self control

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 He heard the phone starting to ring — once, twice, three times. At last, it stopped. Gatsby stood and stared across the Bay towards the green light. In his head, all he could hear was “You can’t repeat the past.” 

For the first time, he stood still. He knew he couldn’t do anything. Gatsby was afraid to lose Daisy. His entire life was centered around Daisy, the longing to be with her, her status, and her money. But none of that mattered anymore. For the first time, he had self control. It felt good. He heard Nick's voice again: “You can’t repeat the past.”  This time, he didn’t argue back.

Ever since he got back from the war, he thought of ways to get her attention, but none of that worked. He thought about calling her, he realized that there was nothing he could do. He put down the phone and went outside.

The night air was cool and damp. He stood on his marble balcony and looked at the green light one last time. For years, the light amazed him. Now, it seemed like any other lamp. He thought about James Gatz — his older self. He couldn’t believe that he allowed that young relentless fellow to drown in his mind. Maybe he would move west, start a new life, not as James Gatz nor Jay Gatsby, but as that boy from North Dakota who believed that his life could be remade.

Gatsby smiled. He was done waiting. He finally found his place.

Comments

  1. Nicole LiOctober 19, 2025 at 6:47 PM

    this blog gave me quite a chuckle paul! I think we can all learn from this new version of gatsby, who learns to resist the urge to pick up the phone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sophia DengOctober 19, 2025 at 7:49 PM

    absolute knee slapper

    ReplyDelete
  3. KeerthanaOctober 19, 2025 at 11:04 PM

    I loved your zoom in of this scene. Every time I read this scene it filled me with sadness on behalf of gatsby but reading your blog made me feel nostalgic and happy about this scene. I always thought it was sad that gatsby American dream shattered but perhaps his American dream was shackling him.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousOctober 19, 2025 at 11:37 PM

    I really loved this because I always wished that Gatsby would catch on that what he was doing for Daisy was not for him at all. I hope now that he can find peace in what he does for himself.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jessica DengOctober 20, 2025 at 12:40 AM

    wow paul this is so insightful it made me giggle

    ReplyDelete

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