Gatsby rejects the forward march of time. His whole life has revolved around going back to the moment five years before when he and Daisy were first in love. He believes he can erase the time between, that Daisy will leave Tom, and that he and Daisy will pick up exactly where they left off before the war. In fact, when Nick suggest to him that you can't repeat the past, Gatsby replies: "Can't repeat the past?" he cried incredulously. "Why of course you can."
Gatsby's triumph and tragedy reside in his belief that he can remake the world the way he wants it through his own will. Meanwhile, characters in the novel move forward: Daisy and Tom have had a child, which can't be undone, and Daisy has thrown her lot in with Tom, unwilling to leave him. The Daisy he has idealized is nothing but dream.
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