Nothing Gold Can Stay In The Great Gatsby

Robert Frost once said, “Nothing gold can stay”. This idea was clearly elucidated in F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, a novel focused on Jay Gatsby, a famous wealthy young man with his never-changing love for Daisy Buchanan. Set in the 1920s, the thought of moving west continued to prosper as many Americans hoped to gain wealth and secure an opportunity to set their own path to greatness. Yet, many struggled with achieving their American Dreams and constantly wished for a time when America could revert back to its truest beauty. Gatsby is portrayed as a character who is fixated on his seventeen year old dream to marry the prize of his life. However, Fitzgerald challenges this and instead proves his view of the reality of America through

his style of writing. He argues that the true sensibility of the past is that nothing can stay, but most Americans disregard this concept, while foolishly believing that what was once innocent and beautiful can exist forever. Therefore, Fitzgerald’s theme that Americans were plagued by disillusionment, which blinded them from the reality and the corruption, is often conveyed through literary devices such as repetition, verbs, and imagery, to prove this point.
One way that Fitzgerald proved his idea of disillusionment was by using repetition throughout the novel.

He often uses repetition to represent improbable prospects. For example, he repeats the word “beyond” twice in a sentence when describing Gatsby’s expectations of Daisy, “It had gone beyond her, beyond everything” (95). This clearly reinforces the idea that disillusionment of corrupted dreams is often beyond expectations to a point it can never work out. Similar to Gatsby, he idealizes Daisy back to how she was five years ago, young, innocent, pure, and loyal to only Gatsby. However, he refuses to understand that Daisy has changed, she is married and has a child, and can no longer fulfill Gatsby’s dream. Throughout the novel, the author also repeats the phrase “a single green light” at Daisy’s dock (21). The green light represents Gatsby’s unattainable American dream; he is always seen stretching his arms toward the light, but is unable to grasp it. Fitzgerald repeats this to constantly remind the reader that no matter how close Gatsby can be with Daisy, he will never accomplish his dream of having Daisy the way he envisions her as pure and innocent. This further demonstrates the disillusionment of reality because Gatsby never stops trying to win Daisy, he continuously resists the realism in order to feel the happiness he once had before with

Daisy.
Secondly, Fitzgerald uses certain types of verbs to express his view of American disillusionment. He uses past tense verbs to describe Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship, such as “tumbled”, “thrown”, and “over-dreamed” (96). By specifically using past tense actions, the author displays the idea that it is impossible to revert to the past or go back to the way things were. What was pure and gold in the past does not last for eternity and will fade in value as time continues due to the corruption surrounding it. However, Gatsby fails to accept this reality and continues to believe that Daisy wasn’t influenced by time, embodying the idea of disillusionment. In addition, present tense verbs were utilized whenever it was in Nick’s perspective. In the same passage, the author included words such as “went”, “leaving”, and “said” (96). Nick mainly illustrates the thoughts and reactions of the audience, giving out a sense of reality. These words also contrast between the narrator and the protagonist; Nick somewhat understands the idea that the past cannot be changed, that actions cannot be undone, and that consequences cannot be ignored. Gatsby, on the other hand, dwells in the past in a way to comfort his deceptive dream.
Another way Fitzgerald indicated his perspective of disillusionment in America was through imagery.

At Gatsby’s party, alcohol and cocktails were consumed by the party guests, resulting in the withdrawal of human senses, “the lights grow brighter...voice pitches a key higher...laughter is easier by the minute” (40). With the use of imagery, cocktails were illustrated as the source of distraction to American’s disillusionment. They drink in order to feel lively and carefree, to escape reality all together. This causes them to become blinded from the truth that their greed will lead to the collapse of America. Even though Americans tried to delude themselves of happiness, deep down, they were unsatisfied for not reaching their goals and desires. Furthermore, the author also uses imagery to describe Daisy’s voice. Before the five characters left to town, Nick remarks on Daisy’s voice in which Gatsby responds, “Her voice is full of money...the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it” (120). The author uses imagery to appeal to the reader’s sense of sound by having Daisy’s voice emphasize the American dream of wealth. Gatsby only views Daisy as an achievement of wealth that he could show off to everyone, pointing out how materialistic his morals were and how his love towards Daisy was merely a false dream. Fitzgerald again incorporates his idea of Americans being illusioned into a world where happiness and satisfaction are dependant on riches and

objects.
Through the use of repetition, verbs, and imagery, Fitzgerald promotes his theme that disillusionment had plagued Americans while blinding them from the reality and the corruption of this world. The author wants to demonstrate that nothing can last forever, no matter how much the person desires for it. It is completely irreversible and must be a hard lesson to accept. Fitzgerald’s style of writing immensely portrays this idea and denotes the downfall of Gatsby’s dreams of Daisy. Daisy, the only character who understands how corrupted America is, accepts the fact that she cannot escape her actions for marrying Tom or having a child. She understands that the past cannot be changed, but still regrets marrying for wealth rather than true love. Nonetheless, the past is a curse to many, deceptive in its existence, shaping the fates of corrupted souls.