The great gatsby study questions

Why is it so important to Gatsby that Daisy say she never loved Tom?

in order for his fantosy to be complete, he needs to hear that her love for him was pure, that she could never love another man, This isn't true, of course, just as the dream that Gotaby has cannot be achieved.

6. Jordan recalls the time in 1917 when she saw Gatsby and Daisy together. From Jordan's description, do you think Daisy was genuinely interested in Gatsby?

Yes. She's so captivated by him in that scene that she doesn't even nofice Jordan until she's just five feet away. Daisy and Gatsby were very into each other back in the day.

2. What ia weird about Nick's drive into New York with Gatsbyt List at least three things about Gotsby in this scene that strike you as odd.

's an awkward drive, os Gotsby is trying way too hard to impress Nick First Gohby overshares obout his background, being sure to mention that he inherited family money, but that all of his people uwe dead now Weird. Second, he emphasizes that he was "educated at Oxford," in such a way that immediately mokes Nick think that he's lying. He's even carrying around a photo of himself at Oxford to use os proof. Even weirder. Third, he soys his people are from the mid west, but then says they're from San Francisco, doesn't toke a geography expert to know that Son Francisco is not in the mid-west. More weirdness Finally lyes, here's on extra one for youl, he's corrying around a medal of valor from Montenegro. Who does thale Someone who's irying too hord to impress othern, that's who

3. Who is Owl-Eyes? What Burprises him about Gatsby's library? Why would this impress hime

A middle-aged drunk man sitting in Gatsby's library as he tries to sober up a bit. He is stunned that the books in Gatsby's massive library are real. In West Egg, it's common to find that things have been built merely for show, but that they are actually a facade. He expected the books to be fake ones, or just blank books, so he's impressed to realize that Gatsby has gone to great expense to furnish a real library. It's sort of like modern homes that are built with marble columns, but you find out later that the columns are actually hollow and faux painted. Symbolically, the library connects to Gatsby himself as your students will soon realize that he's a fraud, too.

2. What is the cause of the problem between Jordan and Nick?

After witnessing everything from the previous day, any connection or romance seems dead now. They never really liked each other that much, anyway, so it's not o big loss for either when they fail to connect.

What's the weather like at the beginning of the chapter? Symbolically analyze this element of the scene.

Analysis of the rain could go two different ways First, it might be a sign that nothing can ever be perfect, no motter how much Gatsby wants to be. Second, it might be an optimistic sign of renewal and cleanliness, washing Oway the sorrow of the post

The green light that Gatsby is staring at will become an important symbol in the book. What symbolic associations do you connect to the color green?

Answers will vary, but students will likely mention that green reminds them of jealousy (l.e, green eyed monster), money, and/or the earth.

When Wilson disoppears for three hours, where do you guess he might have gone? (You won't know for certain until later.)

Answers will vary, but we know later that Wilson went to Tom's house to find aut about the owner of the yellow car. We'll find out in the final chapter that Tom lells a deranged-looking Wilson where Gatsby lives.

Describe the driving arrangement that brings the five characters into the city.

Daisy and Gatsby drive together in Tom's car, while Tom drives Nick and Jordan in Gotsby's car.

9. What is the reader left to think about Daisy's emotional state and her relationship with Tom?

Daisy is all over the place, almost like a manic depressive (up, down, all around) in this evening. She's trying to pretend that everything's okay, but then she confesses her darkest marital woes to Nick, a cousin she really doesn't know very well at all. Her marriage with Tom is troubled. He's having an affair with the woman on the phone tonight and he wasn't even there for the birth of their daughter. Tom's a jerk, and Daisy's a mess.

8. Besides Myrtle's, what other eyes "kept their vigil" on the activities along the roadway?

Doctor T. J. Eckleburg's eyes from the billboord are also watching everyone.

11. Why does Daisy have a tough time saying, as Gatsby wishes, that she never loved Tom

Even though it goes against Gahby's wish, there wos a time when Doisy loved Tom. She can't erase the fact that they had some good fimes

1. Why, do you suppose, Fitzgerald links the behavior of the characters to the hottest day of the summer?

Fitzgerald has the weather mirror the growing heat/lension among the characters in the love triongle. Things are hot and miseroble. This use of weather foreshadows the blow-up at the hotel room.

How has Gatsby earned most of his money, and what does Tom say that startles Gatsbyt

Gatby has illegally woned his money by bootlegging and having shady business operations Tom startles Gahby when he knows that Gatsby is up to o bigger score, something of which Tom's contact Walter doesn't know the details

Who, do you suppose, sent the letter that caused Daisy to become so upset? What do you think the leter may have said?

Gatsby He was probably declaring his love for her in the letter.

11. At the end of this chapter, Nick sees Gatsby on the lawn and is about to call to him and introduce himself, but he does not. What stops Nick? What does Gatsby's "trembling" suggeste

Gatsby is all alone, reaching out to touch something across the dark waters. It seems like he wants to be alone. There's something out there that he's yearning to acquire. The trembling makes it seem like the thing is emotional and important.

9. Nick says, "Then it had not been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night" when Nick first spotted Gatsby reaching out across the bay. Whot does Nick now realize about that night and about Gatsby's real estate purchase?

Gatsby wants Daisy, but he also aspires to reach the higher social class that Daisy represents. Nick realizes that Gatsby purchased that particular house because it's adjacent to the Buchanans' house.

7. What were Nick's final significant words to Gatsby? Why is this a fitting goodbye?

Gatsby? Nick said, "They're a rotten crowd. You're worth the whole damn bunch put together." I's true. The irony, of course, is that Gatsby wanted so desperately to be a part of this elite group that is actually filled with selfish, lousy people.

2. Compare and contrast George Wilson and Tom Buchanan. Then, compare and contrast Myrtle Wilson and Daisy Buchanan.

George is poor, gray, and a shadow of a man. His wife is cheating on him, but he doesn't know. Tom is wealthy and powerful. He's making a fool of Wilson. Myrtle is full-bodied and sexy, while Daisy is thin and frail. Myrtle, although we don't like her, is living life fully and oozes sexuality. Daisy, unlike George, is fully aware of the affair her husband is having, but she's powerless to stop it.

1. In the first few pages of this chaptert, we learn about Gotsby's background. When did James Gatz change his name to Jay Gataby? Why did he leave college after just two weekst

He changed his name when he was 17. He was frustrated that the people there didn't immediately recognize his greatness and he felt the janitor workstudy job he was given was beneath him.

In what ways is Gatsby's behavior at his party quite unlike the behavior of most of his guests?

He doesn't drink and he holds to strict formality. He's removed from the raucous fun.

While the reader can have easily predicted Daisy and Tom's reactions to his party, Gatsby cannot. Why not?

He doesn't understand what is truly appealing to the elite class. He shill operates under that vision of wealth/luxury that he conjured for himself when he was 17. His vision of having "made it" is the new money vision of success (grond, opulent, overthe-top), but the old money ways are for more understated and refined.

6. Why, do you suppose, Tom decides to let Wilson finally have the car he has been promising him?

He feels slightly uncomfortable when he has to face the pain that the affair has caused Wilson. If Wilson's planning on taking Myrtle out west, then Tom must figure one last deal on a car is something he owes to the poor man he's turned into a cuckold

4. When Nick asks Gotuby what business he is in, Gatsby responds, "Thor's my affair," belfore he realizes thot this is not on appropriate reply. Why does Gonby give that answer, and why is not i on appropriate reply

He gves the onwer becouse he's up to no good (working as a booflegger) and doesn't wont Doisy, or anyone to know obout t This is not an appropriate respond becouse if's curt and rude

1. Nick describes the people who attend Gatsby's parties and says "that once there, the guests conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks." Given this, what can you conclude is Nick's opinion of Gatsby's party guests?

He is not impressed. All of these fancy people behave like drunken fools. Nick isn't a big drinker, and it's not much fun to hang out with a bunch of drunks when you're the only sober one around.

What is Nick's social class/background? How did his family make its moneye

He is upper-middle class. His family has money, but not at the level of the Buchanan family. The family owns a cluster of hardware stores in the midwest

16. Why does Tom make the point to Wilson that he just drove the coupe from New York and the yellow car does not actually belong to him?

He knows that Wilson saw him driving the very same car earlier that afternoon and he wants to remove any suspicion that may fall on him

What does Gatsby understand about Daisy's voice that Nick does nol?

He knows that part of her voice's allure is that it sounds like money, like gold coins jingling.

What shocking piece of information does Nick receive in his chance meeting with Tom? What is Nick's final feeling about Tom and Daisy?

He learns that Tom was the person who told Wilson that Gatsby was the man who killed Myrtle. That they are careless people who create damage/messes and expect other people to clean up the mess. They are able to use their money and their influence to avoid taking responsibility for the damage they cause.

1. Why was the young Gatsby drawn to Daisy?

He liked that other men wanted her and he also like the glamour of her house

How can Wilson's actions at the end of this chapter be explained?

He mistakenly believes that Gatsby ia the one who killed his wife, so he hunts him down and shoots him. Wilson, unable to face the horror of what he's done, then hurns the gun on himsell.

9. As always, there is a grain of truth in what Gatsby says. In what sense is he an Oxford man?

He participated in a study obroad program for soldiers after the war, He attended some classes at Oxford, but was there only five months

Gatby asks the groundskeeper not to drain the pool. Why? In light of what happens at the very end of this chapter, how is this exchange symbolically meaningful?

He realizes that the entire summer season has passed and he han't once taken o swim in his own pool. He decides today is the waits for Doisy's coll, Summer is officially over, but Gotsby just can't let go. He wants to live in the past, not accepting the change of time, change of seasons He's lost Daisy, but he's still delusionally waiting to hear from her

1. What was the advice given to Nick by his father? How, do you suppose, this makes him a good person to tell this story?

He reminded Nick that not everyone's had all of the advantages that he's had and that he shouldn't be judgmental of others. Since he's open to people, non-judgmental, and a good listener, people are often more open with him than with others. Because of this, he's privy to information about people that they might not normally share. Good listeners often have many good stories to tell.

Daisy says that Tom is "revolting." To what, can you imagine, is she referring?

He says that he loves her, but admits that he sometimes goes "off on a spree" and has an affair. He's odmitting to his infidelity in the same breath hat he says he loves her.

Why does Nick feel responsible for getting people to the funeral? Why do you suppose Wolfsheim reacts the way he does?

He thought of himself as Gatsby's friend and he wants to do the right thing. He wants to distance himself from anything that would draw attention to himself. He's a gangster and needs to keep things on the down-low

3. Why does Gatsby toke Nick and Daisy the long oway oround his house to the front door instead of just cuting through the back lown?

He wants to show off his impressive home by giving the full, grand tour. I's important for Doisy to get the full picture of his weolth.

What does young Jimmy Gatz's daily schedule say about him?

He was an extremely hard worker and dedicated to selfimprovement, though he was frustrated by his lapses in self-discipline.

3. When Nick returns from the war, why does he decide to go East?

He was uncertain what to do with himself and figured there was opportunity on Wall Street.

What steps has Gatsby taken to ensure this reunion day is perfect?

He's had way too many flowers delivered, hod Nick's lawn mowed, and is wearing a white suit with silver shirt and gold tie.

Is Nick surprised that Daisy has not sent a message or flowers?

He's not really surprised and says that he understands her position and doesn't resent her, however, the fact that he mentions it while talking about the funeral does make it seem like he's disappointed that Daisy didn't come to give her regards.

3. How do we know that Myrtle Wilson is not an intellectual?

Her manner of speech places her solidly in the working class (ex: "I don't suppose you got that kind?") Also, she reads Town Tattle, a gossip magazine, and salacious fiction like Simon Called Peter. She's not a deep thinker.

Nick says, "So he [Gotsby] invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end" For James Gatz, what does he expect the future Jay Gatsby's life will be likel night, what sets James' heart "in a constant, turbulent" riot

His new life will be filled with every luxury. All of his dreams will come true. His desires for bigger, more gaudy displays of wealth As o young man, he figures glitz and bling ore true symbols of wealth. He has a young, North Dakota sense of what on elite wealthy life would be like; the bigger/the gaudier, the better, he thinks.

1. The description of the "valley of ashes" opens this chapter. Literally, what is the valley of ashes? What might it represent on a symbolic level?

It is the industrial section that separates the fashionable West and East Eggs from Manhattan, It's gray and covered in ashes/soot from all of the factories in the area. Nick travels through the valley of ashes every day on the train he takes to work Symbolically, this is a wasteland. The Wilsons' garage is here and this is where the sinful Myrtle lives. It's colored gray, as the moral ambiguity of right and wrong is also in the reader's mind.

Jordan declares to Nick that she "hates careless people." Explain the irony here.

Jordan is about as careless/ irresponsible as they come. She cheats, lies, and accidentally destroys other people's property (the convertible) all without taking any sort of responsibility. She is exactly what she says she hates.

5. What's up with the puppy? Why do you suppose Fitzgerald included it as an element in this chapter?

Myrtle has Tom buy the dog for her on a whim. The puppy symbolizes the lack of thought with which Myrtle and Tom are living their lives/committing their sins. There's no long-term thought here about the consequences of the choices they make. If they want something, they get it (or do it); the puppy serves as a reminder that living things (people?) will suffer when we act without thought or without a plan.

Z What indication is there at this point that, in Myrtle's mind anyway, Tom has been more than a fling®

Myrtle has refused to move away with husband. Clearly, she wants to stay in New York because she imagines sho'll have some sort of future with Tom.

Describe the hitand-run scene.

Myrtle, who's been locked up by her husband, spots the flashy yellow car that she saw Tom driving eorlier in the day. She breaks out of her home and runs into the street, trying to fRag down Tom, but not realizing that Tom isn't in that car. The car, driven by Doisy, mows down Myrtle and then leaves the scene of the accident. Loter, Gatsby tells Nick that Daisy wos driving, but that he'll take the blame in order to protect her.

In the last four paragraphs, Nick makes the symbol of the green light very concrete. What does the green light symbolize?

Nick connects the green light to the lush green continent of America as viewed by early settlers. Just as Gatsby was reaching for the promise of a higher social level, so too were the early Dutch settlers looking for a better, more satisfying life promised by this new land.

What's happening between Nick and Jordant

Nick is ottracted to her, even if she doesn't really like/respect her, They have a romance brewing, but il's more of a summer fling than the real thing.

What is Nick's view of repeating the past, and what is Gatsby's opinion? Why is Gatsby's opinion unrealistic

Nick says you can't repeat the past, that you must move on. Gatsby disagrees; he's determined to repeat the past and wants to pick up with Daisy right where they left off five years ogo. Obviously, people change and life's circumstonces change. Daisy isn't the same girl she was back in Louisville, Now, she has a daughter and a complicated marriage with Tom. You really can't go back again.

5. Alter crossing poths with Gatsby, Tom says, "i may be oldfashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me." Whot's interesting (and hypocritical) about this linet

Obviously, Tom is a bypocrite becouse he's done plently of running around himself and he's attracted to women, like Myrtle, who are exactly the kind of women he's tolking about here

How does Daisy behave the night before her wedding? Whye

She gets roaring drunk and attempts to throw away an expensive peorl neckloce that Tom gave her. She's having second thoughts about marrying Tom and has received a letter that has caused her to become very upset

10. Who is Jordan Baker? What has Nick heard about her?

She is Daisy's friend and a professional golfer. Nick seems to remember she was involved in some unpleasantness connected to her sport, but he doesn't remember the details.

What is Daisy's opinion of Gatsby's party?

She pretends to like it, but she doesn't really. The people are loud, drunk, and obnaxious. Although the party is ritzy and luxurious, there's really nothing classy about it.

7. We find out that Tom has "some woman in New York." What unflattering feature of Jordan Baker's personality is revealed in this scene?

She's a gossip and seems to take a small amount of pleasure in Daisy's pain in this scene.

What is Doisy's reaction to this news?

She's terrified and then pulls back from Gatsby. Eventually, she begs Tom to stop talking and ottacking Gatsby. She wants to go home.

Why does jordan want to leave the group from the east egg? Why does nick want to leave the group

Shes bored with the group and theres a young man serving as her escort who has been coming on too strong. He wants to meet gatsby. He was one of the few people who was actually invited to the party and he wants to meet the host

Looking through the list of party-goers, find and paraphrase at least three pieces of evidence that the old money is in East Egg and the new money in West Egg?

The East Eggers named Blackbuck are snooty and flip their noses up at everyone. 2. East Eggers include legendary American family names, such as Voltaire and Stonewall Jackson, and people Nick knew from Yale. 3. West Eggers are mostly movie/entertainment producers and people with more- ethnic sounding names like Poles and Mulreadys, making us think more of an immigrant class of people.

Nick says, "I was looking at an elegant young roughneck.whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. Some time before he introduced himself l'd got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care." What is Fitzgerald trying to convey here about Gatsby? How should we feel about Gatsby here?

The author is trying to make us see that Gatsby is putting on a bit of a show. He's not all he seems to be and we should be a bit wary of fully trusting him. We like him and are impressed by his generosity in throwing such parties, but we're also a bit skeptical obout his background.

5. Okay, ler's talk obout that scene with the shirts. Obviously, Daisy's not crying becouse of the actual shirts Analyze the possoge and exploin what, exactly, has coused Daisy to become so emotionol os she wrops herelf in all those fancy shirts.

The beautiful, colorful shirts ore a symbol of whot Daisy's lost by marrying Tom. Gatsby is the colorful, exolic fabric, while Tom would be the stoid, tarched white shirts worn by the upperclass. All of the color and fun is out of her lily-white life. Daisy is the ultimate material girl, so 's no surprise that the fine material of Gotsby's shin bring her to the edge of her breaking point. If the clothes moke the man, Daisy is likely wishing that she could wrop hersell up in Gatsby The shirts will hove to do - for now.

8. What's the name of the book that Tom wants to discuss at dinner? What does this book's content show us about Tom?

The book is called The Rise of the Colored Empires by Goddard. Tom is a huge racist. We should be troubled by this realization.

Nick's fantastic dream involves El Greco figures. What is the dream, and what might this dream represent in regard to Nick's present feelings about the East?

The dream was a glitzy scene of West Egg partiers as they carried a drunken woman dripping with jewels into the wrong house, but no one knows the woman or cares about her. A darker read on the description is that the woman is dead. The dream means that the East Coast has lost the allure it once held. The consequence of this lifestyle is human carnage. No amount of glitz or bling can cover the darkness and sorrow.

4. Notice how often and in what context Doctor Eckleburg's eyes are mentioned. Symbolicaly, what might those eye that billboard represente

The eyes on the billboard are like the eyes of God, watching over the sinful acts of the people who live in the shadow of the sign. Two large, disembodied eyeballs glare down over the area. It's creepy, really.

When Gatsby briefly meets Daisy's little girl, he is somewhat unnerved. Symbolically, what does the little girl represent?

The girl is physical evidence that he cannol repeat the past. He can't erase the fact that Daisy now has a daughter. The girl doesn't fit into Gatsby's view of his future with Daisy; she's evidence that proves Nick is right about being unable to relive the past.

6. Why do you suppose that Jordan does not believe Gatsby when he says that he had attended Oxford College in England?

The way he explains it to people make us all think that he's trying too hard to impress. Also, Jordan is a huge liar and, well, it takes one to know one, right?

To young Gatz, whot does Dan Cody's yocht represent

The yacht represents all of the beauty and glamour in the world

3. What two things does Nick see on/near the Queensboro Bridge that make him think that Gatsby is, perhaps, telling the truth?

There's a somber funeral procession, but then they are passed by a limousine driven by a white chauffeur. Inside the limo, two African-American men and a woman are having a riolous fime. This contrast makes Nick think that anything is possible in New York.

Toward the end of the party, we have the unflattering description of husbands and wives and also the drunk who has crashed his car. What is Fitzgerald's deeper message to us here?

There's several potential answers here. First, he may just be showing how poorly people behave when they're drunk. Second, he might be showing that drunken parties are the great leveler; people from both West Egg and East Egg illegally drink to excess. Finally, he could be hinting that there will always be a price to pay for over-indulging. Literally, these people will have bruised marriages and broken cars; figuratively, the wheels are falling off the forward motion of the country. The Roaring Twenties will, of course, lead to the hangover of the Dirty Thirties/the Great Depression.

19. What is the scene that Nick observes taking place between Tom and Daisy in the kitchent

They are tolking logether at a table, with cold chicken and a couple of botles of ale between them. Tom is talking, Doisy's nodding in ogreement, and Tom's big hand wraps over Daisy's hands, I's clear to Nick that they're conspiring together.

What unexpected common bond do Gatsby and Nick share?

They fought in similar battalions during World War I and Gatsby recognizes Nick - quite the coincidence!

Before meeting him, what does Nick tell us about Tom Buchanan?

They went to school together at Yale. Tom was a football star at the college and comes from an extremely wealthy family. As an example of the excess his wealth can buy, Nick tells us that Tom was able to purchase a "string of polo ponies from Lake Forest. " Also, it seems that Tom likely peaked in college, a depressing realization for a man's life.

As the three of them look across the bay toward Daisy's house, Nick tells us, "Possibly ia had occurred to him thot the colossal significonce of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to that great distonce that had separated him from Daisy i had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It hod seemed as close as a star to the moon Now it wos ogain a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one." First, explain what Fitzgerold means by "the greot distance" between Gatsby and Daisy. Then, explain the significance of the lact that the green light is now just a light on a dock and that Gatsby's "count of enchanted objects had diminished by one."

They're apart becouse of her marriage to Tom, but, mare importantly, the distance between them is a huge one of social clas. He's trying to reach out and close the gap between their social classes, but, of course, that is impossible. This part of the reunion is like the feeling you get once you finally occomplish a gool/obtain something you've wanted for a long fime. While you're hoppy to finally have that thing, there might be a lintle bit of a lot down because the item/achievement isn't as awesome as you'd always dreamed it would be. This reminds me of young brides who spend a year planning their wedding and then don't even enjoy their big day because they're so exhousted and/or pained about making sure every detail is absalutely perfect. They're bound to be let down, at least a limte. This is what's happening to Gatsby at the end of this chapter.

Why does Gatby not get the $25,000 left to him in Cody's will? What lesson did young Gatsby likely learn from this incident

Through legal wranglings that Gatsby does not understand, Ello Kaye is able to make sure Gatsby doesn't get the money. He learned that he couldn't rely on wealth to be given to him; he would have to eam i himsell

5. Gatsby disappears when which other character unexpectedly arrives at lunch? Take a guess os to why Gatsby doesn't want to see this character.

Tom Buchanan. I's likely obvious to your class at this point in the story that Gatsby is in love with Daisy or ot least that he has a compelling reason to want to avoid Tom Buchanan.

3. What causes Tom to realize that his wife has been having an affair with Gatsby?

Tom con read between the lines as Daisy is fawning over Gatsby. He con tell from the tone of her voice, which is not discreet.

20. Why does this scene suggest ill for Gatsby

Tom has won. Daisy will follow Tom and do as he says She wants to be saved from this situation and Tom, not Gatsby, is the mon she'll look to for rescue.

6. Do you think Tom will leave Daisy for Myrtle? Support your answer.

Tom will never leave Daisy for Myrtle, He breaks Myrtle's nose when she gets mouthy and says his wife's name. Myrtle is beneath Tom in social class and. while it's fine to have an affair with Myrtle, he would never, ever marry her. It'd be a scandal and he doesn't love her: he tolerates her so the affair can continue.

18. What does the reader learn that Tom does not know?

We know that Daisy, not Gatsby, was the driver of the car that hit Myrtle.

How is West Egg different from East Egg?

West Egg is where people with new money live. East Egg is where the old money families live. Both are luxurious, but the East Eggers are seen as a higher class. West Eggers are wealthy, but can be seen as being tacky with their wealth.

17. What indication is there that Tom really was fond of Myrtle?

When he realizes that Myrtle's been hurt, there's a "harsh sound in his throat" and he pushes his way toward the front of the crowd to see her.

If you were going to pick one color to connect with Daisy Buchanan, what color would it be? Explain your reasoning.

White. She's dressed in white, speaks of her "white" girlhood, and her name, "Daisy" evokes the classic white flower.

3. In what context do Dr. Eckleburg's eyes appear in this chapter?

Wilson believes the billboard's eyes are literally the eyes of God and that God has seen and judged the sinful acts of the people in the valley of the ashes.

4. Who is Meyer Wolfsheim, and what do we know about him?

Wolfsheim is a shady businesaman/gongster who Gotsby does business with. We know that he wears cufflinks made out of human molars (ewl) and that he was involved in the scandalous fixing of the 1919 World Series

Keeping the last few paragraphs in mind, what does the last sentence in the story mean?

mean? Ir's a depressing line because it seems we are doomed to forever try to move forward by rowing against a strang current that forever pushes up backward. We keep reaching for the wonderful picture of the future, but we'll never be able to reach it, Fitzgerald seems to be saying here. Bleak stuff.