The Great Gatsby on Chasing Ideals
It is clear that the theme of "chasing an ideal" is a major presence in The Great Gatsby, and that it is a theme that the book centers around. Gatsby's devotion of his entire life to winning over Daisy Buchanan is proof enough of this; she is the "ideal" he chases. This is best represented by his famous fixation with the green light at the of Daisy's dock across the bay—that is what represents his dream, and it is what he is reaching for. To him, that light stands there as a literal beacon of hope, assuring him that his dream is within his site and that all he must do is reach out and grab it.
Obviously, that is not the case. He cannot simply "reach out and grab it"; his dream is impossible, and the reason for this is that he is focused so much on achieving this dream, he has become, in a way, frozen in time, unable to move past that point five years ago when Daisy first left him. In his first meeting with her after five years, in his nervousness to impress, Gatsby accidentally knocks a clock off the mantle. Nick calls it, "an old clock" (87), and says, "I think we all believed for a moment that it had smashed in pieces on the floor" (87) when Gatsby tips it. Nothing does a better job of symbolically stating the issues with Gatsby's dream: it is old and outdated, it had almost smashed to pieces for a moment in that first atmosphere of awkward tension during their reunion, and since it is represented by clock it implies the idea that time is running out for Gatsby's dream, for as long as time marches onward and his dream remains rooted in the past, the chances that it can come true become less likely. Gatsby does not realize that although he believes he is chasing after Daisy, the version of her that he seeks no longer exists and is only a remnant of the past; he is merely projecting onto her his dream of her from five years ago. It is no longer Daisy that he wants, but the idea that she now represents to him: a pure, true, unattainable goodness; the green light.
Of course, Gatsby does get a glimpse of what it would be life if he did succeed in achieving his impossible dream in that afternoon he spends with Daisy, and the result is that the dream falls short of his expectations. He realizes that when he finally reaches the green light all the way across the bay, "The colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever" (93). Now that he has Daisy, he realizes that he can no longer fixate on his perfectly developed picture of her from the past, and must instead settle for what he has in the present. But of course, Daisy had, "tumbled short of his dreams—not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion" (95). In other words, Gatsby's fixation on the past was so idealized and grand that when he caught up to the present, there was not even a possibility that it would ever match up to his vision.
Even for all of his materialistic success in life, Gatsby still failed in chasing his ideal, and there are two major lessons to be learned from this. One is that a person who is fixated on their goal will be rooted in the past, and the only way to truly achieve anything is to look to the future. That is how to be successful in chasing an ideal: continuing to look to what tomorrow will bring, not focusing on the past and what could have been. The other is that the green light will always look more beautiful from afar, when it so alluringly represents everything impossible. There is a something tantalizingly tempting about the impossible; there will always be something to reach for when aiming that high, and that is how chasing an ideal should be—always continuing to look one step past where you currently stand. And that was Gatsby's failure.
Obviously, that is not the case. He cannot simply "reach out and grab it"; his dream is impossible, and the reason for this is that he is focused so much on achieving this dream, he has become, in a way, frozen in time, unable to move past that point five years ago when Daisy first left him. In his first meeting with her after five years, in his nervousness to impress, Gatsby accidentally knocks a clock off the mantle. Nick calls it, "an old clock" (87), and says, "I think we all believed for a moment that it had smashed in pieces on the floor" (87) when Gatsby tips it. Nothing does a better job of symbolically stating the issues with Gatsby's dream: it is old and outdated, it had almost smashed to pieces for a moment in that first atmosphere of awkward tension during their reunion, and since it is represented by clock it implies the idea that time is running out for Gatsby's dream, for as long as time marches onward and his dream remains rooted in the past, the chances that it can come true become less likely. Gatsby does not realize that although he believes he is chasing after Daisy, the version of her that he seeks no longer exists and is only a remnant of the past; he is merely projecting onto her his dream of her from five years ago. It is no longer Daisy that he wants, but the idea that she now represents to him: a pure, true, unattainable goodness; the green light.
Of course, Gatsby does get a glimpse of what it would be life if he did succeed in achieving his impossible dream in that afternoon he spends with Daisy, and the result is that the dream falls short of his expectations. He realizes that when he finally reaches the green light all the way across the bay, "The colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever" (93). Now that he has Daisy, he realizes that he can no longer fixate on his perfectly developed picture of her from the past, and must instead settle for what he has in the present. But of course, Daisy had, "tumbled short of his dreams—not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion" (95). In other words, Gatsby's fixation on the past was so idealized and grand that when he caught up to the present, there was not even a possibility that it would ever match up to his vision.
Even for all of his materialistic success in life, Gatsby still failed in chasing his ideal, and there are two major lessons to be learned from this. One is that a person who is fixated on their goal will be rooted in the past, and the only way to truly achieve anything is to look to the future. That is how to be successful in chasing an ideal: continuing to look to what tomorrow will bring, not focusing on the past and what could have been. The other is that the green light will always look more beautiful from afar, when it so alluringly represents everything impossible. There is a something tantalizingly tempting about the impossible; there will always be something to reach for when aiming that high, and that is how chasing an ideal should be—always continuing to look one step past where you currently stand. And that was Gatsby's failure.