Syntax (Style, Tone, Purpose)

• As Gatsby walked into Nick’s house to meet with Daisy, he accidentally knocks over a clock and it falls on the floor. After apologizing, Daisy suddenly says, “We haven’t met for many years” (Fitzgerald 87). And without hesitation, Gatsby responded with, “Five years next November” (Fitzgerald 87).

The breaking of the clock signifies the symbol of time stopping, almost like a pause button. Gatsby is anxious to see Daisy again after a long time, and Daisy has mutual feelings. However, as soon as the clock falls onto the floor, the clock acts as an icebreaker between the two star-crossed lovers. Nick also narrates the idea as if the clock “had smashed into pieces on the floor” (Fitzgerald 87). This can also suggest the symbol of years being “smashed” or thrown away, the time they were apart. As the clock smashed to the floor, it can signify the years they were apart being forgotten. Gatsby’s automatic answer implies his immeasurable love for Daisy. It seems as if Gatsby has been counting down the days to when he will ever see Daisy again.

• When Klipsinger started to play The Love Nest on the piano, “the expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby’s face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness” (Fitzgerald 95).

Fitzgerald uses a tremendous amount of symbols throughout the novel to represent hidden meanings. For example, when The Love Nest was played on the piano, all was forgotten; Daisy and Gatsby automatically started to dance with each other. The use of this symbolism explains that a simple song on the piano can bring two lovers back together as if they had never left each other. Fitzgerald explains through Nick’s narrations that Gatsby’s expression changed, as if he was back in time with Daisy. The author also mentions that, “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (Fitzgerald 96). This can be interpreted as Gatsby’s determination to win Daisy back, through whatever means possible.

• “I remember the portrait of [Dan Cody] up in Gatsby’s bedroom, a gray, florid man with a hard, empty face—the pioneer debauchee…” (Fitzgerald 100).

Dan Cody’s portrait in Gatsby’s bedroom symbolizes his dreams of attaining numerous amounts of wealth. Ever since Gatsby first met Dan Cody, he’s always wanted to be just like him. Representing his hopes and dreams in a tangible way, Gatsby perseveres and does not give up. Although he lost Daisy because he did not have any wealth, Dan Cody was his leading motivation to achieving both his fortune and true love.