F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most popular (and most commercially successful) title was undoubtedly The Great Gatsby, having found its place not only in the modern American canon, but also on the silver screen in two film adaptations.
Whether you’re a high school English student in need of a little help with your book report, or simply a Leonardo DiCaprio fan trying to figure out what the heck those chilling last lines uttered by Tobey Maguire are supposed to mean, understanding the last line of The Great Gatsby can help you to better appreciate the story and also comprehend the author’s message.
The Last Line of The Great Gatsby
Before we jump into our analysis, let’s take a minute to review that oft-quoted last line, which is delivered by the story’s narrator, Nick Carraway.
The last 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 ambiguous. And when it is placed in the context of the full story, it can still seem, well… pretty ambiguous.
But what you can do to better understand these final words is apply your knowledge of literary devices and techniques to decode Fitz’s message.
Alliteration
The first thing you might notice if you 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 as alliteration. This literary device is often used in poetry and prose to create rhythm, or a musical flow, and it certainly does so here.
However, alliteration can do more than just make things sound pretty: it’s also used to draw emphasis on certain ideas. The repetition of the ‘b’ sound, especially when read aloud, almost evokes the feeling of being beaten down or pushed back, which emphasizes the characters’ futile pursuits of success.
Symbolism
In order to fully appreciate the ending of the novel, it would be helpful to review the symbolism used earlier in the same passage.
Immediately before the final line, Nick observes:
Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter–tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning—-
Throughout the story, Jay Gatsby spends almost every evening looking out across the bay to Daisy’s home, where a green light shines from her dock.
The color green symbolizes money, greed, and materialism, which are all recurring themes in the story.
Jay Gatsby built a life of material 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 back ceaselessly into the past.” Daisy’s love, which hides behind the green light, will continue to elude him.
Tone
The tone of the final line can best be described as melancholic. The author’s word choice 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 just about Gatsby, himself, or any of the dysfunctional characters in the novel. Rather, this struggle is one that most of us can relate to in one way or another, whether we have chased love, success, or money.
Theme
We can see several major recurring themes throughout the story. These include the so-called “American Dream,” societal and class differences, wealth and excess, and a decline in moral and ethical values.
We might say that these themes are culminated in the final 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 means in order to finally win Daisy’s heart.
Gatsby pushed on, like a boat against the current, but his efforts to win the heart of a woman who placed material wealth above all else proved to be in vain—because after Gatsby’s death, we see what kind of people Daisy and her husband really are: selfish and shallow opportunists, with no love to give to others.
What Is Nick’s Final Message to the Reader?
Ultimately, the last line of The Great Gatsby can be seen as a metaphor for the elusive American dream. Remember that Fitzgerald wrote the novel during the “Roaring 20s,” a time of great financial success and booming expansion in the United States, but also when many old values were seemingly left behind.
Nick’s observation in the final line is a reflection on how, no matter how much wealth or success we may accumulate, we’ll always chase after more in our futile efforts to “have it all.”
However, there is an infinite number of ways to interpret any one work of literature, as a single passage can mean something different to different people.
The analysis presented above is merely a reflection of my own point of view, but by using a similar approach (analyzing key literary elements and techniques), you can draw your own conclusions.
Using Literary Techniques to Understand Literature
By applying your knowledge of literary devices and narrative techniques, you can analyze works of literature on a deeper level.
This makes for a more rewarding and enjoyable reading experience, which will also help you to think critically and become a better writer!
How do you interpret the last line of The Great Gatsby? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
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- 100 Books to Read Before You Die
- Theme in Literature: Definition and Examples
- 17 of the Most Common Literary Devices Every Reader and Writer Should Know
As a blog 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 true passion has always been writing. Working remotely allows her to do even more of the things she loves, like traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family.
I’m not sure/convinced I subscribe to Fitzgerald pessimistic outlook. I think people can and do change, move forward, gain headway. Gatsby didn’t because what he loved was a fantasy. And Daisy wouldn’t / couldn’t fulfill it. She HAD moved on. He didn’t / couldn’t accept that she actually HAD loved Tom, at least at one point.
So, Fitzgerald’s existential summing up of the human experience / condition should be taken with a grain of salt.
Gatsby was borne back into the past, but it was because he was swimming up stream, barking up the wrong tree, looking a gift horse in the mouth, couldn’t see the first for the trees, was asking for the moon… you get the idea. His dream was flawed. His idealism got in the way. He dreamt the wrong dream..
The story is an allegory. Woodrow Wilson killed the American Dream by signing the Income Tax amendment and the Federal Reserve Act Woodrow admitted he was wrong for doing that.
Maybe…as we age, our dreams naturally change. A person at 30 certainly wishes for different things than he or she did at the age of 20…or 10. That is what keeps the “American Dream” out of reach. Not obstacles or circumstance – it is our ever-changing nature.
For Gatsby to continue chasing the same dream his entire life shows that no matter how he changed…he never grew or developed in the right way.
Anyone stuck in the past this way will always be borne back ceaselessly into the past.
The American Dream says that any man can achieve his dream of he works hard enough but we see how flawed that logic is.
Thanks for your comment and for sharing your insight, Sally! I agree, and we see that especially in today’s world.
You mentioned, correctly, the “morally questionable means,” that Gatsby utilizes in his quest for his lost love. Daisy is only interested in the stability of material wealth. However, Gatsby’s pursuit is fouled! He is entangled with the man “who fixed the Series in 1919!” He is borne back to, and indeed cannot escape his past. He dies in his splendor the death of a gangster, the methodology of his quest.
great analysis, Neal! Thanks for sharing your insights :)
Kaelyn: The “borne back…” conclusion of the troubling, fascinating Gatsby has always been alive in my mind. I have always thought the unattainable American Dream analysis misses the mark. Gatsby demonstrates stellar qualities in the war, the stay at Oxford, he moves forward on merit! He is not American wealthy, upper class; he is hard working and capable. Had he avoided the gangster method and accomplished, not to the excess that he presented Daisy, but accomplished nonetheless, would Daisy leave her self-indulgent husband? Was extravagant wealth the only presentation to make?Was extravagant wealth the only means of gaining access? Tom was a self-indulgent child of wealth; he was crass, morally dishonest; however, he was not a gangster. Disgusting, yet stable. Would a capable, honest man capture the heart he had lost? Daisy was not without values and character? Neal Jinkerson; [email protected]
Good points, Neal! I always thought that it was the stability, which you speak of, that kept Daisy with Tom. I think she could rely on Tom to provide a stable and privileged life, whereas Gatsby, although he did end up achieving massive wealth, was risky.
The very point your making that Gatsby has risen successfully from poverty with a series of marvellous accomplishments yet he still cannot reach the green light (symbolic of daisies love) proves that it was an illusion, intangible.
Imagine a sailor in a boat, who sees a bright light across the ocean and makes it his unwavering goal to reach it. This sailor is fighting vigorously against a current that works to ceaselessly put the sailor back in the same position. He throws all his resources into the boat (new oars, better material, new sails. Except the sailor fails to realise that the light is not there, and his boat is not moving; so he keeps on pushing, motivated by its lustre. Unaware of it inexistence and intangibility. And thus there will never not be hope to keep that sailor pushing, ceaselessly.
BTW the “current” means the literal current time (referring to social stratification in the 20s) and “Borne” means literally born, how we reinvent ourselves every time we try to recreate the past.
This idea is also portrayed by the fact that there is a river separating Daisy and Gatsby, he can see the green light across it (her love), and yet despite throwing his whole life’s work into achieving the dream of attaining it, he cannot and will never be able to, but he has hope, so he will never stop trying.
The 1920s was a time of rigid class systems. The idea is that even though Gatsby has gone to every measure to achieve financial security and boastful wealth, he will never win her over becuase he came from a lower social class. His past surrounds him, pushes him back.
To answer you last questions simply; No. Daisy will never marry Gatsby despite being in love with him and seemingly repulsed by her husband. The Tom/Daisy relationship emphasises the materialistic nature of the 1920s; where the bonds of wealth are ten fold stronger than love, in a society where everyone is scrappling for the resource (money) they believe is the ticket to finally reaching there form of the American Dream.
Thanks so much for sharing your insights on this post, Sophie! Very well said. I didn’t expect the post to get this many comments but I’m so happy it’s sparked so much conversation!
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby is widely known as a tragic love story, but it is also well associated with the unattainable American dream.
I decided to find out what the “American dream” meant. For this purpose I undertook to write an essay, but before that I searched for as much material as possible. I read a lot of information from this https://supremestudy.com/american-dream source, learned a lot of new things for myself. It is also interesting to analyze the impact of profound discoveries on the American Dream.
And I am doing a little different research, my research is looking at the impact of profound discoveries made during the Industrial Revolution on the American Dream. I use this material as one of my sources, and it is quite extensive on this topic.
Thanks for sharing this Sara! Hope your research is a success!
“Beating” is one of eight points of sail your analysis is good but should include this reference
Thank you for this suggestion, Dewey! We’ll check it out.
I like your interpretation, but the quote reminds me of the strange feeling I’ve had ever since I lost my sister forty years ago. It felt as if we’d been riding down life’s highway together on motorcycles until suddenly she was stopped and I kept going. I could only look back as she was “borne ceaselessly into the past”. She lives now only in the memory of those who knew her, so I think of her often and love my memories of her. Sadness at not having her to lean on now doesn’t make me try to forget her, instead it’s the opposite: I am thankful to have had our time together.
I’m sorry for your loss, Ann. Sounds like you and your sister had a very special bond. The beautiful thing about literature is that it can remind each of us of different experiences and carry different meanings. Thank you for sharing what this line means to you.
I’ve just re-read “The Great Gatsby” for the first time since I took an American Literature” course as a credit during my adult student years at the University of Toronto in 1978. I’m almost 95 now, and the wisdom of his last sentence has always stuck in my mind. You cannot escape your past, you can only repress it and press on to futility as Gatsby did, or you can use the power of nostalgia to modify your behavior as the tyranny of sex fades and leaves you free to believe in the illusion you have control over your life. Oh, yes: I still rage, rage against the dying of the light!
Thank you for your comment, John, and for your insights! I remember being struck by the line in my own American Lit class, and I love that it’s stuck with you all this time.
I’ve thought about the last line of the novel since I first read it in high school. I have always interpreted (and I appreciate you pointing out that our interpretations represent our beliefs alone) it to be focused on our seeming inability to control our own existences. It’s almost as though regardless of our best efforts, we are subject to things we cannot control–such as the currents of the sea. Too, the end of the quotation–“…borne back ceaselessly into the past”– leads me to the idea that regardless of whom we try to become, or reinvent ourselves as, we will remain who we were.
It’s pretty depressing, but it does fit with the tone and mood of the book’s denouement.
Hi Tom, yes, that’s a very good interpretation. the imagery of being “borne back ceaselessly” like a boat against the tide speaks to Gatsby’s futile struggle and chase for something he couldn’t recreate, or like you say, what he tried to become or reinvent himself as. Thanks for sharing your insights! :)
First, really appreciate this interpretation and as you rightly point out, these analyses are all personal opinion to a degree. I don’t disagree with a word you’ve written here. What’s missing or what I would add here is the idea of nostalgia and the grip it has on Gatsby. Gatsby spends so much of his adult life trying to recreate something that existed in his formative years and when, he had caught the eye of Daisy. Two paragraphs prior, Fitzgerald writes, “He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him…” And when Fitzgerald ends the book with “ceaselessly into the past” I think what he is referencing is the notion that so many of us try to recreate events, emotions, circumstances, etc.. from our formative years…but it’s impossible. Yet, we keep trying.
Hi Andrew, thanks so much for sharing your view! I totally agree that nostalgia is a big part of this. (I see it even more clearly now that we just did a post on nostalgia too!) I’ll work on adding that into the explanation :)
I always though Fitzgerald was just re wording Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr’s “the more things change, the more they remain the same.”
Hi Chris, nice analysis! Definitely echoes a similar theme. Thanks for sharing :)
How ever much we strive to overcome our individual pasts, to recreate ourselves, our pasts will always speak to us, always give us away. To be oneself into the future one must do the hard work of assimilating ones past into ones present.
Hi Dottie, thanks for your comment! Very interesting and relevant. Gatsby was definitely stuck in his past with Daisy and didn’t do a very good job assimilating. thanks again for sharing your analysis :)
But that’s just it, the idea is that to assimilate the past into the present is entirely impossible, which is one of Fitzgerald’s criticisms, and the main failings of the American Dream.
Gatsby (who symbolises the American Dream) replies to Nick when he says “You cant repeat the past” with “Repeat the past, Why of course you can!”
which was meant to highlight how flawed the reasoning of the American Dream is; how reality is its ultimate contestant.
He points out that despite any amount of hard work, reinventing yourself is impossible. Gatsby dedicated his whole life into hard work, an attempt to reach his personal American Dream, which never happened, becuase it never could. Yet with the reasoning of the American Dream he clung onto false hope and pursued it blindly, consuming materials in his destructive wake. Only to end up back where he started (He died a complete stranger to her, as if he had never met Daisy).
Thanks for your comments. They are so well written and insightful. Reminds me to put more effort in reflecting about what I’m reading.
Thank you Paul, I’m so glad you enjoyed the post! :)
I don’t ever want to fall in love
love can be scary, but don’t keep yourself closed off! :) it probably can’t end as bad as Gatsby’s story anyway
It is a metaphor for the grief that we feel at the loss of pure love.
Hi Gordon, thanks for your comment! Yes, it definitely conveys the frustration and sadness of a love lost, or one that’s unattainable.
Love was the American Dream that Gatsby represented. It was his ultimate goal; chosen becuase it is a universal aspiration all humans can relate to. The last sentences are generally referencing any American with any Dream (not necessarily love), and represent man being surrounded and pushed back by his past. The American Dream says that any man can achieve his dream of he works hard enough but we see how flawed that logic is. That the past can brandish a person for life, not only in the eyes of others but also himself.