he has over others. And for that, despite everything, he should have our sympathy." Do you agree with Armstrong's opinion. Do you think Fitzgerald provides enough motivation to allow the reader to be sympathetic towards Tom? Support your assertions with quotes from the text. (Think especially about chapter 7).

2. Again, in the article Zen Unbound, Armstrong writes of Daisy that "delusion is her shield, her warm fur coat; but this should not be taken to mean that we must view her as a bad person." Do you agree or disagree with this statement.

3. A writer once said: "We cannot judge people from their actions; it is from their careless conversations and half-finished sentences that we may hope with the greatest probability to discover people's real characters." Use this quote as your thesis statement and discuss how the seemingly meaningless comments and half-finished sentences in The Great Gatsby reveal character.

4. George's delusions about the billboard being God leads him to the fateful act of Chapter 8. But what was Fitzgerald's real purpose and meaning for the billboard advertising T.J. Eckleberg's services. What does this billboard symbolize? Support your assertion with quotes from the text.

5. In the same article, Tom Armstrong suggests that Nick and Mr. McKee had a sexual encounter at the end of the party in Chapter 2. What do you think? And if you think they did, what purpose would this serve in the scheme of the novel? Support your assertions with quotes from the text.