Chapter 9
Chapter 8
We learn at the beginning of the chapter more about Daisy and Gatsby's past together. Gatsby "faked it 'till he made it", and they fell in love with one another shortly before Gatsby had to be sent off to war. Then, Gatsby was sent to Oxford accidentally and Daisy and he grew apart. In the present, Nick described a beautiful Long Island morning with vivid detail, and spoke about Gatsby's hopefulness of Daisy's love for him - he was trying to convince himself that all of the hard work of 5 years to get Daisy back was not a waste. Gatsby and Nick then said goodbye to one another, Nick granting him with one compliment that he claimed he had always been proud of. Then, Nick went into work, and argued with Jordan on the phone for a little while until one of them abruptly hung up. Nick tried to call Gatsby, but his call was not answered. We then learn somewhat of a back story about Myrtle Wilson's death. Mr. Wilson found out that she had been cheating on him, but she didn't know who with. She apparently ran outside, and saw Gatsby's yellow car driving by, so she tried to stop it because earlier Tom had been driving that car and she probably assumed it was him in the car. But, the car never stopped for her, and she was killed in a hit and run. Wilson - who is unaware that Tom was the man Myrtle was having an affair with - found out in some way who had a yellow car. He assumed that Gatsby was the man who Myrtle was having an affair with and left to find him. Gatsby decides that, since he hadn't used his pool all summer, it was time to use it. Nick describes the aftermath of Gatsby and Wilson's deaths: Gatsby is found shot in the pool (a red circle of blood, really, but we can infer that Gatsby was dead) and Wilson is found shot over in the garden next to the pool.
Chapter 7
This chapter is probably the most eventful chapter throughout the entire book. It begins with Gatsby firing his multitude of servants and hosting no more parties. Now that his plan for Daisy has come to fruition, there was no point for all the extravagance anymore it seems. Gatsby, Tom, Jordan, Daisy, and Nick were then alltogether having lunch. Tom is supposedly on the phone with his "girl", and Gatsby and Daisy aren't discreet about their relationship at all, and Tom catches on to it quickly. They all go into New York and it's really hot outside which they complain about a lot. It's a little silly that Tom has had an extramarital affair for a long time but as soon as Daisy has one he can't handle it. Gatsby and Tom and Daisy all get into a big fight about whether or not Daisy loves one of them or both of them or neither of them or never loved one of them or always loved one of them and it gets really awkward. Jordan and Nick both try to leave, but are stopped by both Gatsby and Tom who seem to want them to stay and watch what occurs. Then, after Daisy begs, they leave NY, Gatsby/Daisy in Gatsby's yellow car, and Tom/Nick/Jordan in Tom's car. While passing Mr. Wilson's auto shop, a crash occurred and it was Myrtle who got killed; it was established that the car who killed Myrtle was yellow, so we can all assume/infer it was Gatsby. As soon as Tom/Nick/Jordan get home, they all go inside except for Nick, who goes to talk with Gatsby. For the first time in the entire book, Nick openly admits that he was mad at Gatsby. Gatsby then tells Nick what happened - Daisy was driving and she was the one who crashed.
Chapter 6
This chapter begins with the real story behind "Jay Gatsby", otherwise known as James Gatz of a poor farm family from North Dakota. This chapter also includes Gatsby and Tom's first official meeting which was, of course, awkward. Daisy and Tom come to one of Gatsby's parties and both seem to not really be connected with the fun. Daisy didn't have fun unless she was alone with Gatsby and Tom wanted to go off and socialize with other people. We learn a little bit more about Gatsby and Daisy's history and see how desperate Gatsby is for Daisy to love him.
Chapter 5
"He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel, which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray. While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher — shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and lavender and faint orange, and monograms of Indian blue. Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily. 'They’re such beautiful shirts,' she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. 'It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such — such beautiful shirts before.'" Perhaps this symbolizes Daisy's feelings towards the life that she could have had with Gatsby. Although she came from an extremely wealthy family and was materialistic and was married to a wealthy man, Daisy had never lived a life with another level of happiness based not on material possessions but relationships with others, and the material shirts symbolized the intangible happiness she could've had with Gatsby.
Chapter 4
We learn that Gatsby's entire reputation and life are essentially based on the possibility of coming back into Daisy's life (they knew each other once and seemed to be in love. Gatsby is still in love with her although he won't admit it). His entire friendship with Nick, who coincidentally moved next to Gatsby, is to meet up with Daisy inadvertently.
Chapter 3
To Be Continued...
Chapter 2
Ok. Doctor Eckleburg. He has these big eyes, which according to How To Read Literature Like a Professor, means he can't see the real truth or something like that. However this could mean that his eyes see al or something.
There's a valley which is most likely symbolizing female genetalia. To me the beginning of this paragraph is sexual innuendo but I really want to know why? Why does F. Scot t Fitzgerald feel the need to make everything sexual? I can understand a little here and there but almost everything is a symbol for something else.
You can tell through Tom's interaction with Wilson that he sees himself as the dominant alpha male. Tom gets what he wants when he wants it (his mistress would be an example of this)
Everyone walks over Wilson it seems. His wife bosses him around, Tom thinks he's ridiculously stupid, and he can't tell the obvious that his wife is cheating on him.
Just like Tom, Myrtle Wilson gets everything she wants. To me the dog is sort of an unspoken contract between Mrs Wilson and Tom: he'll buy her what she wants if she gives him what he wants.
I think that Mrs. Wilson incessantly tries to make herself seem wealthier than she is. The Town Tattle, which was mentioned several times during this chapter, is probably a gossip magazine and she's trying to associate herself with the famous people that are probably written about in that magazine. When complimented about her dress by Mrs. Mckee, she rejected the compliment and was almost offended by it. She really wants to be in the "1%" affluent society, and tries to act like she is a part of it, but she truly is not.
When Catherine stated that Tom and Daisy would not get divorced because she is Catholic when she really is not, why is Nick surprised by the "elaborateness of the lie"? I feel like he would have figured out that Daisy knows about the affair but hasn't done anything about it. Would there be a less elaborate lie? Nick didn't say that he was surprised by the lie but rather its elaborateness...
Are we going to see more of Mr. McKee? Was he there just to give us an idea of the sexual orientation of Nick???
The end