Recapturing the past and changing one's future are themes that run throughout The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby, the narrator's mysterious and wealthy neighbour, is the book's protagonist. Despite the fact that we begin the novel knowing very little about Gatsby, we can infer from Nick's introduction and the book's title that the story will revolve around Gatsby. It becomes clearer and clearer as the story unfolds that Gatsby has his sights set on Daisy, who is Nick's cousin and the girl he once loved. Anyone or anything standing in the way of Gatsby and Daisy is deemed an enemy. Daisy's husband Tom is the clear-cut antagonist in the novel; however, a number of other more abstract concepts—such as class differences and societal expectations—can also be considered antagonistic.. Time itself is the most formidable foe, preventing Gatsby from reclaiming what he has lost.
For the most part, the narrative is linear, beginning with Nick's arrival in New York, where he becomes Gatsby's neighbour. Gatsby is a well-to-do man whose past is shrouded in mystery. Nick learns from a chance encounter at a party that despite Gatsby's success, he has only one desire: Daisy. Through the novel, the central goal of Gatsby is to re-meet Daisy and reclaim their shared past. Myrtle, Tom's mistress, is introduced to Nick during a trip to the city. Jordan reveals to Nick about Daisy's past when Nick arranges a reunion between Gatsby and Daisy in the novel's rising action. During their reconciliation, Gatsby tells Nick one version of his life story. It turns out that many of the stories Gatsby tells about himself are either lies or half-truths. Gatsby's tragic heroism is reinforced by the fantastical nature of his stories, which lends to the mythic quality of his history.
When Daisy and Gatsby are together, Nick is drawn into their romance, despite the fact that the couple's future appears bleak due to Gatsby's inability to separate his dreams from reality. The reader, like Nick, can see the discrepancy between Gatsby's idealised memory of Daisy and the person she turns out to be. There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy fell short of his dreams... it had gone beyond her, beyond everything," Fitzgerald writes of Gatsby's relationship with Daisy, portraying her as a shallow, materialistic figure. In the city, Gatsby tells everyone that he and Daisy have fallen in love and are planning to run away and wed.
While Daisy can't say she doesn't love Tom, Tom insists she will never leave him. For the first time, Gatsby is forced to confront the possibility that his idealised vision of Daisy will never come true, and to see her in the present moment rather than in his idealised memory. Even now, he is confident that she will eventually choose him over Tom.
In her youth, Daisy Buchanan is an example of the contrast between materialism and spirituality. Because "...I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me...," she was a young lady who loved Gatsby but didn't marry him. (137). As a result of Daisy's materialism, when she married Tom, she had high expectations for their marriage, but she soon discovered that she was unhappy despite her wealth.
Daisy appears to have returned to her pre-marital persona after seeing Gatsby for the first time in over five years. "...I'd like to just get one of those pink clouds and put you in it and push you around," she whispered to GOD as she looked up at the sky. (99). Now that her spiritual side is revealed, we can see how meeting Gatsby may have helped solidify her sense of self.
Materialism is a major theme in Tom Buchanan's story. Due to his wealth, he believes that he is above the law and can do whatever he wants, including cheating on his wife. To which she responded, hesitantly, "Tom has a woman in New York. Why do you ask?" (19). Materialism has gotten into Tom's head and he thinks he can buy happiness with any item he chooses because of his wealth.
He shows both materialism and spirituality in Gatsby, which is an interesting contrast. Thanks to Daisy, Gatsby serves as a textbook case study in consumerism. Everything he had was for Daisy, and he hoped he would be able to impress her when he saw her one day.
Daisy's house is a perfect example of this dream because it was built just for her. "'Doesn't my house look nice?' he asked. The front of it catches the light beautifully, as you can see." (95) It dawned on him that Daisy didn't wait to marry another man because he was poor, so he made it his life goal to become wealthy and perhaps impress Daisy one day.
The novel's climax occurs as the group returns from New York in two cars, and Tom's lover, Myrtle, runs out into the street and is hit and killed by Gatsby's car. Daisy is behind the wheel of the car that hits and kills Myrtle. After this, the situation is quickly resolved. In order to keep Daisy safe, Gatsby takes the blame, and George, Myrtle's husband, kills Gatsby (and then himself) in retaliation.
With Daisy not calling or running away with him, the death of Jay Gatsby is already a metaphorical reality for him. He finally wakes up from his lucid dream, and for the first time, he faces the reality of his impending demise. According to Nick, a rose is a "unbearably ugly thing" and the sunlight that falls on the sparsely created grass is "raw." The final chapters of Gatsby's life are dominated by newness, creation, and the future, which he finds hideous without his dream of Daisy in it.
Towards the book's conclusion, Nick is forced to confront the harsh reality that his mysterious and glamorous neighbour was actually the poor son of farmers who became embroiled in criminal activities and had no other friends but Nick to turn to.
A funeral is being organised for Gatsby, but none of the guests from his lavish parties will attend. Nick is left alone with Gatsby's father, "James Gatz," who reveals the truth of his son's humble beginnings as "James Gatz." Angered by the "distortions" of the East, Nick returns to his hometown in the Midwest after the funeral. For his final visit to the house, he reflects on the power of the green light at the end of Daisy's dock that had given Gatsby so much hope that he died believing he could relive the past. We continue to fight against the current, "boats against the current, being carried back ceaselessly into the past," says he, including himself in the tragedy of Gatsby's demise.
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