"...borne back ceaselessly into the past." What does this insinuate? Does it say that Nick has made no progress in his life over the past many events? Or, perhaps, Nick has made progress, but now he's back where he started. He's lost Gatsby, Jordan has moved on, Daisy and Tom are distant, all the people associated with Gatsby didn't even see Nick at the funeral. Through everything that has happened to Nick, is all that he is left with in actuality a sad memory and a list full of what ifs?
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Very Last Sentence
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." What does Fitzgerald truly mean here? Is he simply stating the life goes on despite the tragedies which may befall us? Or is it something deeper? Why such an intricate choice of words? And what could that very last six word phrase mean?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The strong, relatively cryptic last sentence of "The Great Gatsby" is there for an important, yet surprisingly simple message. Throughout the book, Fitzgerald discusses time, nostalgia, and our constant desire to go back to the past. The most obvious example is Gatsby, who is constantly trying to re-live the past he had with Daisy. In chapter 5, Gatsby picks up a clock he clumsily knocks over during his first visit with Daisy. This signifies his futile attempt to go back to a different time, and reclaim a lost past. With a re-examination of the final sentence of the novel, things are much clearer. Fitzgerald seems to create a strong juxtaposition: The metaphor of "boats against the current" insinuates the notion of forward movement, yet "borne back ceaselessly into the past" brings up our constant desire to relive the triumphs of our past. In this context, the use of "beat" as the dominant verb is thick with intention. Unlike the alternatives (sail, row, push, move, etc.), "beat" insinuates a blind, unthoughtful struggle forward, due to our juxtaposed intentions. All in all, the last sentence of "The Great Gatsby" is short, sweet, yet incredibly thought-provoking.
ReplyDelete