Third Paragraph - Time

Question 1

Opening sentence: time reference

Answer 1

• Time is something that is referred to frequently throughout the novel,

Question 2

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

Answer 2

• Gatsby is obsessed with going back to when he and Daisy were together and everything, to him, was perfect.
• He truly believes that they can go back, ignoring the time that has lapsed. Gatsby cannot fathom that Daisy’s feelings may have evolved and changed since the last time they met.
• This symbolises Gatsby’s main flaw, his inability to accept change. He allows no room in his vision for himself or others to grow, change or adapt.
• This is essentially why Daisy cannot live up to his expectations and why the persona that he has invented for himself cannot be sustained.

Question 3

‘His head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock’,

Answer 3

• the word choice of ‘defunct’ shows Gatsby has a no longer functioning vision of time and this is symbolic through the clock in Nicks house.

Question 4

‘Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously…caught it with his trembling fingers’

Answer 4

• Gatsby’s nervousness about how Daisy’s attitude to him may have changed causes him to knock over Nicks clock.
• This symbolises the clumsiness of his attempts to stop time and retrieve the past.