11 Best F. Scott Fitzgerald Quotes

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

The final line of the novel, spoken by Nick as he reflects on Gatsby's futile dream and the human struggle to move forward while being pulled back by the past.

“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.”

Nick's meditation near the end of the novel, connecting Gatsby's hope to the universal human pursuit of an ever-elusive future.

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

Nick's bitter assessment of Tom and Daisy after Gatsby's death, highlighting their moral irresponsibility.

“Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!”

Gatsby's reply to Nick when Nick tells him he cannot repeat the past, revealing Gatsby's delusion about reclaiming Daisy.

“Her voice is full of money.”

Gatsby's observation about Daisy's voice, which Nick interprets as a sign of her privileged, materialistic nature.

“I hope she'll be a fool—that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

Daisy's comment to Nick and Jordan about her daughter, reflecting her cynical view of women's limited options in a patriarchal society.

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

Narrator's reflection on Dick Diver's character early in the novel.

“I don't want to be a bit of a woman, I want to be a whole woman.”

Nicole says this to Dick during a moment of emotional vulnerability.

“You're a beautiful thing, a beautiful thing that I want to take care of.”

Dick says this to Rosemary, expressing his protective yet possessive feelings.

“She was a good girl, and she was in love with him, and she was going to have him.”

Narrator's description of Rosemary's determination regarding Dick.

“The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of us but those who win battles we know nothing about.”

A line from the novel, often quoted, though its exact placement is debated.