Hannah Nussbaum's last chapter response

As Nick grapples with Gatsby's death, and with his relationships with any and all of the characters in the story, he realizes the tragic state of "the American dream." Through reflecting upon Gatsby's life, Nick comes to the ultimate realization that Gatsby lived and died a simple man from the midwest, and that his notions and fancies in the end amounted to nothing; Fitzgerald implies through Gatsby's plight that no individual can truly sever his or her roots. Fitzgerald, through the lens of Nicks narration, seems to imply that the wholesome quality of the original American dream is now distorted, and that the harder individuals like Gatsby grapple for the dream through societal ascent, the farther and farther they move from peace of mind. Nick seems to come to the realization that the concept behind America is flawed in itself- he realizes that the idea of anything being possible if one simply tries as being flawed and idealistic. The last line in the story serves to emphasize the idea that one's past cannot simply be shed, and that dreams are immaterial if they simply disregard the past.
This last chapter seems to focus on Nicks personal progress as well; his ephiphinies regarding the pull of the past drive him to reject the superficial aspects of West Egg, as he plans to move back to his origins in Minnesota. Nick acknowledges the tragedy in the lives of the West-Eggers, who are all like Gatsby in that they are living lives they do not feel truly comfortable in. With all this said, I kept in mind throughout the chapter that the narration is Nick's, and therefore not neccesarily adjacent to Fitzgerald's ideas.