- the clock
In the story during this scene Gatsby is talking to Daisy for the first time in almost 5 years. Gatsby "glanced momentarily at me and his lips parted with an abortive attempt at a laugh. Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head....". Here Gatsby is nervous and almost knocks over Nick's clock. I think the clock symbolizes a repeat of the past because. Daisy and Gatsby are old friends. Just like the clock is old and a lot of time has past between there last meeting. But the tilt of the clock shows how time can bring two people back together on the same path. I think it also shows how Gatsby wishes he could change the past. Which is why he stops the clock from falling.
- the light
There is a lot of light mentioned in this chapter from "Gatsby that was simply confounding. He literally glowed..." to "My whole house?...See how the whole front of it catches the light" Light seems to symbolize beauty and wealth. Gatsby's house "glowed full of light" as they begin to walk around it with Daisy and Nick. The green light that Gatsby also looks at every night is also mentioned and here you can see that Gatsby used it as a goal. A set goal which was to meet Daisy again. Now that his goal is reached it is now as it was "again a green light on a dock."
-car and billboard
Aren't really mentioned but the car I think symbolizes Gatsby hiding behind his big shiny car. I think it's a cover for something Gatsby has done to get the money to afford that car. On the inside I think there are many secrets yet to be discovered.
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Yea, that sounds good. The clock analysis was especially good. I didn't catch all that when I read it. And the light on his house now makes a lot more sense.
I definitely thought of the clock as symbolizing Gatsby's wish or desire to hold onto and/or change the past. When he stopped the clock from fallingI had the same notion of him trying to save all the past time he had with Daisy.
As for the light, I get how it is representative of the wealthy. Like it says on pg.101, "All the lights were going on in the West Egg now...It was the hour of a profound human change and excitement was generating on the air." That was all about the new money I thought but light is also briefly mentioned on the other page too which I thought gave more of a dual quality to it if ever so minute. On pg.100, "He lit Daisy's cigarette from a trembling match and sat down with her on a couch far across the room where there was no light save what the gleaming floor bounced in from the hall." The lack of light seems to show an insecurity in people. Without everything one wants painted in life, there's darkness to hide secrets in that you don't want to incite anyone willing into see.
That's just my thought, and I might be reading too much into it.
Gatsby and Daisy aren't just old friends, they were in love in their younger years!
On page 92, Nick narrates, "[Gatsby] had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through... Now, in the reaction, he was running down like an overwound clock." That's another quote that tells about the clock's symbolism. Gatsby's love for Daisy is obviously independent of time, so it's like Gatsby's quest for Daisy was just constant winding and winding (to the point of being overwound) that finally when he reunites with her, time can start again.
This is good. I missed a lot of the stuff about the clock but it definitely makes sense. Also I agree with you about the car. I definitely think Gatsby is hiding something.
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