A character’s attempt to recapture the past is important in many plays, novels, and poems. Choose a literary work in which a character views the past with such feelings as reverence, bitterness, or longing. Show with clear evidence from the work how the character’s view of the past is used to develop a theme in the work. You may base your essay on a work by one of the following authors, or you may choose a work of another author of comparable literary excellence.

One literary work that portrays a character’s view of the past with a sense of longing and reverence is “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this novel, the character of Jay Gatsby is shown to have a deep yearning to recapture his past, particularly his romantic relationship with Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby’s view of the past is used to develop the theme of the elusive and illusory nature of the American Dream, as well as the destructive consequences of living in the past and clinging to unattainable ideals.