"Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!" (Fitzgerald, 117).
CONTEXT: Gatsby is talking to Nick about how his life was much better when he was with Daisy, and now he wants her back. Nick, in turns, tells Gatsby that he should move on, because the past cannot be repeated.
SIGNIFICANCE: Gatsby is the man that has all the glamour, the riches, the success - and also being the perfect bachelor, but the thing he wants the most is Daisy and he knows he cannot have her. This is seen as his weakness, in a way. Gatsby has material goods, but is lonely and loves a girl he cannot call his own. This is an example of the typical saying "Money cannot buy you love." This is a point of character revelation, as Gatsby is naive thinking he would be able recreate the past and that Daisy would willing to give up her social class of "old money" to be with him, who is of new money. This quote also demonstrates the inner conflict that Gatsby has within himself - he knows the past cannot be recreated, but still holding on to it, and not being able to let go, and wanting to recreate it.