Theme Of Reality In The Great Gatsby

An important theme found in The Great Gatsby is having to face reality. The characters in the novel have a perfect fantasy in their minds. This theme is portrayed when Gatsby realizes he can’t have everything he wants, Nick realizes that the East Coast isn’t all that it’s made out to be, and when Daisy realizes she chose money over love. All three incidents represent the same major theme; facing reality. Gatsby has to face reality when he figures out he can’t have everything he wants, including love. Gatsby is head over heels for Daisy, so when she marries Tom, it crushes him. Gatsby wishes he could go back in time so that he could have Daisy to himself again. When Nick states that you can’t repeat the past, Gatsby is flustered. He replies, “‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” (pg. 116). Although Gatsby is reminiscing on the good times he had with Daisy, there were also some unpleasant times. When he first meets Daisy, he is poor and soon sent off to war. Human nature naturally looks back at history and only wants to remember the good, not the bad. Similar to Gatsby, Nick also comes to
The East Coast is supposed to be an extravagant place full of opportunity. At the beginning of the novel, Nick expresses how he feels by saying, “ And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees- just as things grow in fast movies- I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” (pg. 8). It’s very noticeable that Nick is thrilled to be on the coast. He’s ready to start his new life and have an enjoyable time; after all, it’s a very desired area. Later on in the novel, Nick realizes that the people on the coast aren’t very kind. The native East Coast characters are cruel, selfish, miserable people. This crushes a part of Nick. As well as Nick, Daisy has a reality check