The ending

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but thats not matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther... and one fine morning- So we beat on, boats agains the current, borne back ceaselessly in to the past." pg. 121

At first this conclusion in which the boats are a metaphor for humans being stuck in the part confused me. I did not understand the relevance of the boats and the currents. This is until I saw that the broader message of the book is that Gatsby's behavior is the epitome of human behavior. We learn from mistakes, yes, but we seem to get stuck in what has happened to us. We may see ourselves as moving forward in the future but we may just really be moving backward. It is sad way to end the book but it is also uplifting to know that life goes on. Yes a tragedy occurred but we learn and just try our best against the current which pushes against us everyday. The current of our mistakes of the past that haunt and beat us everyday. Luckily somedays the wind is to our backs and so our sails are able to catch wind and ride off into the sunset. If only that were true everyday of one's life!!!!