You Can't Repeat the Past

An intriguing exchange between Nick and Gatsby takes place near the end of Chapter Six:  “I 

wouldn’t ask too much of her,” Nick says  “You can’t repeat the past.”  “Can’t repeat the past?” 

Gatsby cries out.  “Why of course you can!”  (p. 110).  How does the past impinge upon the 

present in the lives of both Nick and Gatsby?  Should we see Gatsby as eccentric in his view that 

one can not merely repeat, but change, the past by starting over? Explain your reasoning.