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