You cannot repeat the past. " Gatsby answers, "Cannot repeat the past. Why, of course you can!" VOICE ONE: For a brief time, Gatsby seems to succeed.
An example of Gatsby's unwillingness to believe the past is unchangeable occurs during a conversation between Nick. Nick says to Gatsby “you can't repeat the past”(71) “Can't repeat the past why of course you can “(71) replied Gatsby, The way Gatsby replies truly shows how much Gatsby believes …show more content…
' he cried incredulously. 'Why of course you can! ' He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand. 'I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before,' he said, nodding determinedly.
"I wouldn't ask too much of her," I ventured. "You can't repeat the past." "Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously.
“Can't repeat the past? Why, of course you can!” Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, said this to his friend Nick Carraway in order to convince both himself and Nick that he could recapture Daisy Buchanan, his former love.
This quote belongs in Chapter 6 of Francis Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel, “The Great Gatsby.” To which Gatsby replies, “Can't repeat the past? Why, of course, you can!” This conversation gives a hint about Gatsby's intention to return Daisy Buchanan, his past love.
When Nick cautions Gatsby that "You can't repeat the past," Gatsby idealistically answers "Why of course you can!" words that strike Nick soundly because of their "appalling sentimentality," which both delights and disgusts him.
Nick know that you can't and shouldn't repeat the past, but Gatsby thinks he can just erase the last five years and start over again. His opinion is unrealistic because it's been five years and both of them have changed.
The flashback serves to show the past of Daisy and Tom, so that we can better understand their relationship now. During the flashback, Daisy receives a letter that we infer is from Gatsby, which causes Daisy to cry.
In response to Nick Gatsby say's "can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!" This truly highlights his inability to accept the truth, being that Daisy has moved on and is married with a child. It is not only foolish, it is delusional to think that you can turn back time.
“You can't repeat the past.” “Can't repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!” He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand.
Gatsby, in The Great Gatsby, dedicates his life to finding his lost love, Daisy, despite changes that may have occurred since the relationship ended. It is a love from the past that he longs for once again. Gatsby's obsession gets to the point that he will do almost anything to retrieve the life that he once lived.