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.