According to The Great Gatsby, what is it about the past that draws us both forward and leaves us stuck where we are?

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, we get to see Gatsby and Daisy's love relationship of the past. Jay Gatsby becomes the person who can't go forward, and Daisy becomes the person who draws us forward.

So the story goes like this. Daisy was a beautiful young girl in Kentucky, and all the military officers were in love with her. However, Daisy fell in love with Jay Gatsby, who had later left for the war. When Gatsby had to leave for the war, Daisy promised to wait for him, but later broke the promise and married Tom Buchanan. Yes, it was a very sad love story.

After Gatsby had come back, he works hard to get Daisy back on his side. He participates in organizing a crime to receive great amounts of money, buys a great mansion on West Egg, and holds weekly party at his mansion. He had done all of this to get Daisy back. Gatsby lingers on about his past relationship with Daisy, and she becomes the single goal of all of his dreams. Gatsby is the character who gets stuck in his past, and can't move forward.

However, in Daisy's case, she already has a family. She lives with Tom Buchanan and two children in a fancy mansion in East Egg. She behaves differently towards her family to hide her pain from the past with Gatsby. Therefore, she has many different sides to her personality throughout the story. She keeps her daughter around her as a show toy. This is what defines her life. When no one is around, she is a bored house wife. Although she wants to go back to the joyful time with Gatsby, she believes that her dream won't come true, still clinging on to hope that it might come true someday. The problem is that Daisy is not a dreamer like Gatsby. She lives her life by certain rules, and is frightened to break free from it. She somehow tries to forget about Gatsby. Daisy is the opposite from Gatsby, and she is the one who is trying to go forward.

The old love between the two has separated them now. The past drew Daisy forward, and Gatsby stuck in the past. Daisy's betrayal towards Gatsby causes her to try to move forward. She is scared to break free, and runaway with Gatsby. However, Gatsby has the courage to fix his old love with Daisy. He would do anything to get Daisy back.

...Such a sad love story ;(