Table of ContentsIntroductionMetaphors for the Past in The Great GatsbyImagery in The Great GatsbyConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionThroughout history, attempts to repeat the past have been an important and ordinary action undertaken by many individuals/countries. For example, acts of genocide (such as the Cambodian genocide) were more common following one of the first genocides known as the Holocaust. While their motivations may vary, it is clear that as a society we have a reputation for repeating the actions of the past. Likewise, this idea of ​​wanting to repeat the past is also expressed in a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald called The Great Gatsby. In The Great Gatsby, the repetition of the past is depicted as an elusive and intangible concept, explored through various rhetorical strategies in the novel's first interaction between Daisy and Gatsby. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Metaphors of the Past in The Great Gats by Fitzgerald first uses the clock on Nick's coat as a metaphor to demonstrate that one cannot recreate the past. When Gatsby, Daisy and Nick sit in Nick's living room during the tea party, the text says: "Fortunately, the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously under the pressure of his head, whereupon he s 'went back and grabbed it with trembling fingers and set it back' (Fitzgerald) Transported after seeing Daisy for the first time in quite a while, Gatsby almost knocks over Nick's old clock. on his mantle, the old clock represents the time lost between Daisy and Gatsby during the 5 years of separation between them. Gatsby saves the clock directly suggests that he is now "making up for"/making up for lost time. Additionally, Gatsby's character's nervousness at the time symbolizes his clumsiness in his attempt to not only stop time, but also regain the past when he almost drops the clock. old clock also means that despite one's best efforts to recover the past, time continues because the clock is saved and therefore still functional. However, if the clock was broken like they thought, it wouldn't have changed the outcome, because clocks are replaceable and time is not an exhaustible resource. This suggests that time is a concept that cannot be changed or mitigated by an individual and that, despite any attempts to stop time, it will continue for eternity. Images in The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald also implements images in the first interaction between Daisy and Gatsby to illustrate how the past is a part of downtime that cannot be retrieved. During the period when the three of them are first in Nick's living room, the text states: "Gatsby, his hands still in his pocket... his fingers trembling... he then sat rigidly" (Fitzgerald) . Through Gatsby's description of finding Daisy, it is evident that he is both nervous and anxious. Despite Gatsby's dream and what he has worked for over the past 5 years, both literally and figuratively, in front of him, Gatsby still expresses immense nervousness, implying that perhaps he is not as ready for his dream as he had initially thought. This also goes into the breakdown of Gatsby's character himself, because before this confrontation, Gatsby was a peculiar man who expressed little to no emotion. However, this is the first time in the novel where Gatsby's fragile and more sensitive side is clearly expressed. Due to this, 2004.