So We Beat On Boats Against The Current?

A wave of economic prosperity, political and social change engulfed America after the end of World War One. Primarily distinguished by opulence, conspicuous consumption and lackadaisical characteristics, the 1920s, dubbed the “Jazz Age” or the 'Roaring Twenties” was a period of change and development. In Fitzgerald’s famed novel, The Great Gatsby, the escalating American peerage and socioeconomic classes in that era were explored and analyzed through the elaborate separation of old and new money. In conjunction with this, he makes an effort to depict his view for the past, present and the future through characters and plot growth. The novel confronts the question of whether the American Dream is really plausible. As Nick expressed “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” at the end of the story, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s fantasy and failure of marrying Daisy as the analogy for the boat and symbolically represents his “worthless struggles” as the clashing currents in his attempt to attain the American Dream - constituted by the distant continuous flashing of the green light at Daisy’s end. By placing a heavy emphasis on Gatsby’s inefficacy to reinvigorate his past love with Daisy (embodiment of old money), Fitzgerald portrays money’s involvement in the corruption of the American Dream.
This last sentence refers to the theme of the book that some things just can’t be repeated even if you try. He succeeds in being rich and famous but winning Daisy back is unattainable. Daisy would never have given up her social position for a man who would never fit into her world no matter how hard he tried. Therefore Gatsby did not achieve the American Dream.