The Role Of Time In The Great Gatsby

Marcus Aurelius, once said that “Time is a sort of river of passive events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes place, and this too will be swept away.” This holds true because in the novel, The Great Gatsby, time is rapidly moving from event to event meaning that time does not stop. Throughout the novel the main protagonist ,Gatsby, does not seem to be able to catch up to the present time of the novel. F.Scott Fitzgerald, a twentieth century American writer, published the novel, The Great Gatsby, in 1925. The novel is best known as the Great American novel. After America had just come out of World War 1, young individuals felt entitled to having pleasure and concentrating …show more content…
Gatsby believes that he can recreate his past with Daisy that happened five years ago. In chapter five, Gatsby "turned and caught[the clock] with trembling fingers and set it back in place,"(86) just as it had “smashed in pieces on the floor.”(87) this exemplifies Gatsby 's inability to control time. Time is an aspect of life that Gatsby so desperately wants to control because he is trapped within time.He is trapped with a time when he left Daisy five years ago and expect Diay to have not changed so he can his relationship with Daisy after five years. The clock is a repressor of the theme, because Gatsby does not understand that he cannot rekindle his life back with her because Daisy has moved on with her …show more content…
In chapter seven, Nick is describing one of the days as being “certainly[most]warmest,of the summer.”(114) Heat is associated with the rising conflict of the novel. The heat is going to bring up tension between Gatsby and Daisy 's relationship just as Gatsby is ready to confront Tom with their relationship. Gatsby tells Tom that “{Daisy] never loved [him],”(130] while Daisy doesn 't want to tell Tom. Gatsby wants so desperately for Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him but daisy is too confused in her own thoughts to know what to say. Daisy tells Gatsby that she “did love [Tom] once,”(132) and once this was said Gatsby’s dream of recreating his past with Daisy had vanished forever. Loving Gatsby all over again for Daisy as she says how “[Gatsby] [wants] too much,”(132) because she could not live up to the expectations he had for her. Gatsby lives in his past memories of Daisy and their love and wants to recreate the lost time that has been distorted from them. Gatsby cannot tolerate that Daisy has loved another man at some point in her life.Gatsby cannot seem to understand that Daisy has moved on from her life just like the “boats against the current” (180). The weather symbolizes the inability to have time stop and that individuals are constantly being trapped in time just like how Gatsby is trapped in his past memories of Daisy and this reflects Gatsby’s relations with