Question

Hi can someone summarize this for me?

As our existence is fictionalized, certain truths of our inadequacies are revealed. Man is sometimes portrayed as a victim in circumstances beyond his control. Other times he is seen as a perpetrator of events that lead to consequences such as suffering and often death.

Thanks

I believe that F scott fitzgerald is referring to Gatsby with these lines. So I guess to help summarize the lines you could take into question gatsby's character. Hope that helps.

This is a site that has an excellent character analysis of Gatsby. I am sure that you will be able to find instances when Gatsby was a victim of "fate", and other instances when he made decisions that lead to unfortunate events.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/canalysis.html