Final answer:
Nick Carraway views the past as unchangeable and believes it shapes the present, while Jay Gatsby believes he can recreate and improve the past, which is a central theme of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
Step-by-step explanation:
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, the narrator, presents a more pragmatic view of the past, recognizing it as immutable. Nick understands that the past shapes who we are, but he does not believe it can or should be recreated. In contrast, Jay Gatsby is fixated on the idea that the past can be reclaimed and even improved upon. Gatsby's dogged pursuit of his idealized version of the past, particularly his desire to rekindle his romance with Daisy, ultimately leads to his downfall. Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby as a unique individual, emphasizing that his story is his own and not representative of others from the 1920s. This portrayal reflects the broader themes of the novel, including the elusive nature of the American Dream and the decay of social and moral values during the Jazz Age.
Through their differing beliefs about the past, Fitzgerald delves into the complexities of human memory and the often-destructive nature of nostalgia. Gatsby's belief system is rooted in the power of his aspirations, reflecting the opulence and excess of the Roaring Twenties.