Empty Home (Symbol)
At the beginning of the film, we hear the sound of people talking and music playing, like a giant party is going on, but we only see shots of Gatsby's empty home. As soon as the film starts, we are presented with a stark contrast between audio and visual worlds, meant to symbolize the loneliness and tragedy of Gatsby's life. The halls and ballrooms echo with the laughter and the sounds of togetherness, but as we can see, these are only echoes. The house is so large and empty that the echoes reverberate all the louder, casting a contrasting shadow of solitude and alienation over the lavish mansion. The image matched with the sound represents the fact that Gatsby, for all his wealth and position, is somehow cut off from the world, still always on the outside looking in, confronted with echoes of intimacy rather than its realization.
Green Light (Symbol)
Similarly, the green light on Daisy's dock that Gatsby likes to stare at is another symbol for the ways that Gatsby is on the outside, constantly striving to belong in a class to which he does not belong. Gatsby stares at the green light from his home in the less respectable, more "new money" West Egg, longing to fit in with the old money crowd, and to win the heart of the wealthy Daisy Buchanan. The light, as it flashes bright and dark, represents how close Gatsby feels to Daisy and his dream life, but also how ungraspable both truly are. He can see his dreams and ambitions and reach out to them, but he is separated from them by the expanse of harbor—and metaphorically, the class gulf—stretching out in front of him.
Gun (Symbol)
After mysteriously getting invited to one of Gatsby's lavish parties, Nick is escorted to Gatsby's private office. On the way up in the elevator, Nick notices that Gatsby's bodyguard has a gun tucked into his inner pocket under his tuxedo. The gun is a symbol for the dangerous world that Nick is about to enter by becoming friends with Gatsby. He does not quite interrogate the nature of Gatsby's life and wealth, but he senses that below the surface Gatsby is engaged in some complicated and potentially illegal business dealings. The gun symbolizes the less-than-savory details of Gatsby's life.
Clock (Symbol)
After being reunited, Gatsby and Daisy have an argument in his home. While recounting the past, Gatsby gets angry about the fact that Daisy told him she would wait for him after the War, but married Tom instead. As Gatsby gets upset about the events of the past, Daisy stands by a clock in his home. The clock symbolizes the time that was lost between the two and their attempt to reclaim it by falling in love now, as well as the regrets and issues that can sprout up between people after the passing of time.
Men in Mirrors (motif)
Clayton shoots both Tom and Gatsby in mirrors when they are with Myrtle and Daisy respectively. The mirrored images of the men represents the duality of the men, their tendency to keep parts of themselves hidden from the world. That the women don't know the full versions of either of them, as they keep all of their information to themselves, never fully divulging all to their identities and desires.
