Jay Gatsby, the central figure of the the story, is one character who longs for the past. Surprisingly he devotes most of his adult life to recapturing it and, finally, dies in its pursuit. In the past, Gatsby had a love affair with the affluent Daisy. Knowing he could not marry her because of the difference in their social status, he leaves her to amass wealth to reach her economic standards. Once he acquires this wealth, he moves back to Long Island where Daisy resides – "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay,"(83)– and throws extravagant parties, hoping by chance she might show up at one of them. He, himself, does not attend his parties but watches them from a distance. When this dream is not realized, he as

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