Magistrale, Tony and Dickerson, Mary Jane. “The Language of Time in “The Great Gatsby.” College Literature 16.2 (1989): 117-128. JSTOR. Web. 25 Aug. 2009.
1. Gut Reaction Words: unaware, interesting, chrono-what?, well-supported, enlightening
2. Thesis: “The narrative structure of Gatsby reveals time as a malleable and fluid concept, juxtaposing past and present in a way that show how they momentarily merge in human memory through the social art of telling stories.” (118)
3. Fitzgerald wrote Gatsby’s character to constantly be fighting the continuation of time, with his obsession with reversing it. He wanted control of time so he could bring it back to when Daisy was so in love with him. Nick was the observer that always was there, but not a part of the situation. Though, his presence effected the situation anyway.
4. I realized that time was important in The Great Gatsby, but not to the extent that it was described! I still can’t quite fathom what Bakhtin’s chronotope theory is. Nick’s ability to be in a situation and still not be involved in it makes him relatable to the reader. Fitzgerald made time references a lot through out the book, and especially in the chapter where Daisy and Jay meet again. I didn’t catch the part about the clock in chapter 5 when I was reading it, but found it very interesting and it made a lot of sense.
