Beyond the Substance

At first thought, there is little true connection between references to clocks, shirts, and peculiar green lights. However, in chapter five of Fitzgerald's classic, The Great Gatsby, the three are intricately woven into a cohesive literary work of symbolic significance. Chapter five illustrates the first reunion between Daisy and Gatsby, and his initial attempt to reverse time; however, each of the previous items symbolize the impossibility of a romance between the two. Though all completely different in nature, the clock, the shirts, and the green light, all essentially seal the fate between the star-crossed lovers.

In a novel teeming with symbolic references every which way, the reunion between Daisy and Gatsby introduce several important and major items. The first item to appear is that of the clock on Nick's mantle; specifically, the clock is fairly old and old-fashioned...