Boats against the current - a photo on Flickriver

            Twilight at Kirribilli. Sydney.

''And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
 - F. Scott Fitzgerald. 'The Great Gatsby' (1925)

Fitzgerald uses the image of boats struggling against a strong current to represent humanity's efforts to achieve a desired future, only to be repeatedly pulled back into the past. 

It is thus a metaphor for the futility of striving for an unattainable future and the inescapable nature of the past. It is the final line of his novel: 'The Great Gatsby'. 

A rather bleak yet fascinating 'Modernist' mantra that is typical of disillusioned artists in the early 1900s such as the poets T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden.

Modernism is the current topic at my senior girls high school here in Sydney, where the girls, aged 16 to 18, are putting Tik Tok away to learn about the concerns of novelists, poets and artists in the period 1900-1940. At least, that's the plan, lol. 

My Canon EOS 5D Mk IV with the Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 lens.

Processed in Adobe Lightroom.

Taken in: Australia / New South Wales / Kirribilli (show map)

Taken on: April 14, 2024

Tags:

Modernism

The Great Gatsby

city

city buildings

city perspective

urban perspective

boats

yachts

three boats

boats against the current

bridge

harbour bridge

Sydney harbour bridge

twilight

dusk

sunset

Sydney sunset

silhouettes

water

harbour

bay

Kirribilli

Crown

Crown Casino

tower

Crown Casino Tower

skyline

city skyline

Sydney skyline « less

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Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, f/5.0, 1/400 sec, 75mm, ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens:	EF75-300mm f/4-5.6
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	75mm
ISO:	1600
Exposure Bias:	-3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Lightroom 8.2 (Windows)
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