Great Gatsby Nostalgia Analysis

Two of the most prominent themes in the Great Gatsby are ambition and nostalgia, which are represented throughout the book by the actions and behaviors of the characters. The book uses the two qualities often to gauge the characters on a scale of characters like Tom Buchanan, who are stuck in the past, to Gatsby, who is never satisfied with his current position. To me, the “scale” is also used to a certain degree to determine the quality of a character, at least in Nick’s eyes. Gatsby in particular is unique in that he embodies both ambition and nostalgia, and almost does not fit on the scale. Gatsby never stopped trying to rise higher in social standing until the very end of his life, making him possibly the most ambitious character in the

book. Despite his overwhelming ambition, for most of the book Gatsby hangs on to his memories of Daisy, attempting to go back to the life with her. While in other cases (for example, Tom Buchanan) nostalgia seems to nullify ambition, it coexists with Gatsby’s ambition and motivates his dream to reach Daisy’s social standing so he can relive being with her.
Gatsby was born to poor farmers, but he considered himself destined for greater things. In his mind, Gatsby should not be in the same social and economic class as his parents. In fact, “his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.” (63) At this point in his life, he is not motivated by Daisy or nostalgia, but simply by the desire of self-betterment that appears in everyone. Gatsby in this sense is very admirable to me; compared to the other characters, he possesses a greater drive to succeed. However, Gatsby sees self-betterment exclusively as getting more money and rising into the social class above him. This makes him less relatable; he seems to care more about money and status than even his own happiness. Gatsby immediately starts climbing in social standing, but finds it not fast enough when he meets Daisy. He pretends to be of higher standing than he is, so that he can talk to Daisy. She becomes his goal, his most unobtainable ambition. She represents the very top of the social classes and the abundance of money to him, which is his ultimate desire. I have often seen people, including myself, pursue a goal they know is impossible. While trying to reach the goal, they deny that it is impossible, and it helps them make progress. Gatsby seems to be in a similar position. He rises to the highest possible level, still only to find that Daisy is beyond his reach, which he knew from when he started lying about his past to her. However, to Gatsby, the time he spends with her is like time spent in her social class, despite the fact he was far below it. During this time, Gatsby became “aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves” (95), suddenly realizing what it’s like to live with the wealth that he had dreamed of having. Despite proving he was far more ambitious than anyone he had met, he had somehow reached the life he desired. For a brief time, he accomplished his ambition through Daisy, but it was cut short by the war.
In the following five years, Gatsby was tortured by not being able to relive the time with Daisy.

He dedicated almost all his time and tireless determination to genuinely rising up to Daisy’s level, without having to pretend he was someone else, and as the years passed, his vision of the time spent with Daisy became clouded. To him, it was a perfect, happy time that was his idea of wealth and aristocracy, while in reality he was desperate to get out of poverty and lying to Daisy at the same time. This type of nostalgia that makes time in the past seem great is familiar; for example, I know of several books or movies that I loved as a child and kept a positive idea of until I was exposed to them again much later, when I realized they were mediocre or not great. People recalling the “good old days” is another example. If they were asked during those times, they might not have thought of them as the best time of their lives. Gatsby, however, does not see this and only desires to see Daisy again to relive his “good old days”. In this way, nostalgia is not seen positively in The Great Gatsby. Tom Buchanan, who is practically defined by how great he used to be, is the human representation of nostalgia, and is disliked by most of the characters in the book, including Nick. Meanwhile, ambition is seen in a more positive light, being the ones that Nick likes (Gatsby, Jordan), although it ends badly for the characters who display it. Gatsby’s possession of both qualities coincides with how Nick initially is confused about what to think about Gatsby, but then switches back and forth from liking him and disliking throughout the

book.