After Gatsby’s long chat with Daisy at Nick’s house, a clock is once again referenced. Gatsby is said to be “running down like an overwound clock” (Fitzgerald 92). The word overwound means wound beyond the proper limit. A clock in this state can no longer tell time, not because it is standing still, but rather because it’s broken in a different way. An overwound clock has the problem of spinning out of control and the clock becomes unfixable. Similarly, Gatsby’s life is unsalvageable at this point because of his refusal to lose hope. He has attached himself to the false reality that Daisy is going to choose him in the end. He sets a mighty goal in front of himself that his unwavering hope shades him from seeing as false. At this point in his life, it becomes clear that he would rather die than give up, showing that his hope has completely taken over every aspect of his life, even his decision-making. …show more content…
Eventually, this comes to a head at Gatsby lying about who killed Myrtle in order to preserve Daisy’s esteem. Gatsby flips around his life priorities to ultimately please Daisy, just like the hands of a spinning clock are flipped around in every which way. It is clear that Gatsby’s hope is irreversible, and is influencing every aspect of his life including his decision-making, which leads to him taking the blame for murder and in turn having his life taken away. His hope directly resulted in his own murder. Also, Gatsby’s emotional frame is out of sync because he lives his life in a past reality, just like the spinning clock is out of sync with the present time. Gatsby is fully certain that Daisy will choose him in the end when it is clear that Daisy will stick to Tom because he provides security and