1
Q
Opening sentence: time reference
A
- Time is something that is referred to frequently throughout the novel,
2
Q
‘Can’t repeat the past? He cried incredulously. Why of course you can!’.
A
- 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.
3
Q
‘His head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock’,
A
- 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.
4
Q
‘Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously…caught it with his trembling fingers’
A
- 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.
