Though we learn much of Gatsby's story secondhand, there are moments when Nick quotes Gatsby directly. One would be the famous instance in which Nick tries to tell Gatsby, reasonably enough, that you can't repeat the past. Gatsby responds as follows:
“'Can’t repeat the past?'” he cried incredulously. “'Why of course you can!'”
This direct quote offers us some of the vehemence and passion of Gatsby's conviction that he can turn back the clock and erase five years to be with Daisy as if nothing has happened.
Nick quotes Gatsby indirectly in another scene, because Fitzgerald wants to compress and speed up the action. In this scene, Tom and the Sloanes have arrived on horseback at Gatsby's doorstep, just wanting a quick drink before they get on their way. Here, Gatsby fusses over his guests, who aren't interested at all in him, and we move from direct quoted dialogue to indirect dialogue. Gatsby asks Sloane, as summed up by Nick, "[Gatsby] A lemonade? [Sloane] No, thanks. [Gatsby] A little champagne?" This compression of the dialogue mimics the way the upper-crust, horseback-riding guests only want to quickly move on.
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