Clocks and Time

The “defunct mantelpiece clock” that Gatsby nearly knocks to the floor (86)—in addition to showing that time might as well have stopped for Gatsby since he has been living the last five years with his memories of his past with Daisy and his dreams of a future with her—represents Nick’s time-traveling abilities. (Remember, Fitzgerald’s working title for The Great Gatsby was Nick of Time, but his publisher felt that readers would think that the book was either a humorous fantasy novel or a light murder mystery. Of course, it is both, but Fitzgerald had his literary aspirations.) Why else would Nick keep a clock that doesn’t work? Well, for decoration, I guess, but also because time is mostly irrelevant for him. However, he doesn’t dare reveal his abilities, so he says things that he hopes will convince his friends that he is like them. For instance, later in the book he says, “No . . . I just remembered today’s my birthday” (135). And he tells Gatsby, “You can’t repeat the past”; Gatsby suspects Nick, though, and replies, “Can’t repeat the past? . . . Why of course you can!” (110; emphasis mine). Gatsby’s right, and Nick shows us one way he repeats the past—he writes about the events of the summer with Gatsby after they occur.