The Symbolism of clocks and Gatsby’s obsession with time

The Symbolism of clocks and Gatsby’s obsession with time

Bibliography

• Bruno, Laura, Ary Park, and Emily Gallagher. "Importance and Presence of Time." The Great Gatsby Wiki /. N.p., July 2010. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
• "The Great Gatsby 2013 Scene - Tea Invitation (Gatsby & Daisy Meets)." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Aug. 2013. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
• Luo, Suna. "Paradox of the Sense of Time." Asian Social Science. N.p., June 2009. Web.
• Stultz, Mr. "Gatsby Critical Essays." The Great Gatsby Blog. N.p., Oct. 2011. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
• "What Is Gatsby's View of the Past? What Does Nick Mean When He Says That Gatsby Wanted to Recover Something, Some... - Homework Help - ENotes.com." Enotes.com. Enotes.com, 27 Apr. 2008. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
• Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner Paperback Edition, 2004.
• SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2016.
• "Symbols." Chapter V of The Great Gatsby. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.

Conclusion

Thesis:

In the The Great Gatsby, time is a major theme that portrays the fact that we as humans cannot alter and control time. The characters within the novel are seen trying to live in the past and some wanting to skip ahead towards the future, all on a journey to achieve their own personal dreams.For all characters, the relationship between the past and the future is an issue, as well as personal responsibility for the choices they make in navigating the present between these.

In The Great Gatsby clocks and time are used to support Gatsby’s hopes of winning Daisy after having lost her, his inability to let Daisy go and Gatsby’s ‘Cronus Complex’. These perspectives on time develop larger themes such as Gatsby’s vision of the american dream, Daisy, Nick and Gatsby’s obsession with the past and present, and the GREAT Gatsby.

Larger Themes

• The Great Gatsby

The Mantle Clock:

"Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his (Gatsby) head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers and set it back in place. Then he sat down, rigidly, his elbow on the arm of the sofa and his chin in his hand."

" I think we all believed for a moment that it had smashed into pieces on the floor"

Living in the Past vs. moving on from the past

Inability to move on:

Living in the past vs. Living in the present

• Gatsby vs. Meyer Wolfsheim

"... My own rule is to let everything alone"

"...thick...in everything...always together."

"She (Daisy) used to be able to understand. We'd sit for hours."

The Green light

“…he (Gatsby) stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away…”

• Gatsby's continous love for Daisy

“Can’t repeat the past?” He cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!”

“Your wife doesn’t love you,” said Gatsby. “She’s never loved you. She loves me...Oh, you want too much! she cried to Gatsby. I love you now — isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past. She began to sob helplessly. I did love him once — but I loved you too.”

“They’re a rotten crowd,” I [Nick] shouted across the lawn. “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.”

“one of the few honest people that I have ever known,”

Time Reveals Characters

Cronus Complez:

Gatsby

Nick:

“‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he [Nick’s father] told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’”

“I called up Daisy half an hour after we found him [found Gatsby dead], called her instinctively and without hesitation. But she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them.”

The American Dream:

Time Reveals Characters

• His only goal/ dream was to recapture the past

“It was a strange coincidence.”

“But it wasn’t a coincidence at all,” [says Jordan]

“Why not?”

“Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.”

Daisy:

“‘Don’t talk. I want to hear what happens.’

‘Is something happening?’ I [Nick] inquired innocently.

‘You mean to say you don’t know?’ said Miss Baker, honestly surprised.

‘I thought everybody knew.’

‘I [Nick] don’t.’

‘Why–” she said hesitantly,

‘Tom’s got some woman in New York.’”

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”