In The Great Gatsby, when Nick Carraway tells Gatsby that he cannot repeat the past, Gatsby replies, "Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!"

This question most
directly pertains to . Gatsby's attempts to rekindle a love affair from his youth are central to
his actions in the novel and, indeed, central to his character's ambitions. 

Gatsby once lovedbriefly as a young man when he met her in Kentucky. After enlisted in
the armed services and going off to fight in WWI, Gatsby loses Daisy to , a man of great
privilege and wealth.

Gatsby, at the time, has no wealth or status. He
ultimately designs a plan to become wealthy, follow Daisy to the east coast, and win her love.
Gatsby is out to prove something to the world and to himself. He is out to prove that he was
always good enough for Daisy (or that, at least, his money makes him good enough for her now).
This penchant can be related to Gatsby's "heightened sensitivity to the promises of
life."

In addition to Gatsby's great, selfish and romantic vision is a
sense of honor. He says at one point that, having taken Daisy's maidenhood, as it were, in
Kentucky, marrying her is the only honorable thing for him to do. So, he wants to make things
right according to this code of chivalry. 

Many hurdles stand in the way of
this ambition. Daisy is married and has a child. Tom remains wealthy. Daisy, while constantly
performing the part of the hurt wife, has already seemingly come to terms with her lot and is
not wholly unhappy. Only Gatsby, with his overriding desire to see his potential proved and
fulfilled, is sure that a marriage to Daisy is inevitable. 

The events that
lead to the end of the novel defeat Gatsby's purpose and bring about his death. When Myrtle is
killed, Daisy retreats behind Tom's protection and refuses to see Gatsby again. This takes
place, of course, after Gatsby has demanded that Daisy say she "never loved Tom",
which she refuses to do. 

In trying to regain the past, Gatsby insists that
Daisy erase the importance and the meaning of the life that she has lived since they parted - a
life which produced her one child. She cannot do this. She cannot throw away the meaning of her
life. Thus Gatsby's effort to regain the past is doubly defeated. He cannot erase what has
occurred and he cannot get Daisy back either.