Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Dreamer Mentality

Please respond to the following 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?

37 comments:

  1. If you are a dreamer, then you have to recognize that reality is often not as perfect as the illusions you create. Unfortunately for Gatsby, he believed that meeting Daisy would go as smoothly and perfectly as it would the hundreds of times he dreamed of it. Over the five years they were apart, Daisy married Tom and grew cynical and changed in other ways that Fitzgerald has not mentioned. Because of these changes, Gatsby is in the process of being disillusioned by the real Daisy. Unfortunately, Gatsby has still not accepted all of these changes and therefore believes his relationship with Daisy can be the same. If Gatsby had instead accepted Daisy as her whole, real self, not the illusion he created for her, their relationship might have improved and even lasted. I think that the past can be repeated in a broad sense, but all the emotions and details will not be the same. In history, the past only repeats itself in bad forms, such as war or genocide. Gatsby is attempting to recreate the amazing relationship that he and Daisy shared, yet he has so far and will ultimately fail. Why can the bad from the past be recreated and repeated while the good cannot?

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    1. Although I get what you are saying, I don't know that I completely agree. What about the times that friendships, or past relationships are rekindled? I think repeating the bad, or the good, depends entirely on what the circumstances were around the original relationship or situation. Also, it depends on the growth that has occurred between the past and present parties involved. I think good relationships can get even better or bad relationships can become great, IF those involved have worked on the issues at hand. Maybe you can't recreate the past exactly as it was, but I believe you can make it even better by learning from your past mistakes and past life experiences.

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  2. I don't think there's anything at all wrong with being a dreamer, but there comes a point where no matter how much you delude yourself you will have to face reality. So I think if you are a dreamer you should still be at least a little bit careful. Like Michelle said, everything you dream is probably going to be much much better than it ever could be in real life. I also think that there is nothing wrong with repeating the past as long as it isn't detrimental to your well being. I really only think repeating the past is okay if it's something very small, otherwise I think it's useless and that you should probably just move on.

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    1. I also agree with Jackie because she makes a good point on how you will have to eventually face reality even though you might not want to. Another statement that I think is well said is that "there is nothing wrong with repeating the past as long as it's not detremential to your well being." That says a lot because who would want to repeat something that makes you upset?

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    2. i also agree with jackie when she says "no matter how much you delude yourself you will have to face reality." this is true because no matter how much you can dream for something you have to face the reality that it may very well not happen like you have planned it to in your head.

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  3. I don’t think that if you’re a dreamer you have to be more careful, you just have to know what is reasonable and what is not reasonable. For example, you can dream about being president, but if you don’t put the work and effort into becoming it, it’s unreasonable because people aren’t just going to vote you president out of the blue. I do think that you can repeat the past because as many people say, “study history because history often repeats itself.” Whether or not you will get the same result as last time, or even the result you want, I do believe that you can repeat the past. I think that the repercussions are what you make of them. For example if you have a fight with your friend, and you don’t resolve it, you’ll lose that friend. If later on in the future you get into another fight with a friend and you think of how it ended badly last time, you can think about that and try to approach it from a different angle, and learn from your mistakes of the past.

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    1. I agree with Kym's opening statement, "you just have to know what is reasonable and what is not reasonable". It is not that one person has to be careful with their dreams, but the means to make the dream become a reality. Your expectations have to stay in-check, otherwise you begin to fade away the line between what's reality and what's imaginary.

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    2. I also agree with Kym's opening statement.
      The difference between dreamers and those who can blend reality with ambition is common sense: being able to look at your hopes/dreams/wants etc. and tell what is reasonable and what is not.

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  4. I agree that if you are a dreamer you do have to be more careful. Dreamers live in a world of perfection, so when they are faced with the imperfections of society it is hard for them to cope. Gatsby has been living in a world of perfection for the past five years dreaming about his and Daisy's relationship. When he finally is reunited with Daisy, Daisy isn't able to live up to his standards. This puts stress on their relationship. Dreamers need to be careful that they don't lose sight of their reality, so they don't get caught up in their perfect dream world. I disagree with Kym, I don't think you can repeat the past. You can reflect and learn from your past, but not relive it. When people try to relive their past there are repercussions. They get caught up in what used to be, instead of living in what is. By repeating the past your trying to change history. Everything happens for a reason. By trying to relive the past you can lose relationships from your present, and let your life pass you by.

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  5. I think that being a dreamer is something that gives a person a lot of things to search for in life. They want to discover that dream that they have created, but sometimes its just that, a dream. I think that the difference between it being beneficial or harmful is that the dreamer has to realize the line between their illusion, and reality. Reality can be a slap in the face to some people, but as long as they accept it for what it is, dreams are just a more optimistic way of looking at things. When Nick tells Gatsby that the past cannot be repeated, I do sort of agree with this, however I also disagree. Chances are that if someone doesn't learn a lesson or repeats a mistake or something, something can reoccur, however it won't be the exact same way it happened before. However, situations can repeat themselves if we as humans allow them too. When we think about past, it usually implies something bad or something that we don't want to go bak to, hence it's in the past. But, people who do not take from their pasts may continue to have the same problems in the future. With this dreamer mentality, some people may believe that it can't happen again, but in reality it surely can.

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  6. I think that if you are a dreamer, you have to be able to remain optimistic and know that your reality is not always as good as your dreams. In life, everyone has good and bad days and I think that as a dreamer you might have to be more careful in the aspect that you must know every day cannot always be great. I agree with Kym when she said, "I do believe that you can repeat the past." I do not agree with what Nick said to Gatsby because the past definitely can be repeated, especially if you don't learn from your past mistakes. I think that there are repercussions for repeating the past, but sometimes they might not be very obvious or show up in time for the person to change their mind.

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    1. I agree with Kelly when she says you must be optimistic because it is all about your attitude in life that helps you get through it.

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    2. I agree with Kelly when she says, "reality is not always as good as your dreams." There has to be a distinct separation between dreaming and reality because when all comes down to it, dreams rarely ever come true. Reality can be what you make it but dreaming comes naturally to peoples minds.

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  7. Dreamers create false illusions or near impossible goals for themselves. they see what they want to. but seeing what you want and being able to get what you want are two different things. i thik gatsby remembers daisy for what she was, not what she has become over the 5 years they spent apart. Gatsby wishes she was like she was 5 years ago, he needs to come to the reality that she isn't the same. you do have to be more careful if you are a dreamer because you could very well repeat the past and not be aware of the repercusions.

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    1. I agree and disagree. I think some 'dreamers' create near impossible goals for themselves but not all of them. It really depends on their personality and what they want. Your right dreaming for something and actualy going out and getting it are two different things but I think that people that dream for something and if it can be ahieved then there is nothing in the way for them to go out and get it.

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    2. I do agree with Colton because you can’t just automatically jump back into a relationship and hope it’s the same as it was before. The time spent with or away from an individual will only grow you closer or further from them. Without a constant stride feelings will shift! It would show great weakness for Mrs. Gatsby in my opinion if he could just feel the connection with Daisy again.

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    3. I agree with Connor. I think it is a good thing to sometimes set to high of goals for ourselves. Even if we cannot achieve them I think it is will help us gain something in life for the better.

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  8. I dont think there is anything wrong with being a dreamer and wanting something bigger for yourself and others. I think that there is a line and a point where your dream could be accomplished and a point where its completly out of the question. I think more people should dream big and want something more for themselves because even if they do not reach their dream or goal they may land somewhere close. I agree with what Nick said to Gatsby because, no matter how bad gatsby wants it to be the same with him and daisey it will never be. You cant repeat the past completly, no matter what you do it will never be the exact same as it was before because over time people change. I think Gatsby has been dreaming of something too perfect for him and Daisey and their relationship will never live up to that.

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    1. I agree with Connor, I think that Gatsby has built up Daisy so much in his mind that when they finally have to chance to be together it will never work. Ever since Daisy left that's all Gatsby could think about, he has lived his life chasing Daisy. What happens when he finally gets her? I think that she will not be good enough for him because Gatsby has been dreaming of something better than it actually is.

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  9. I believe that if you are a dreamer you have to be more realistic and cannot create false illusions. They do have to be careful because they are more prone to rejection and failure because they have this image a perfect world with no problems or adversity which couldn't be any farther from the truth. Though, it is always good to have a positive attitude and aim for the best, but something that is within reach and can be accomplished because something impossible will leave a man or woman disappointed. It is always good to have high expectations and dream big to get that drive or motivation, but to not go too far like becoming someone you do not have the capability to be. When Nick tells Gatsby he cannot repeat the past, he is trying to tell him to live the present and leave the past behind. He is obsessing with Daisy and wants everything to be perfect the way he wants it, but people change over years and he has to accept the fact that Daisy is not the same person anymore and to deal with it. There are repercussions for trying to repeat the past because you are living what you once were, not what you really are. Therefore, you are disguising the person who you really are which leads to consequences.

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  10. I think that if you are a dreamer then there is nothing wrong with that and its good to set goals and try and achieve your dreams. It makes your life that much more worth living for if you are trying to achieve a dream. I think that dreamers will get rejected and have to come to face reality in certain situations because you cannot escape reality all togethe; and there is certain line that needs to be drawn when trying to achieve your dreams and facing reality. When Nick tells Gatsby "You cannot repeat the past", I agree with him. I think that as much as a person wants to repeat the past they simply can't. I think there are bigger and better things to look forward too in the future and you with society changing as much as it does, one cant keep living in the past.

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    1. I agree and disagree with this because I believe you can repeat the past in some ways yet life is always changing and tomorrow will be a different day. When Nick says that "you cannot repeat the past", what I think he doesn't understand is how much we get up everyday into the same routine each day. This is true in school especially because there is nothing special or anything that changes in my schedule yet the things that happen in each class are totally different then any other day usually. I believe that you have the best of both worlds in life, you have to have order and routine, but at the same time you have to have change.

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  11. I think that if you are a dreamer then there is nothing wrong with that and its good to set goals and try and achieve your dreams. It makes your life that much more worth living for if you are trying to achieve a dream. I think that dreamers will get rejected and have to come to face reality in certain situations because you cannot escape reality all togethe; and there is certain line that needs to be drawn when trying to achieve your dreams and facing reality. When Nick tells Gatsby "You cannot repeat the past", I agree with him. I think that as much as a person wants to repeat the past they simply can't. I think there are bigger and better things to look forward too in the future and you with society changing as much as it does, one cant keep living in the past.

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  12. Often people dream dreams that don’t come to fruition. However, having a dreamer’s mentality is very important in order to reach goals and expand beyond one’s day to day routine. Joy Page once said, “Dream and give yourself permission to envision a You that you choose to be.” Dreaming allows you to paint a picture of what you want your life to look like. Dreams are goals that sometimes aren’t reached, however if you don’t dream, then the ones that come true would never have occurred. It is important when dreaming to not get so caught up in dreams that you lose sight of reality. Zhuangzi once stated, “I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man.” Zhuangzi’s words show that getting immersed in your dreams can sometimes blur you vision of reality. Gatsby’s dreamer mentality regarding his vision of Daisy makes him lose site of who Daisy really is. His illusion of getting back with Daisy, after their separation for 5 years, is not as perfect as he had dreamt. Nick tells Gatsby that he can’t repeat the past, but Gatsby refuses to believe him. He feels he can rekindle his love with Daisy and relive the loving relationship they once had. What Gatsby doesn’t realize is that their 5 years apart has really changed who Daisy is and where she is in her life. I believe that the past can be recreated similarly to the present; however, relationships and experiences always somewhat change the way one responds to the present compared to the past. If we do not embrace the changes that have occurred, we may be let down and left behind as others around us move forward. Is it possible to strike a balance between dreaming of the future and living in the present?

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  13. A dreamer does not have to be more careful but the dreamer does have to be level-headed. Being mentally unstable or preoccupied could cause a person to make irrational decisions based upon hopes and dreams. A dreamer does not have to be more careful but the dreamer has to act like a realist in making real life decisions. I believe too many people cannot find the balance between being an idealist and being a realist. There must be an equilibrium within one's mind set because that is how you can be successful within all aspects of one's life. Also, I do not think that all dreamers dream because they want to escape reality. I believe dreamers dream for numerous personal reasons.

    I do think you can repeat the past despite what Nick Carraway says in the Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. Every opportunity is a positive learning experience, but if you never learn from the experience you may be doomed to repeat it. I think Nick is trying to say you cannot repeat once in a lifetime moments because that is what they are. Those moments are to be memories from the past and no more. With that being said, I do believe you can recreate previous scenarios, just remember they will never be the same as you pictured it. Is the past more important than the future?

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  14. There is nothing wrong with setting goals for yourself, and being a dreamer. It allows you to expand from your daily routine and challenge yourself to achieve all you've ever wanted. I don't think that pursuing Daisy makes Gatsby a dreamer, because its causing him to not look ahead to create new goals for himself because he is stuck repeating the past that he cannot get back.
    Just like everything in life, the best thing for anyone is to have the best of both. Whether you are a dreamer and a free spirit, or you perceive the world as it is, if you can take both of those ideas and meet in the middle then you will move forward in life without detaching yourself from reality and eventually suffering a let down.

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    1. I agree with Claudia. I do not think that Gatsby pursuing Daisy makes him a dreamer. It makes him seem like more of a hopeless romantic who is hooked on the past and can't break away from it. He has no new goals for himself he is stuck with the same goal he has had for five years which is Daisy. I think that this will end up disappointing him in the long run and his incapability of living in the future will leave him with nothing to show for.

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  15. If you are a dreamer, you definitely have to be more careful about all of the decisions you make. As a wise idealist, without constantly thinking about how the decisions in the past will control the present and future a false sense of reality will be formed. This euphoria for the dreamer is extremely selfish and evidently will be unsought. For Mrs. Gatsby cannot repeat the past with Daisy simply because their relationship has diminished overtime due to Gatsby’s wrong process and approach of wealth and perfection. Gatsby feels like he can make everybody happy by this and is now lost in his false sense of reality. I think Gatsby is more just confused by why this is not working for him. It does take a careful process to truly create ones dream in their future.

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  16. I think that if you are a dreamer you have to be careful about being unaware of the reality of things. Although there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a dreamer I think that there will come a time where reality becomes a rude awakening for some of the dreamers who completely block out the harsh truths of life. You have to draw a line between reasonable and unreasonable or you will just end up hurt. I think that for some people knowing that “You can’t repeat the past” is sort of a blessing. People say that the past is the past and I think that holding onto the past for too long can be a dangerous thing sometimes. While forgetting your past can be a good thing I think that it is important to learn from your past as well. You just can’t hold onto it because it has already happened, you can’t change what has already happened. You may get a second chance but you cannot rewind time and change the past.

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    1. I agree with Kaitlin, for I think it is good to learn from the past, but to not spend the rest of your life dwelling on a single event or relationship. People often times attempt to change the past by reinventing past relationships or by doing something similar to an event in the past in order to make them feel accomplished if they had no control over the circumstances. Despite these recreations, these people tend to continue to dwell on the past, whether it is good or bad, until they are disillusioned by reality.

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  17. I do not think that there is anything wrong with being a dreamer. Everyone has dreams of the future or even the past of something that they could maybe change. I think that dreaming can get you through some rough things in life. You are having a hard time in your life and the people around you do not seem to mind. You dream about what you want to do or what you see yourself doing and that pushes you through what everyone else thinks. There comes a point in everyone’s life were you must decide do I want to fulfill my dreams? In some cases you can but in others you cant. You need to do what is right for you in the present moment and whether that is living your dream or not that is what you must do for yourself. I personally do not think that you can repeat the past. I strongly believe that everything in your life has and will always happen for a certain reason. We learn our lessons from mistakes we had made in our past. If we never made mistakes we would never know what is right and what is wrong. I think that we must all experience failure because we would not know what it is truly like to be happy. So I think that there are some repercussions to repeating the past because you could change everything and then you would not know what to do in life. You would think everything is perfect when in all actuality its not, it is a fake reality you would have set up for yourself.

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  18. If you are a dreamer, you have to know what separates reality from fantasy. Dreaming is an illusion. Although some dreams can be about things that have happened or could happen, that rarely ever happens. When Nick says, “You can’t repeat the past,” I think he is partially right. The past is made to move on from things that have happened and learn from mistakes. If Daisy and Gatsby didn’t stay together 5 years ago then I defiantly think there is a reason. If they lost their way back then, does that mean they will lose it again this time? There are defiantly repercussions of repeating the past. People move forward to look forward to the future. If there are certain people still living in the past, then to me it seems almost socially unacceptable. Daisy moved on from Gatsby by marrying Tom. Gatsby should let Daisy be happy with her life and the way things are and move on also. Gatsby is still stuck in the past, but the one he loves is relying on the present and future.

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  19. I think I am a heavy dreamer. The thing that people who dream should worry about is dreaming to deeply or dreaming unrealistically. Ive always been one to dream to deeply and what this does is create hope. Hope is strong and it will influence every decision you make. Take Gatsby for instance. He is definitely a dreamer and he dreams way to deep which creates his hope. His hope is unfortunately to get back together with Daisy and as you can see, so far, this dream seems to slowly falter as well as his hope. Sometimes when your a dreamer the worst thing to do is let that dream poison your mind into thinking that you must accomplish it even when it is out of reach. When Gatsby says that he thinks you can repeat the past I agree with him but I think he is dreaming to repeat the past he once had with daisy, which to me cannot be repeated. I know that in life we have a routine which in itself can be repetitive but there are always things and plans changing too. For nick to say, "you cant repeat the past", he doesn't understand how much we really do that in life, and yet when Gatsby says you can, he doesn't understand that some things in life like relationships can not be repeated.

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  20. I agree with Michelle. When you are a dreamer, you just have to make sure you don't get so caught up in your dreams that you forget what reality is. I don't think you necessarily have to be more 'careful' but you do have to be able to differ dreams from what is really happening. When Nick says that "you can't repeat the past" I disagree with him. If you don't understand what you have done in the past, then you are bound to repeat it. For example, if you make a mistake, and you do not learn from it, it is likely that it will happen again. SO therefore, there are repercussions.

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  21. I agree with Clinton because if people have dreams, they need to set realistic goals. In the case of Gatsby, he dreamt about the day where him and Daisy met again and throughout this time he set his expectations so high that Daisy could not live up to them. Another thing to be careful for is the the way in which someone acquires their dream. I beleive the way that Gatsby gets Daisy's attention again is wrong. He uses his money to attract her to him instead of his personality. Dreams are available for everyone to strive for however if the chase for the dream is more a selfish act than an innocent pursuit of happines then people need to rethink what they truely want.

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  22. I think that if you are a dreamer you do not have to be more careful. I think it is good to in vision something good for your future even if it is way to much for you to achieve. I like when Nick says to Gatsby, "You can't repeat the past." because he is pretty much saying you only live once and you shouldn't live with regrets. I think that dreaming will become bad for you if you begin to live in a fantasy, but ultimately help you succeed in life.

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  23. The past can never truly be repeated in my view. You can hold on to an idea or dream until it is finally shattered but the dream isn’t a reality eventually it will break apart. Dreamers do have to be more careful in some ways because if you create a dream that is unreachable in the end it will hurt you more to have dreamed it then to have lost it. In response to Colton’s comment I agree that Gatsby remembered his dream rather then what was really in front of him. He has created crazy illusions of someone who didn’t exist and in the end it cost him more then anything else.

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