--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As I went over to say good-bye I saw that…" description: "\"“As I went over to say good-bye I saw that an expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby’s face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_five-years_as-i-went-over-to-say-good-bye-i-saw-tha_2469882.jpg" --- # As I went over to say good-bye I saw that an expression of… ![“As I went over to say good-bye I saw that an expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby’s face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness. Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his…” quote by F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_five-years_as-i-went-over-to-say-good-bye-i-saw-tha_2469882.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_five-years_as-i-went-over-to-say-good-bye-i-saw-tha_2469882.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/850/f-scott-fitzgerald-2-14103_five-years_as-i-went-over-to-say-good-bye-i-saw-tha_2469882.jpg) > ““As I went over to say good-bye I saw that an expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby’s face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness. Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams – not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man can store up in his ghostly heart. As I watched him he adjusted himself a little, visibly. His hand took hold of hers, and as she said something low in his ear he turned toward her with a rush of emotion. I think that voice held him most, with its fluctuating, feverish warmth, because it couldn’t be over-dreamed – that voice was a deathless song.”” [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gatsby clings to an idealized vision of love, inflating it beyond reality, making it impossible to satisfy his yearning. **In simple terms:** He ideal a perfect love that never truly exists. Key Takeaway Recognize when fantasies eclipse reality. Themes love illusion idealism desire memory Mood melancholic reflective hopeful Type literary philosophical emotional When to use this quote - relationship expectations - personal reflection - creative projects - mental health counseling Key Concepts Romanticism psychology nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - Do you hold onto an image of someone that overshadows who they truly are? - How does idealizing a past affect current happiness? A Different Perspective Idealized love can blind one to present truths and cause emotional stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) ## Related quotes > [There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams -- not through her own fault, but because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-must-have-been-moments-even-that-afternoon-when-daisy-tumbled/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“As I went over to say good-by I saw that the expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby's face, as though a faint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/as-i-went-over-to-say-good-by-i-saw-that-the-expression-of/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/he-had-thrown-himself-into-it-with-a-creative-passion-adding-to-it/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams -- not through her own fault but because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-must-have-been-moments-even-that-afternoon-when-daisy-tumbled-2/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/no-amount-of-fire-or-freshness-can-challenge-what-a-man-will-store-up/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The reality is that we can no longer sleep soundly at night thinking that if we keep the terrorists 'out there,' we are safe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-tancredo/the-reality-is-that-we-can-no-longer-sleep-soundly-at-night-thinking/) [Tom Tancredo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-tancredo/) > [Everyone should know--there's no such thing as a decent human being. It's just an illusion. And when it's gone, it's really gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-summers/everyone-should-know-there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-decent-human-being-it/) [Courtney Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-summers/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Whatand why were never questions for me. How was the only question. When I look back now, I realize that I never thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru/whatand-why-were-never-questions-for-me-how-was-the-only-question/) [Sadhguru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru/) > [I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-sober-for-five-years-a-long-time-ago-and-was-just-bored-out-of/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [“I looked at him, tipping down the coarse wine like a man who expects to put up with worse. I felt I was looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/i-looked-at-him-tipping-down-the-coarse-wine-like-a-man-who-expects/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [“His Army Ranger unit had always been ready for an ambush. Five years in special ops had made him suspicious of most. On that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-perini/his-army-ranger-unit-had-always-been-ready-for-an-ambush-five-years/) [Robin Perini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-perini/) > [“Something had been confirmed: I was worth giving a shit about; I was getting to be a successful sick person. Sick is when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/something-had-been-confirmed-i-was-worth-giving-a-shit-about-i-was/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“A clear look back on the Cold War's battlegrounds, along with a sense of relief that the world survived forty-five years of confrontation, evokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-clear-look-back-on-the-cold-war-s-battlegrounds-along-with-a-sense/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind ## More by F Scott Fitzgerald > [“I had a woman up here last week to look at my feet, and when she gave me the bill you'd of thought she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-had-a-woman-up-here-last-week-to-look-at-my-feet-and-when-she-gave/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“Whenever you feel like criticising any one, just remember that all of the people in the world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/whenever-you-feel-like-criticising-any-one-just-remember-that-all-of/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [Writers aren't exactly people...they're a whole lot of people trying to be one person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/writers-aren-t-exactly-people-they-re-a-whole-lot-of-people-trying-to/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“I'm paralyzed with happiness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-m-paralyzed-with-happiness/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [I love her and that´s the beginning of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-love-her-and-that-s-the-beginning-of-everything/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“He was wondering at the unreality of ideas, at the fading radiance of existence, and at the little absorptions that were creeping avidly into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/he-was-wondering-at-the-unreality-of-ideas-at-the-fading-radiance-of/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [An author ought to write for the youth of his own generation, the critics of the next, and the schoolmaster of ever afterwards.An author…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/an-author-ought-to-write-for-the-youth-of-his-own-generation-the/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“the room had grown smothery. He wanted to be out in some cool and bitter breeze, miles above the cities, and to live serene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/the-room-had-grown-smothery-he-wanted-to-be-out-in-some-cool-and/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“Man kan inte återskapa sitt förflutna (s. 117).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/man-kan-inte-terskapa-sitt-f-rflutna-s-117/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [I love her and that's the beginning of everything. - F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/i-love-her-and-that-s-the-beginning-of-everything-f-scott-fitzgerald/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“this midnight my desire will see, shadowed among the embers, furled in flame, the splendor and the sadness of the world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/this-midnight-my-desire-will-see-shadowed-among-the-embers-furled-in/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go by any rules. They're not like aches or wounds; they're more like splits in the skin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/family-quarrels-are-bitter-things-they-don-t-go-by-any-rules-they-re/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [And in the end, we're all just humans, drunk on the idea that love - only love - could heal our brokenness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/and-in-the-end-we-re-all-just-humans-drunk-on-the-idea-that-love-only/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the “creative temperament”—it was an extraordinary gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/this-responsiveness-had-nothing-to-do-with-that-flabby/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) > [“The soft rush of taxis by him, and laughter, laughters hoarse as a crow's, incessant and loud, with the rumble of the subways underneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/the-soft-rush-of-taxis-by-him-and-laughter-laughters-hoarse-as-a-crow/) [F Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) [Explore all 45 F Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald-2/) ## More Five years quotes > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. 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On that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-perini/his-army-ranger-unit-had-always-been-ready-for-an-ambush-five-years/) [Robin Perini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-perini/) > [“I looked at him, tipping down the coarse wine like a man who expects to put up with worse. I felt I was looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/i-looked-at-him-tipping-down-the-coarse-wine-like-a-man-who-expects/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) > [I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-sober-for-five-years-a-long-time-ago-and-was-just-bored-out-of/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [“Whatand why were never questions for me. How was the only question. When I look back now, I realize that I never thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru/whatand-why-were-never-questions-for-me-how-was-the-only-question/) [Sadhguru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“most professionals progress until they reach an “acceptable” level, and then they plateau. Software engineers, for instance, usually stop progressing somewhere around five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-grenny/most-professionals-progress-until-they-reach-an-acceptable-level-and/) [Joseph Grenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-grenny/) > [In five years of my previous tenure, the treasury was never shut for one day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amarinder-singh/in-five-years-of-my-previous-tenure-the-treasury-was-never-shut-for/) [Amarinder Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amarinder-singh/) > [We have been playing every summer on clay since I was five years old, so it is an easy surface for us in Belgium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-goffin/we-have-been-playing-every-summer-on-clay-since-i-was-five-years-old/) [David Goffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-goffin/) > [I'm an immigrant, a legal immigrant to the United States. I only became a citizen five years ago. 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I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mankoff/i-have-entered-the-new-yorker-s-cartoon-caption-contest-almost-weekly/) Bob Mankoff Browse all 2,724 Five years quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As I went over to say good-bye I saw that an expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby’s face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness. Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams – not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man can store up in his ghostly heart. As I watched him he adjusted himself a little, visibly. His hand took hold of hers, and as she said something low in his ear he turned toward her with a rush of emotion. 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