The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates static characters that are unable to learn from their pasts and their mistakes. A static character is one who throughout the duration of the novel does not change their morals, personality, or beliefs. While it is apparent that not all the characters undergo change, an argument could be made that throughout the novel some characters change their ways because of the situations they are put through. Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and Nick are the characters who remain static. These characters do not change because they are unable to see past their wealth, move on from their pasts, nor learn from various mistakes caused by either themselves, or those surrounding them.
Responsible for the death of Myrtle, Daisy has an emotional reaction yet continues to remain the same. It would be thought that if a person killed another person that the murderer would have an emotional reaction. However, Daisy does not change after she runs over Myrtle. People generally learn from their mistakes so they do not make the same mistake twice, but as it is seen in The Great Gatsby, many of the characters do not change after they make their mistakes; “so we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight” (Fitzgerald 143). The characters just keep living life without letting their faults interfere. Not only do the characters fail to learn fro m their mistakes, but also fail to live in the present.
As a prime example of one who gets caught up in the past, Gatsby attempts to recreate his past experiences through wealth and manipulation. Gatsby loves Daisy still and cannot come to terms that their relationship no longer remains. In attempt to prove his feelings for her, Gatsby moves to the East Egg to be closer to her. He also believes that with his great sum of money he will be able to buy her back. Gatsby “paid a high price for living too long with a single dream” (Fitzgerald 169), and in the end, he loses Daisy....
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