The Great Gatsby, a timeless novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has left an indelible mark on literature with its evocative depiction of the American Dream and the Roaring Twenties. The character of Jay Gatsby is particularly noteworthy, embodying both hope and tragedy in his pursuit of love and success. In this collection, we've gathered some of the most profound quotes from The Great Gatsby, categorized under various themes. These quotes reflect the essence of the novel and offer a glimpse into the profound insights that Fitzgerald wove into his narrative.
Love and Desire Quotes
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us."
"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired."
"You can't repeat the past."
"He looked at her the way all women want to be looked at by a man."
"I hope she'll be a fool—that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."
"In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars."
"He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it."
"He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God."
"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly.
"I love her and that's the beginning and end of everything."
"His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it."
Wealth and Class Quotes
"They're a rotten crowd,' I shouted across the lawn. 'You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."
"Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead."
"It takes two to make an accident."
"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly.
"The rich get richer and the poor get—children."
"A sense of the fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth."
"Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn."
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."
"There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind."
"No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart."
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
"What foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men."
Hope and Dreams Quotes
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us."
"He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it."
"His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it."
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired."
"He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God."
"It eluded us then, but that's no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther."
"Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams."
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
"I'm not sentimental—I'm as romantic as you are. The idea, you know, is that the sentimental person thinks things will last—the romantic person has a desperate confidence that they won't."
"He's the man who fixed the World's Series back in 1919."
"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."
"Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever."
Tragedy Quotes
"No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart."
"They're a rotten crowd,' I shouted across the lawn. 'You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."
"It takes two to make an accident."
"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly.
"The rich get richer and the poor get—children."
"Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn."
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."
"There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind."
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
"What foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men."
"The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly."
"The rest offended her— and inarguably, because it wasn't a gesture but an emotion."
Identity and Self-Discovery Quotes
"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."
"In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars."
"His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it."
"You can't repeat the past."
"The rich get richer and the poor get—children."
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired."
"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly.
"Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn."
"There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind."
"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."
"Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever."
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
Friendship Quotes
"They're a rotten crowd,' I shouted across the lawn. 'You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."
"Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead."
"It takes two to make an accident."
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us."
"He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it."
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired."
"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly."
"Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn."
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."
"No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart."
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
"Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever."
Hope and Disillusionment Quotes
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us."
"He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it."
"His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it."
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired."
"He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God."
"It eluded us then, but that's no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther."
"Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams."
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
"I'm not sentimental—I'm as romantic as you are. The idea, you know, is that the sentimental person thinks things will last—the romantic person has a desperate confidence that they won't."
"He's the man who fixed the World's Series back in 1919."
"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."
"Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever."
Society and Morality Quotes
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us."
"It takes two to make an accident."
"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly.
"The rich get richer and the poor get—children."
"Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn."
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."
"There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind."
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
"What foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men."
"No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart."
"Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever."
"The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly."
Loneliness and Isolation Quotes
"The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly."
"They're a rotten crowd,' I shouted across the lawn. 'You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."
"It takes two to make an accident."
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us."
"He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it."
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired."
"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly."
"Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn."
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."
"No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart."
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
"Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever."
Legacy and Memory Quotes
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us."
"He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it."
"His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it."
"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired."
"He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God."
"It eluded us then, but that's no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther."
"Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams."
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
"I'm not sentimental—I'm as romantic as you are. The idea, you know, is that the sentimental person thinks things will last—the romantic person has a desperate confidence that they won't."
"He's the man who fixed the World's Series back in 1919."
"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."
"Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever."
Final words
The Great Gatsby remains a poignant exploration of the American Dream, capturing the elusive nature of happiness and success. Through Jay Gatsby’s life and ultimate demise, F. Scott Fitzgerald delves deep into themes of love, wealth, and societal norms, all while painting a vivid picture of 1920s America. Each of these quotes serves as a testament to the novel’s enduring relevance, resonating with readers’ hearts and minds. Whether reflecting on human ambition, the pitfalls of desire, or the raw truths of society, these quotes highlight the profound insights and rich literary craftsmanship of Fitzgerald's work. The timeless wisdom found in The Great Gatsby continues to inspire, challenge, and provoke thought, proving its status as a classic in American literature.
