‘You can’t repeat the past? Why, of course you can.’

‘You can’t repeat the past? Why, of course you can.’

This statement of Mr Gatsby’s is fairly familiar, following the hugely publicised release of Baz Luhrmann’s film ‘The Great Gatsby’, and I suppose this appears that I am jumping on the band-wagon hype that is currently encircling F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most popular novel.

I probably am.

But the novel does definitely raise some interesting questions about repeating the past, and so it made me think. I, personally, would not want to repeat the past, unlike our dear friend Jay Gatz – after all, I want to go on and see what’s ahead not stay behind with something where you know what’s going to happen – because you have been there before.

Naturally, the concept of the past and looking back appears throughout literature (I am afraid this post will be a fairly literary one, but I am not trying to be pretentious, promise!) – I read in ‘Brideshead Revisited’ by Evelyn Waugh the idea that “These memories which are my life – for we possess nothing certainly except the past – were always with me.”

This concept I actually find much more interesting that Gatsby’s idea; I had never really considered that the only thing in life that is certain is what has already happened. And I think that is true. At the moment I feel like nothing is really certain; even down to me going to university in October – which I really hope to and want to do – all depends on a succession of events going exactly as planned so that I arrive in my new halls in late September all ready and rearing to go.

I suppose that’s part and parcel of life – living with the constant unknown. Which brings me to another quote (I promise this is the last one) ‘"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," he used to say. "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."’ This, as you may have guessed, is in both the film and book ‘The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring’ (which I confess I have not read, but I have watched the film, honest), and I think this actually sums up my whole point; life is full of unknown, and I suppose there is definite security in ‘repeating the past’ because you know exactly what will happen next.

Yet, I personally think the unknown makes things all the more exciting, and actually makes me more motivated to try things, in the ignorant hope that something’ll happen.

So no, Mr Gatsby, you are definitely wrong, you can’t repeat the past, and I think it’s a jolly good thing that we can’t, old sport.