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The Great Gatsby Symbolism Essay

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Maseratis. Porsches. Teslas. Many high end cars roam the streets on a daily basis. Cars are a major expense and luxury for adults presently. For many, these cars are symbolic of their success in achieving their American Dream having money. The American Dream during the ‘roaring ‘20s’ is a major topic in the story The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The troubles Tom and Daisy Buchanan, an upper class couple, are experiencing lead the narrator, Nick Carraway, into many sticky situations. Soon after Nick moved into his modest home amongst some of the most lavish in New York, he was thrown into a love triangle between his neighbor and his dear cousin. Amidst the chaos of reuniting past lovers, Fitzgerald portrays his view that the …show more content…

Fitzgerald states, “Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers and set it back in place,” (91.) The idea of the clock being defunct and falling off the mantel because of Gatsby’s pressure leaning against it, reiterates that time between Daisy and Gatsby is broken. It does not matter they are together presently because they have lost too much time in the past five years. After knocking over the clock Gatsby apologizes saying, “I’m sorry about the clock,” (92). This quote was not literally meant as an apology for knocking the clock over but instead was a plea to Daisy reminding her of their love five years prior. Gatsby realizes time is precious and is trying to work against the five years he has already lost. All of these references and the recurrence of the symbol of the clock refers to the time Gatsby and Daisy have missed out on. Fitzgerald, as the author, decided since Gatsby was a part of of the lower class, he missed out on the opportunity to achieve his American Dream of possessing Daisy. However, Tom, who was part of the upper class and came from ‘old money’, was the one who got to have her. Similarly, Fitzgerald uses rain as a hint toward the future for Gatsby and Daisy. The idea of rain was introduced upon Daisy’s arrival at Nick’s house in West Egg. Nick comments that, “Under the dripping bare lilac trees a

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