Great Gatsby Ch 9

1.       Chapter 9

Pages 163-180

2.       In this chapter, we start to see the aftermath of Gatsby’s death. Reporters and policemen are everywhere around Gatsby’s house and Nick thinks that it is unfair that none of Gatsby’s friends and family are there for him. He finds Wolfshiem in his office in New York City and tells him about the news. Wolfsheim says that he cannot get caught up in that stuff so he will not attend Gatsby’s funeral.  Nick tries to contact Daisy but they have left town for some reason.  Henry Gatz (Gatsby’s Dad) reads about Gatsby’s death in his local newspaper and then comes immediately to West Egg to meet Nick when he is there, he just expresses how proud he is of his son and how much potential he would have had if he hadn’t died. Throughout the day, calls keep coming for Gatsby but Nick tells them that he is dead and they hang up because they do not want to be involved with Gatsby’s death.  The only people that attend the funeral are Nick, Henry, Gatsby’s servants and owl eyes.  Later that week, Nick talks to Tom about Gatsby and he admits that he had to tell George that Gatsby hit Myrtle even though it was a lie.  He also meets Jordan who informs him that she is engaged and they have a short conversation. 

3.       A) Henry Gatz

B) “It was Gatsby’s father, a solemn old man, very helpless and dismayed, bundled up in a long cheap ulster against the warm September day.” (167)

C) Henry Gatz is not nearly as wealthy as Gatsby, he is not very wealthy at all. He is an old man but he is a very cheery and caring man, he is very proud of his son, almost too proud to the point of his bragging about how great his kid is.

D) This is the first and last time we hear about Henry Gatz and it is important that he shows up in this chapter because it demonstrates that Gatsby does have people that care about him, and not people who just use him for his money. 

4.       “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (180)

I found this quote to be very important because Fitzgerald talks about how in life, we must always move on, through the best of times and through the worst of times.  This idea is shown through every character in the book.

Great Gatsby Ch 8

1.       Chapter 8

Pages 147-162

2.       The chapter opens with Nick going over to Gatsby’s house after not sleeping to see house Gatsby is doing and to advise him to leave town for a little while because the police know the description of the car that hit Myrtle.  Gatsby starts to tell Nick about his life with Daisy before the war and expresses how they were so deeply in love with each other and how she was the woman of his dreams but she was rich and he was not.  They were both in love with each other but when Gatsby left for the war and did not return for five years, Daisy could not wait and met Tom Buchanan.  He explains that they got married and Gatsby has been trying to get back into her life ever since.  After this conversation, the gardener comes to them informing Gatsby that he is going to drain the pool but Gatsby stops him explaining that he wants to go in one last time before the season is over because he hasn’t gone in it all year.  Nick leaves Gatsby and heads for his train when Jordan calls him unexpectedly.  It is a very straight forward conversation and once it becomes silent, they hang up.  Fitzgerald then changes scenes and goes to George Wilson and Michaelis and George is assuring that he will find Myrtle’s killer; Michaelis leaves to sleep then returns to find that George is not there anymore.  George has gone to Gatsby’s house because he is sure that it was he who killed his wife.  He finds Gatsby lying on a mattress in the pool and he shoots him, and then shoots himself.  They are both found dead by Nick and Gatsby’s servant.

3.       A) Michaelis

B) “He didn’t like to go into the garage because the work bench was stained where the body had been lying so he moved uncomfortably around the office—he knew every object in it before morning—and from time to time sat down beside Wilson tryin to keep him more quiet.” (157)

C) Michaelis could be the only truly “good” person we have met in the book thus far.  He is a kind man who sees what happened to Myrtle and feels George’s pain and tries to sympathize with him. He gives up his time to make sure George is doing well and does everything he can to get George’s mind off of what happened and make him feel better. 

D) Michaelis has a pretty important role in the novel because he is the one who witnessed Daisy killing Myrtle and he is the man in charge of taking care of George during this time.  He does the best he can to help the police and help George, but he talks about marriage with George which is very touchy for him and then he loses it. Ultimately, Michaelis is the reason for Gatsby’s death.

4.       “They're a rotten crowd . . . You're worth the whole damn bunch put together."(Page 154)

This quote stuck out to me because even though I had thought Gatsby was bad for trying to take another man’s wife, but when you compare him to the rest of the people, he looks like a saint. Gatsby really is a good man; though many think he is a bad person, he has overcome adversity in his life and he has the determination to achieve his goals.  I think this quote represents Gatsby very well and it should be the way people see him.

Great Gatsby Ch. 7

1.       Chapter 7

Pages 113-145

2.       The chapter begins with Nick being worried about Gatsby, explaining that he hasn’t thrown any parties recently and that he has hired a whole new staff of servants.  The new staff was hired because Gatsby did not want any gossip going around about him and Daisy.  The next day it is very hot and Nick goes to Daisy and Tom’s house for lunch and upon arriving sees that Gatsby and Jordan are already there trying to escape the heat as well.  Daisy little girl is brought out and introduced to everybody including Gatsby, who is stunned because he never really thought that Daisy had a child because she never speaks of her.  Daisy suggests that she and Gatsby go into the city together but Tom intervenes and Goes as well with Nick and Jordan.  They stop at Wilson’s for gas and he tells them that he has found out that his wife is having an affair.  Once they arrive in the city, they get a suite at the Plaza Hotel and Tom starts to call out Gatsby calling him a fraud because he knows what is going on between him and Daisy and he doesn’t like it. Tom sends them both back to Long Island and short after they are followed by Nick, Jordan and Tom. Passing Wilson’s garage they stop noticing that someone has been hit by a car and they think it may have been Gatsby and Daisy. When they get back to Tom’s house, Nick finds Gatsby hiding in the bushes claiming that Daisy hit Myrtle but he will take the blame for it.  Nick goes inside to check on Daisy and Tom to find them eating together peacefully.

3.       A) Jordan Baker

B)  “Those big movie on Fiftieth Street are so cool, I love New York on summer afternoons when every one’s away. There’s something very sensuous about it-overripe, as if all sorts of funny fruits were going to fall into your hands.” (125)

C) Jordan is very self-sufficient and she can provide for herself, being a professional golfer, without a boyfriend.  Nick is the closest thing she has to a boyfriend but he does not have to really do anything for her except treat her like a lady and a girlfriend at times.   Jordan is also very beautiful according to Nick and Gatsby thinks she is a very good looking lady as well.

D) Her role so far in the novel is important because Gatsby is able to go through her or Nick to get to Daisy because she is Daisy’s best friend. Jordan has become good friends with Gatsby as she was the first person we know to speak to Gatsby at the beginning of the novel. She and Nick are very fond of each other as well.

4.       “Was Daisy driving?”  “Yes, but of course I’ll say I was.”

This quote was significant to me because it shows how much Gatsby cares for Daisy and that he is willing to take the blame for her wrongdoing to protect her from Tom.  Gatsby is willing to risk the wrath of Tom to keep Daisy safe and protected like she always has been.  We have been questioning whether Gatsby really loves Daisy or if he is just looking for another possession, but I feel this shows that he really does love her and care for her.

Great Gatsby Ch 6

1.       Chapter 6

Pages 97-111

2.       A reporter shows up at Gatsby’s house asking him if he had anything to say.  Gatsby gives him a brief summary of his life and how his name came to be Gatsby from James Gats from North Dakota, not San Francisco as he earlier claimed. He also talks about how he met Dan Cody, the man in the huge picture in his room. Cody took Gatsby under his wing and employed him on his ship while they went on journeys around the world together, he was with Cody for 5 years until Dan inhospitably died and Gatsby received none of his money.  Later on, Tom Buchanan, a man named Mr. Sloane, and a pretty woman show up at Gatsby’s house.  Gatsby informs Tom that he knows Daisy and Tom is startled by that so they invite him to dinner, but leave before he is ready.  Tom and Daisy show up at Gatsby’s party the next weekend but they did not have the best time.  Gatsby Talks to Nick about how his quest to get Daisy is because he wants to recapture that feeling he had with her 5 years ago and he is willing to do anything to get that back. 

3.       A) Dan Cody

B) “Cody was fifty years old then, a product of the Nevada silver fields, of the Yukon, of every rush for metal since seventy-five. The transactions in Montana copper that made him many times a millionaire found him physically robust but on the verge of soft-mindedness, and, suspecting this, an infinite number of women tried to separate him from his money.”

C) Cody seems like a man with a very good work ethic but once he got his money, he just kicked his feet up on his ship and traveled around. He was well liked by the ladies for his money but he didn’t let them get between him and his prized possession, the green paper.  He was very kind to Gatsby and tried hard to make him as successful as possible but he was an alcoholic and he was not always at the top of his game. 

D) Cody seems to be a very important character in the novel, even though he is dead. He is the one that inspired Gatsby to be who he is today and he is the one that encouraged Gatsby to always go for it to make his dreams of being rich and like Dan Cody come true.  Gatsby learned a lot from Cody, how to be hardworking and driven towards his goals and Gatsby does not drink probably because he saw firsthand of the affects it had on Cody. 

4.       “You can’t repeat the past”

Nick is talking to Gatsby about capturing that feeling he had with Daisy 5 years ago and he is telling Gatsby that you cannot change something that has already been done.  Gatsby thinks that he can easily buy his way back into Daisy’s heart but he has to do better than that and think of a new way to win her back because she already has money, she needs a man she can love and trust.

Great Gatsby Ch 5

1.       Chapter 5

Pages 81-96

2.       Nick comes home from a night out to find that Gatsby’s house is completely light up and he describes it to look like the “World Fair”.  Gatsby suggests to Nick that they do something together but Nick says he must go to bed, Gatsby requests that Nick invite Daisy over for tea sometime soon so he can formally meet her.  Gatsby also attempts to interest Nick to join Gatsby’s “little business” that he “has on the side” but Nick does not have any time for it.  Nick invites Daisy to come over for tea in a few days without Tom and she accepts. Gatsby wants to impress Daisy so he send flowers over to Nick’s house and has a man cut Nick’s grass for him as well to assure that everything if perfect when Daisy arrives.  The day that Daisy gets there, Gatsby is very nervous and in the house there is a large sense of nervousness and embarrassment from both Gatsby and Daisy. Nick leaves the room to go make tea and when he comes back everything is completely different.  Gatsby invites the two of them, mainly Daisy, to go see him mansion and to show them around.  Daisy is very impressed with everything and comes to tears at one point when she sees how nice Gatsby’s shirts from England.  Later in the night, Nick leaves to go back home and leave Gatsby and Daisy alone. 

3.       A) Daisy Buchanan

B) “They’re such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed, her voice muffled in thick folds. “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful shirts before.”

C) Daisy is a very charming, innocent and emotional young woman.  Nick and Gatsby both enjoy being around her very much and she is able to get much of what she wants because she has a way of manipulating people, especially Nick and Gatsby because they like her so much. 

D) Daisy is an extremely important character in the novel.  She is the husband of Tom who is cheating on her and she knows it, as well as many others.  Gatsby says he loves her and is using Nick and Jordan as a gateway to her and she is one of the most talked about characters in the novel.

4.       “Daisy put her arm through his abruptly, but he seemed absorbed in what he had just said.  Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever.  Compared to the great distance that has separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. “

I think this quote is very significant because Gatsby has been wishing to become closer to Daisy because she is all the way across the water in East Egg but now, he is so close to her that the gap between them is almost gone.

Great Gatsby Ch 4

1.       Chapter 4

Pages 61-80

2.       Nick starts the chapter by describing all of the people who attended Gatsby’s parties.  Gatsby then invites Nick to lunch and Nick learns a lot about Gatsby’s life.  He learned that Gatsby did in fact go to Oxford and that he grew up with money and received it after his family died in California.  Gatsby gets pulled over on their way to New York but he gets away with it because he had helped that police officer out with something before and they are happily on their way.  When they arrive, Nick meets Mr. Wolfsheim and they become acquainted with one another until Nick finds out that he is a notorious gambler and was involved with the 1919 World Series scheme but got away with it because he is said to be a very clever man. 

3.       a) Meyer Wolfsheim

b) “No, he’s a gambler. He’s the man who fixed the World Series back in 1919.” (73)

c) Mr. Wolfsheim is a notorious gambler and he is a very sneaky and clever man, I don’t think that he can be trusted because of his past actions.  Nick is somewhat scared of this man because he views him as a criminal who should be in jail for fixing the World Series and doing it just to make money.  He is a con artist.

d) So far he has played as another character but I don’t think he will have an extremely significant role in the novel.  We will probably see him later on the same way he met him with Gatsby, however I don’t think he will be a tremendously important character. 

4.       “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay.”

This quote is very important to the novel because it confirms that Gatsby loves Daisy and that he is pursuing her to fall for him.  It shows that Gatsby will do anything to win her love and this will affect the whole novel because now we are assured that Gatsby loves Daisy.  This may come into conflict with Tom, Nick, Jordan and Daisy throughout the story. 

Great Gatsby Ch 3

1.       Chapter 3

Pages 39-59

2.       The chapter begins with a description about some of Gatsby’s famous parties and people borrowing his cars and other expensive items which he approves of doing.   Nick is given a handwritten invitation from Gatsby delivered by his butler inviting him to his “small party” that weekend.   Nick is searching for Gatsby while at the party and he runs into Jordan Baker. After a while, they sit down to have a conversation which is interrupted by a man who asks nick if he was in the war. Nick embarrasses himself by asking the man if he knows who Gatsby is, when it is in fact himself.  Jordan is then asked to talk with Gatsby alone and when she returns, Nick can’t figure out what Gatsby said, but she is astonished at what he told her.  When everyone is leaving, they come upon a car accident with a drunken man which ends up being no big deal in the end.  Nick goes home and we are brought to a few months later when he and Jordan are in a relationship but he realizes that she is dishonest and has a slight problem with it. 

3.       a) Mr. Jay Gatsby

b) “He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly.  It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four to five times in life.”

c) This quote exemplifies that Gatsby is a kind, forgiving and overall nice person in general.  Gatsby is a very understanding man and he seems very fun-loving and well like by the people but not just because he has a lot of money.  Gatsby is also well educated and a very proper and intelligent man. 

d) Obviously by the name of the novel, Gatsby plays a large role in the novel and so far we can see that he, Nick and Jordan are going to make good friends.  I think that Gatsby will be a very important part of Nick’s view about people and life in general because he is such a nice and lovable man.

4.       “’Suppose you met someone just as careless as yourself.’ ‘I hope I never will,’ she answered. ‘I hate careless people.  That’s why I like you.’”

This quote really stuck out to me because it reminded me of a scene from a movie when two people are arguing and then one person says something and then they just stare at each other and kiss and it becomes much more than a friendship.  I think this is important because it is when Nick feels that he loved Jordan and she has mutual feelings for him. I believe this will lead to much more and they will be more than friends. 

Great Gatsby Ch 2

1.       Chapter 2

Pages 23-38

2.       In chapter 2, Tom invites Nick to go with him to New York and Nick accepts the invitation.  On their way, Tom forces Nick to get off the train to go meet his mistress.  They go to the garage where Nick and the reader first meet Myrtle Wilson, Tom’s mistress.  Tom tells her to follow the train back to Tom’s apartment, but on the way she is stopped because she wants to buy a dog, which she does.  They all make it to Tom’s apartment where she calls her sister over and another couple, the McKees.  The party starts to take a turn for the worse when Tom and Myrtle get in an argument about Daisy and Tom ends up smacking her in the nose and breaking it.  Nick finally escapes the party and takes the train back to Long Island at 4am.

3.       a) George Wilson

b) “He was a blond, spiritless man, anemic, and faintly handsome. When he saw us a damp gleam of hope sprang into his light blue eyes.” (25)

c) George does not have much going for him for the part of him having good qualities but we do know that he is hopeful because of what we see in his face, specifically his eyes when he sees Nick and Tom.  One thing he has going for him is that he is fairly handsome so that may help him throughout the story, but other than that, there is not much else. 

d) We do not know much about George’s role in the novel so far other than that he is the husband of Tom’s mistress.  In a way, he is like Daisy because he knows about the affair but does nothing really to try to stop it. Maybe they will both make the effort to end the affair between Tom and Myrtle at some point in the novel, we will have to wait and see.

4.       “Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” (37)  This quote stood out to me because it shows Tom’s aggression towards women which I  am expecting to see occur throughout the novel. He is also trying not to think about Daisy and defending her at the same time but Myrtle had every right to say her name.  Tom is trying to assert his strength and masculinity in front of Nick as well with his action because he is always trying to out beat Nick at everything he does