What Does The Clock Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

Decent Essays
“When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished, and I was alone again in the quiet darkness.” (Fitzgerald 26) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald characterized every character in the book. Fitzgerald used color to describe the main characters. He also used symbol to show the characters past and present. F. Scott Fitzgerald characterized Jay Gatsby by green as a color and the clock as a symbol.
Fitzgerald used colors to describe Jay Gatsby through the book, one example is the color green. “…he 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 that might have been the end of a dock.” (Fitzgerald 25-26) Jay Gatsby was looking at a green light and
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“Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of the head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers and set it back in place. He sat down, rigidly, his elbow on the arm of the sofa and his chin in his hand.” (Fitzgerald 91) Gatsby broke the clock because he was nervous. Gatsby was nervous because he was meeting Daisy for the first time in years. The clock represents time, Gatsby stopped the clock; it meant he was timeless when that he was with Daisy. It also meant he was also still in love with Daisy after 5 years. Overall, Gatsby is timeless when he is with Daisy because he is in love with her.
In the book The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is described by the green color and a clock. The color that described Mr. Gatsby is green, because Jay Gatsby is a mysterious person. The symbol that described Jay Gatsby is the clock, because he is timeless with Daisy. In conclusion, F. Scott Fitzgerald described the characters in the book by symbol and

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