Great Gatsby Analysis

Fitzgerald's hopeless and reminiscent tones reflect his character's realization that time has slipped from the beautiful and magical past to a future in which all hope is lost. As time wears on, the magnificence of the land is destroyed and the country falls into a grim future which offers no chance of achieving dreams. The land itself no longer possesses its past wonder, Gatsby's dreams managed to escape him, and the people must beat on to a grim future even when they long to return to the more admirable past.

On the last page of the novel, Fitzgerald's diction shows a marvelous land full of life and beauty. The old island once "flowered" for sailors as they stumbled upon a "fresh, green breast of the new world." The trees that once occupied the land had whisper[ed] and the entire scene filled man's "capacity for wonder." The words display an almost surreal land full of opportunity and hope, but it is made clear that the country has fallen from the peak of glory and lost its aesthetically pleasing structure. "For the last time in history" man saw in a "transitory moment" the wonder of a new world. The passing of the awesomeness of the land is compared by Fitzgerald to the passing of dreams. Gatsby was so close to his dream that he could "hardly fail to grasp it," but he did not know that it was "already behind him." Like the freshness of the land, Gatsby's dreams had diminished and past before he could realize what had happened and stop them from escaping him. His dreams melted into obscurity, leaving him with no hope of coming close to achieving them.

In the next to last paragraph, Gatsby's dreams are compared to a future that is constantly moving beyond reach. The future is almost touchable, just beyond the distance of an outstretched hand, yet no matter how he stretches he can never grasp it. His dreams present the same dilemma: they are unattainable. All hope has been almost destroyed at this point, but is slightly rekindled by the wording and syntax finishing the paragraph. Fitzgerald says that "to-morrow we will run faster," and continues the metaphor by saying that we will "stretch out our arms farther" so that maybe one day we will be able to cling onto that seemingly untouchable goal. When Fitzgerald talks about chasing the future and dreams, his writing becomes more broken and fast paced. His statements are hyphenated and he uses ellipses. The brokenness of the writing coupled with his words convey a mildly excited mindset, a slight hopefulness that one day people will be able to achieve their dreams.

Fitzgerald's diction, syntax, and comparisons blend beautifully to enforce his character's hopelessness, to show the grimness of the present and the future of aspirations and dreams. The ethereal past has progressed to mere memory, leaving a far from splendid present to haunt the world.