Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Past and Present

Please respond to the follwoing questions-make sure to give a thorough response and respond to at least one other person's comment.
Idealism has always been a way for people to escape reality. If you are a dreamer, do you have to be more careful? Nick says to Gatsby, "You can't repeat the past." What do you think? Are there repercussions?

22 comments:

  1. I think that dreamers need to be careful, but it shouldn't hinder their dreams to be more, to be somebody. However, I don't think that dreamers need to be more careful with idealism to escape than non-dreamers that use idealism to escape. In fact, the non-dreamers should be more careful because the dreamers have a will and something to hold onto with their idealism; they have something to strive toward. I think that you can repeat the past, but it won't be exactly the same, because you can't just rewind time to go back to it. However, you can repeat the past and even the past will repeat itself. I think that Gatsby is just wants to be with Daisy and relive the glory days with her so bad that it might be unhealthy. Repercussions of this may be harming himself or others physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Also, Gatsby seems to be stuck or caught in a memory and he isn't moving forward with his life. Is it worth doing this for Daisy?

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  2. I think dreamers should be more careful because sometimes dreams don't work out the way you've dreamt them and therefore it could disappoint a person. But also as Garrett said, dreamers have something to move forward upon, a goal they want to achieve. I don't really think you can repeat the past because it won't ever be the same. Like if two people went out and broke up then a couple years later, got back together sort of like Daisy and Gatsby the feelings wont be the same, and the feeling of the relationship won't be the same. I believe that events from the past could repeat themselves but you cannot just go back to whatever time you wanted to. The repercussions are that if one is stuck in the past then they won't ever get the nerve to move on in life, experiance new things and make new memories because their mindset is right in the past and making those memories come back and be another reality.

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  3. Dreamers should be careful because fallowing a dream is always risky, especially if it is a goal that may be a challenge to reach. But it is important that one still sets goals and dreams despite the risks because in can be beneficial in the short term. For example, if a student is trying to be accepted to a great college, they have to work hard in high school which will get them good grades. Also,I agree with Katy that sometimes dreams do not work out. That is why it is a good idea to accept the fact that failure is a possiblity from the beginning. I believe that people can repeat the past but it will not be exactly the same.As humans, we make mistakes and learn from them, but it is a choice to change our behaviors. Gatsby does not crave a relationship with Daisy because he is in love with her, but rather he was in love with how he felt at the time of their relationship. He wants to repeat his past because he knows how great it felt, however he does not realize that if he gets back together with her, it might not feel exactly the same.

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  4. I think it is possible to repeat the past. Is it going to be exactly the same? No. History repeats itself and thats been proven. Not everything is going to be the same and not everything is going to have the out come you may want or expect. There are repercussions. I think that if you repeat the past or attempt to you may lose everything you have now or everything that is to come in the future. I believe that you have to let life take it's course. If you try to hard to make something happen or only focus on that, you end up missing out on everything else that is going on in life. I wouldn't say that dreamers need to be more careful but they need to be more accepting to disappointment. When you are a dreamer you see all these things that you want from life and from yourself, but what happens when none of those come true? Dreamers should keep dreaming how they want and never look back, but when things don't happen the way they want they shouldn't be upset when they are disappointed. Most of the time when people dream and those dreams don't come true they are disappointed the most so I think that they should be prepared for that and not more careful. But I agree with Garrett when he said "In fact, the non-dreamers should be more careful because the dreamers have a will and something to hold onto with their idealism; they have something to strive toward." None dreamers have more to worry about and less to look forward to!
    <3 youuuu comp master 2000

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  5. I don't think anything should hold your dreams back. I think you should dream big and hope for the best. A quote I once herd was "shoot for the moon and even if you miss you'll land among the stars". I herd this quote a long long time ago and it has always stuck with me. What it means to me is that if you go for something great and don't get it you"ll still end up with something really good, so why not dream big? You shouldn't worry about failure because if it is really your dream and you work hard enough I believe anything is possible. I also think it is possible to repeat the past. History is known to repeat itself. I agree with Stella how she said it won't be exactly the same though. I don't think you should try to repeat it though. If it happens let it happen but otherwise you should just focus on the future and making new memories. I think its bad to try and live in the past like Gatsby is doing because in the end it will never be as good as the first time.

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  6. I am a person of dreams. But dreams can be shut down really fast. You have to be careful, as garrett said. I think that dreams need to be set like goals. If you build up, then you will be able to accomplish those dreams and goals. So start small and see where you get because then you know that you are able to accomplish your goals and dreams. I believe that you cant repeat the past but you can learn from your mistakes. I think that we study history to learn from mistakes that we have done. So if we learn from our mistakes from the past, then we can never make those mistakes again.

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  7. If you are a dreamer you should dream all you want. Dreams can fuel your heart and mind to do things that you wouldn’t even think would be possible if you didn’t dream. But there is one thing you have to realize, your dreams may never become reality though. That is the only thing that you have to be careful of. If you don’t realize that then you could dream forever and be lost in your thoughts. When Nick said “You can’t repeat the past” he was right. You can learn from the past and try to gain experience from it. But I don’t think that there can ever be the same moment in time that you can go through again. There can be repercussions of moments that can be similar and from those moments you know what to do in them since you have already experienced it.

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  8. I believe that not allowing yourself to dream can hurt you. By dreaming you really have nothing to lose but you just have to realize some of your dreams will never come true. A repercussion of dreaming would be that you lose your sense of reality and then become hurt when your dreams do not come true. I believe you can repeat your past mistakes but you cannot grab the past and make it the present. Gatsby says"Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!". Gatsby wants to repeat the past because he missed his chance to be with Daisy, however the way Gatsby wants to repeat the past cannot happen because over time people change and learn things. Lost moments cannot be repeated because something has always changed over time.

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  9. I believe that if you are a dreamer, that you have to be more careful. Allowing yourself to get caught in a dreamer's world, makes you less aware of the reality around you, and not being careful could end up hurting you in the end. I also think, that those who dream can also create a reality of their choosing and end up being the happiest of people because they followed what they wanted. However, for those whose dreams didn't come true, it only ends up hurting them. So, I think this question is can be a win for some, and a loss for others. I think it really matters on the level of commitment and always looking at the outcomes positively that make a dreamer not have to be careful. For those dreamers that are afraid of not being able to achieve their dreams, I believe that they should be careful what they dream of. Nick says to Gatsby, "you can't repeat the past." I think that you can repeat the past if you really want to and try to. However, I don't believe that you can repeat the past the same way as you had hoped or the same way that it once was. Not learning from mistakes and constantly make them over and over repeating what was once done. Also, you can learn from mistakes and try to fix them, so that if something repeats itself from the past, a better outcome might arise. History has a way of repeating itself, and I think that Gatsby said yes you can repeat the past, because he was hoping that history with Daisy would arise again. Sure enough it did, and I think that Gatsby wants another chance at the past. I also think that with repeating the past, there can be repercussions. For example, if Daisy does not want the opportunity to be with Gatsby again, the time he spent dreaming about meeting her and being with her was a waste, and then the moments he spent hoping to have her are gone and part of his mistakes of the past, which he would have repeated because he let her go once before.

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  10. I think dreaming big can be a good thing, but some people really need to take it down a notch and become more cautious because if the dream doesn’t turn out detail by detail the way they planned, they are bound to get hurt. Sam L. said if you dream you don’t really have anything to loose but I kind of disagree with that because you are loosing something. Your whole life could have been based on that dream and if you never accomplish the dream you will be crushed and have nowhere to turn because you have been living in a fantasy world for so long. I am not saying it is healthy to base your life on a dream because I believe that you always need a backup plan in case you don’t achieve your dream or goal. Do I believe that you can repeat the past? No I don’t I believe that because you should learn and move on from mistakes you make and use those mistakes to shape who you are in the future. I think the repercussions of dwelling on the past result in what Katy R said, that you will be so focused so much on the past that you are too afraid of moving on and starting over in life and making new memories that can be good and stick with you and hopefully replace the past.

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  11. I think that being a dreamer it is a good thing. People who don't dream, I feel, are missing out on life. To get through life you need a goal. A goal is usually from a dream that you have and people should strive for them. I think if you are a dreamer you have to be truthful to yourself. You have to know you limits and know what is and isn't possible. This is the only reason I can see that dreamers need to be more careful because later on they might regret a decision. I feel you can repeat the past but only to a certain extent. You can't make the entire moment come back to life but you can make certain parts come back like emotions, settings, and people but not all at once. I agree with what Stella said about getting hung up on the past and if you try to hard you will miss out on the future. And like Garrett said about the non dreamers. You have to look forward to something in life so why don't you move toward a dream that you have. No one is stopping you.

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  12. I feel that we are all dreamers, we just have to be carful what we dream for. I say this because if you dream something big, then you may never be able to accomplish it, crushing your dreams. I don't think that it is possible to repeat the past, but I think that it is possile to learn from the past. I think this because what happened, happened, and there is no looking back, but if what happened in the past waas something big, then you learn from the expirence to have a different approch to things.

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  13. Sam L. I agree totally with what you said about if you don't allow yourself to dream, it can hurt you. Because when you were little you always had those dreams to becoming something when your older, like a fireman. Without those dreams and ambitions, we would have no imagination.

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  14. I do think that if you are a dreamer you do have to be careful but I also agree with Garrett when he says that dreamers need to be careful but not so much to hinder their dreaming. Everyone needs to have dreams whether they think they will come true or not. Dreams inspire people to work hard and to have a goal in life. If no one ever dreamed, what would our world look like today? A lot of the luxuries in our lives today were probably inspired by some person’s crazy dream in the past that got criticized but turned into a world famous invention. I guarantee life would be different and in some ways, not as fun without the dreamers of the past. I think they dreamers need to be careful because if they let their dreams take over too much they there could be consequences of that. In some ways I agree with Nick when he tells Gatsby, “You can’t repeat the past”, but I also think it is possible. There are always times in life that you’re going to want to happen again, and you could put yourself in the same situation, but I think it is impossible to get the same outcome. Maybe that’s a good thing or maybe that’s a bad thing but you just never know. There are always repercussions of your actions, but like I said, they may not always be bad.

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  15. Dreams like Gatsby's are very dangerous, so in that way yes but not all dreams are. I feel like you just have to look at the cause and effect of your dreams and decide if it is worth it or not for you. This quote really makes me think about the past and the future and the choices I have made and the regrets I have. In my opinion, no one can change the past, but you can learn from your past to help you with the future. Learning from your past actions and building on them is how you can help change the present and future.

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  16. As we have been talking about the clash between illusion and reality I think that the only thing that should stop a dreamer is the possibility of losing themself. If their dream is attained then that is one thing, but if their dream becomes their reality is where a problem arises. As in the rest of the life there must be balance, you need dreams to hold yourself to a higher standard but, you also need to know reality's restrictions. And this is where I agree with Stella, is that if you lose yourself in the dream be ready to fail. Not every dream can be attained so the taste of failure will always be fresh. The past, I believe, can be repeated. There will be different people, places, and events but it has all been done before. The repercussions for repeating the past arn't always bad but I feel that the result of these actions will be similar to the first time the event transpired.

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  17. George Santayana once said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". I believe that is true. Like in Gatsby’s case, if someone is trying to marry someone in Gatsby’s and they do not succeed the first time, then they are going to try to get the other person to love and marry them again and again until they succeed. There can be repercussions for not trying to get Daisy back; he would always wonder what if . . . what if she did love me? I think most dreamers are not careful; by just being a dreamer they are stepping out side of the safe zone. They can be vulnerable and get hurt easier but in the end it just makes them stronger. I agree with Sam- Lee Gatsby did miss his chance with Daisy so he is trying to repeat the past to get Daisy back. But things have changed; Daisy is married to a man that does not like Gatsby and Daisy knows it. But, again, he should not live his life worrying about Tom and getting hurt but instead focus on what he really wants.

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  18. I think that if you're a dreamer you don't necessarily need to be more careful but you need to know your boundaries and you can't let anything get in the way of those dreams. I agree with Zach when he says that the only thing that stops a dreamer is losing themselves. I also agree completely with his thought about needing dreams to hold ourselves to higher standards. Because if people don't do that and improve themselves, in whatever way, day by day then people start to settle in life. With a bunch of people that settle for their lives and don't follow their dreams, whose really living? I agree with Nick in this certain situation because Gatsby is trying to recreate the past and the fact of the matter is its hard to bring back strong feelings and emotions after that long. I feel like that is just one of those things that you simply can't force. Like no matter how hard you push for it, if it happens it happens and if it doesn't it doesn't. And there is no getting around that. But on the other side, history does tend to repeat itself. There have been many times when something similar to history happens. So i guess what I'm trying to say is that there is a chance.

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  19. I think you do have to be careful about dreaming because if you are a dreamer you are always thinking about something else than the moment you are in. If you do this all the time you better watch out because before you know it, there goes the day, week, and year. It is alright to dream every once and a while but if you dream nonstop 24/7 it is something that needs to be fixed. Now I’m not talking about goals, when I say dreaming I mean dreaming to escape reality. I think you can try to repeat the past but if the past was perfect, why would you want to change that? Also sometimes people try to relive the things that aren’t perfect or that are bad; why would you possibly want to do that? I think there are heavy repercussions if you do this too much. The past may become something that you have to think about to feel normal. Also, if you are thinking about the past so much, there is probably some sort of problem that is going on in the moment. If it is ignored for too long, it could come crashing down on you without warning. I agree with what Alec says, “…you need to know your boundaries…” For all you dreamers, knowing your boundaries are essential.

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  20. My fist thought when I saw that Gatsby was sure that he could repeat the past, I laughed and thought he was crazy. There is no way you can go back and relive what happened to you in earlier times of your life, but you can try to recreate what you liked about it. I don't think it is possible to live it exactly the way it was before. I think it is a bad idea because he only thing that will come from you expectations in disappointment. Gutsy is just going to let himself down.
    If you dream, you need to be realistic and understand that it may not become your reality. If you can't accept this, you are more likely to get hurt and depressed. It's all about how much you base your life around it. If you don't think you can live if you don't get something in life, you probably should have back-up things. Gatsby is heading cowards sad times if hingsmdont go well with Daisy. He's put all his effort and intentions into getting her. It would be he ultimate disappointment.

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  21. I think that if you are a dreamer you have to be more careful for sure. When you have enormous dreams and aspirations, you have to be willing to take a risk. That risk could really loose you everything that you have, but on the other hand it can give you the world. I agree with most of the class’s responses, I believe that you can repeat the past. When something in the past repeats itself though, there will always be repercussions. Nothing will ever repeat itself exactly the way it happened. No matter how bad you want it too. I also believe that most of the time you try to repeat to past, it’s for the wrong reason. If you screwed up in the past, try to fix it instead of trying to go back and do it over. Learn from what you did wrong instead of fighting it. Another problem with trying to repeat the past is the potential disappointment you may feel when it actually happens. It could very possibly not turn out the way you wanted it to, then you would be wish you had never wished for it to happen again. In general I think that trying to repeat the past is a bad thing, learn the past and move on.

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  22. The sky is the limit and I believe there are no boundaries for dreamers. In many cases peoples dream may never come true, which is a shame. However, for me I would rest easier knowing that I did whatever it took to achieve my dream instead of wondering "what if". You only get one shot so make the most of everything even when the odds are against you. I guess that answers Gatsby's quote on the past, That I don't believe you can repeat it. As hard as this can be for us to accept there is no going back so it is important that we make wise decisions because life is so fragile and it can be taken away from us at any moment. I think that this is one of the main messages that Fitzgerald is trying to warn us by using his main character, Gatsby. It is evident that Gatsby fantasies the past and tries so hard to go back, when in reality that is not possible. Overall here is where I stand on dreams, the past and I believe Fitzgerald writings are used to open the eyes of its readers to take the reins and to get out and live.

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