What Does Nick Compare Gatsby to on the Final Page of the Book?

F. Scott Fitzgerald's most popular (and most commercially successful) title was undoubtedly The Great Gatsby, having found its place non only in the modern American canon, but also on the silvery screen in ii movie adaptations.

Whether you're a high school English educatee in need of a petty aid with your book written report, or but a Leonardo DiCaprio fan trying to figure out what the heck those chilling last lines uttered past Tobey Maguire are supposed to mean, understanding the last line of The Groovy Gatsby tin can assistance you to meliorate appreciate the story and besides cover the author's message.

The Last Line of The Nifty Gatsby

Before we jump into our analysis, let's take a minute to review that oft-quoted concluding line, which is delivered by the story's narrator, Nick Carraway.

The concluding line of Gatsby reads:

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Now, taken out of context, that line can seem pretty cryptic, or at best cryptic. And when it is placed in the context of the full story, it can withal seem, well… pretty ambiguous.

Simply what you can do to improve sympathize these final words is use your cognition of literary devices and techniques to decode Fitz'south message.

Alliteration

The first thing you might notice if yous read this line aloud or in your head is the repetition of 'b' sounds: beat, boats, borne, back.

This repetition of a consonant sound is known every bit alliteration. This literary device is often used in poetry and prose to create rhythm, or a musical menstruum, and it certainly does so here.

Even so, ingemination can do more only make things sound pretty: it'southward also used to draw accent on sure ideas. The repetition of the 'b' sound, particularly when read aloud, virtually evokes the feeling of beingness beaten downwards or pushed back, which emphasizes the characters' futile pursuits of success.

Symbolism

In social club to fully appreciate the ending of the novel, it would exist helpful to review the symbolism used earlier in the same passage.

Immediately before the final line, Nick observes:

Gatsby believed in the green lite, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, simply that'southward no matter–tomorrow we volition run faster, stretch out our artillery farther. . . . And one fine morning—-

Throughout the story, Jay Gatsby spends most every evening looking out across the bay to Daisy's habitation, where a green calorie-free shines from her dock.

The color green symbolizes money, greed, and materialism, which are all recurring themes in the story.

Jay Gatsby congenital a life of textile excess in hopes of winning Daisy's heart, but in building a life this way, our narrator reminds us that no matter how hard he beats against the current, he will only be "borne dorsum ceaselessly into the by." Daisy's love, which hides behind the green light, will continue to elude him.

Tone

The tone of the concluding line tin best be described as melancholic. The writer'south discussion pick certainly doesn't offer an optimistic outlook, with the adverb "ceaselessly" and the words "borne back against" suggesting an endless, futile struggle.

The word "we" suggests that this struggle is universal; Nick is clearly not talking simply about Gatsby, himself, or whatever of the dysfunctional characters in the novel. Rather, this struggle is one that almost of us can chronicle to in one way or some other, whether we have chased love, success, or coin.

Theme

Nosotros tin can see several major recurring themes throughout the story. These include the and so-called "American Dream," societal and course differences, wealth and backlog, and a decline in moral and ethical values.

We might say that these themes are culminated in the last line of the novel, using the other literary devices explored above.

Gatsby pursued the American dream—and its promises of wealth, love, happiness, and success—through some morally questionable ways in society to finally win Daisy's heart.

Gatsby pushed on, similar a boat against the current, but his efforts to win the heart of a woman who placed cloth wealth above all else proved to exist in vain—because after Gatsby's death, we meet what kind of people Daisy and her hubby really are: selfish and shallow opportunists, with no love to give to others.

What Is Nick's Last Message to the Reader?

Ultimately, the last line of The Not bad Gatsby can be seen every bit a metaphor for the elusive American dream. Think that Fitzgerald wrote the novel during the "Roaring 20s," a time of keen financial success and booming expansion in the Usa, only also when many erstwhile values were seemingly left behind.

Nick's observation in the final line is a reflection on how, no matter how much wealth or success nosotros may accumulate, we'll ever chase afterward more in our futile efforts to "have information technology all."

However, there is an infinite number of ways to interpret whatsoever one work of literature, equally a single passage can mean something different to different people.

The analysis presented above is merely a reflection of my own betoken of view, merely by using a similar approach (analyzing key literary elements and techniques), you lot can draw your own conclusions.

Using Literary Techniques to Sympathize Literature

Past applying your knowledge of literary devices and narrative techniques, yous can analyze works of literature on a deeper level.

This makes for a more rewarding and enjoyable reading feel, which will likewise help you to think critically and go a ameliorate author!

How do you lot translate the concluding line of The Great Gatsby? Share your thoughts in the comments beneath!

If you enjoyed this post, and then yous might as well like:

• 28 Must-Read Modern Classics
• 100 Books to Read Earlier Y'all Die
• Theme in Literature: Definition and Examples
• 17 of the Most Common Literary Devices Every Reader and Writer Should Know

As a weblog writer for TCK Publishing, Kaelyn loves crafting fun and helpful content for writers, readers, and creative minds alike. She has a degree in International Affairs with a minor in Italian Studies, but her truthful passion has ever been writing. Working remotely allows her to exercise fifty-fifty more than of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.

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Source: https://www.tckpublishing.com/last-line-of-the-great-gatsby/

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