nostalgic memories

The single biggest disadvantage of romanticizing nostalgic memories of the past is that it makes it easier for us to fantasize and ignore the problems of the present. When we put on our rose-colored glasses to peer into a different time, desperate for something that is fundamentally out of our reach, we cease to think about the consequences it may have on our present, perhaps harming our future as well.

Jay Gatsby is a prime example of this. The goal of his life is to recreate the sweet memories he shared with the Daisy Fay of the past. Her "bright ecstatic smile" (90) and "lovely" (13) face had captivated him as a young soldier—but she gave it all to another. Five years later, he stubbornly believes that the dim romance that was on the verge of blossoming between them still has a chance to bloom into the fragrant flower of true love.

With his eyes set on this target, Gatsby becomes blind to what he has made of his present life. He has reduced himself to a man with an unhealthy eagerness to climb the social ladder—as he forges “gonnegtion[s]” (75) with shady people—and a desperate greed for amassing wealth—as he becomes involved in organized crime. His emotional frame is out of sync with the passage of time. In fact, the knocking over of Nick's clock during his first reunion with Daisy is a clear symbol of the clumsiness of Gatsby's attempt to stop time and retrieve the past.

By glamorizing the sentimental memories of former times, Gatsby essentially allows them to dictate his very existence. He thrives on the wild hope that Daisy will one day return to him, and when he realizes that she has slipped "out of reach of his hand" (117), he can no longer survive. Similar to Roger Chillingworth of The Scarlet Letter, Gatsby perishes when his life’s purpose is defeated.