F.

Scott Fitzgerald’s: The Great Gatsby

CHAPTER I
Nick Carraway, the narrator of the book talks about a mantra that he lived most of his
life. This is something about his father used to tell him, “Whenever you feel like criticizing
someone just remember that all people haven’t had the advantages that you have had.” With this
mantra he was able to partake his life with upbringings with his family. But there was a time that
he lost hope and interest to people until he met Jay Gatsby for which he said that Gatsby’s
personality is gorgeous.
The story proper begins when Nick moves from the Midwest to West Egg, Long Island,
seeking to become a "well-rounded man" and to recapture some of the excitement and adventure
he experienced as a soldier in WWI. After the war he decide to join his friends and tries to make
his way as a bond salesman. He rents a small house for which he described his neighborhood as
one of the strangest neighborhoods as although he lived in a mediocre house his neighbor next
door was a mansion which, it turns out, belongs to Gatsby. Although he never met Gatsby but a
lot of people talk about him with his lavish and mysterious life. Nick is unlike his West Egg
neighbors; whereas they lack social connections and aristocratic pedigrees, Nick graduated from
Yale and has many connections on East Egg.
A little while after getting there Nick goes to visit his distant relative Daisy Buchanan,
she is Nick’s cousin, and her husband, Tom, live across the bay in the fashionable community of
East Egg. Daisy as described is an ephemeral woman with a socialite's luminescence, and Tom, a
brutish, hulking, powerful man made arrogant through generations of privilege, and there he
meets Jordan Baker, the professional golfer and a girlhood friend of Daisy's. Baker easily
captivated Nick with her slender looks for which Nick enjoyed staring at her. As they had
conversations and dinner, Baker asked Nick if he knew Gatsby and he tells her that he lives next
door to his house. When Tom takes a phone call, Jordan informs Nick that Tom's mistress is on
the phone. Tom, known for his infidelities, makes no pretense to cover up his affairs. After they
were back at the table Nick commented about how the sunset was so romantic to cover up the
awkwardness. After an awkward dinner, the party breaks up. Jordan wants to go to bed because
she has a golf tournament the next day. As Nick leaves, Tom and Daisy hint that they would like
for him to take a romantic interest in Jordan.
As Nick drove home he had a feeling of disgust and wished Daisy would just run away
but at some point he knew she wouldn’t do that. When he arrived home he looked towards
Gatsby’s home and saw a figure in the dark standing looking up the stars and figured it was
Gatsby who was trembling. He wanted to introduce himself but he felt the oddness surrounding
Gatsby and when he looked but at the mysterious figure Nick realized it disappeared.
CHAPTER II
At the beginning of this chapter Nick takes a train with Tom Buchanan into New York
City but Tom insists they get off the train in order for Nick to meet “his girl”. As they arrived at
Queens, Nick described it as a sort of wasteland where there’s smoke everywhere.
Tom leads Nick to George Wilson’s garage, which sits on the edge of the valley of ashes.
Tom’s lover Myrtle is Wilson’s wife. Wilson is a lifeless yet handsome man, colored gray by the
ashes in the air. In contrast, Myrtle has a kind of desperate vitality; she strikes Nick as sensuous
despite her stocky figure. Tom taunts Wilson and then orders Myrtle to follow him to the train.
As Tom and Nick were waiting they met a man named Dr. Eckleberg, the three of them talked
about how terrible Queens is and that hope is nowhere to be found. While Myrtle deceives her
husband by saying she will visit her sister at New York As she arrived at the designated place
Tom takes Nick and Myrtle to New York City, to the Morningside Heights apartment he keeps
for his affair. Myrtle is a snobbish brat for which when she saw a man selling dogs and she
insists on having one to Tom. The whole time Nick was on the trip he’s been trying to get away
and tells Tom that he must go but Tom insists on taking Nick to the apartment and hang with
them. Once at the apartment, Myrtle phones her sister, Catherine, and her friends, the McKees, to
join the party. The six people spend the afternoon in a haze of drunkenness. As the afternoon
wears on and she becomes increasingly intoxicated, Myrtle becomes more and more outspoken
about her situation in life, her marriage, her impassioned first meeting with Tom, and finally,
Tom's marriage. Upon mentioning Daisy's name, Myrtle becomes enraged, shouting "Daisy" at
the top of her lungs. Tom, incensed by this outburst, lashes out with his open hand and breaks
Myrtle's nose in one "short deft movement." Nick claims that he got drunk for only the second
time in his life at this party and by that behavior that he has surrounding him pushed him to
badly want to leave. And with outrageous affect effect of Tom the party ended, Nick leaves,
drunkenly, and ends up taking the 4 a.m. train back to Long Island.
CHAPTER III
The beginning of this chapter is where Nick describes the endless parties that happen
over at his neighbor’s house, the Great Gatsby. He described the people and the noise that would
come from there. For which Gatsby is known for. One day, one of Gatsby’s butlers came by and
invited Nick to one of the legendary party. It is on that letter we learned Gatsby’s first name, Jay.
Nick is one of the few to have actually been invited. The others simply arrive, knowing
only that there will be a party and they won't be turned away. When Nick arrived at the party, he
felt he was completely out of place he went around and asked if anybody knew Gatsby, but has
no luck. No one can tell him where Gatsby is, suggesting that they, themselves, didn't know the
host - no one seems to know the truth about Gatsby’s wealth or personal history. From his
wonderings, he found a spot where he didn’t look like such a loner, after a while he felt again
that he was out of place as so he tempted to be drunk just to avoid the awkwardness. As Nick
mills around the party, he encounters Jordan Baker and the two of them two mingle around,
inadvertently gathering rumors about Gatsby, including that he had once killed a man or that he
was a German spy. After several glasses of champagne, Nick begins a conversation with a fellow
who is, unbeknownst to him saying he recognized him and that they met at France during the war
and that it wasn’t there first time having a conversation, Nick described as super nice that he
invited him hydroplaning the next day. Unfortunately Nick wasn’t able to get his name because
of an interruption of Jordan by asking Nick if he was having a good time for which Nick
recognized it as much more than the beginning of the party. As they continued their
conversation, Nick mentioned his war friend and that he still wasn’t able to locate the host of the
party and to his surprised, the other man said: “I am Gatsby”.
“What? I beg your pardon?” was the shockingly question of Nick. Gatsby thought Nick
knew who he was and apologized for being a bad host and in a flash he disappeared. Nick
described Gatsby as a 32 year old, elegant guy who talked in such a formal way. When Gatsby
left, Nick said Gatsby piqued his interest like no one had ever done before. After his phone call,
Gatsby asked the band to perform a song and after that he asked Jordan Baker for a talk. Later,
Gatsby takes Jordan Baker aside to speak with her privately. What they discuss is not revealed,
but Jordan passes along that it is "the most amazing thing." As the party ended he asked the
butler to get his things and that it was time for him to walk. He apologizes to Gatsby for staying
so long but Gats by asked him to come at 9 a.m. for their plan. Nick starts to walk home and saw
the drunken man he talked at the library crashed his car. At the last pages of the chapter Nick
then proceeds to describe his everyday life, to prove that he does more with his time than simply
attend parties. He works in New York City, through which he also takes long walks, and he
meets women. After a brief relationship with a girl from Jersey City, Nick follows the advice of
Daisy and Tom and begins seeing Jordan Baker. Nick says that Jordan dishonest but although
she is like that he still feels attracted to her and that they are both different from each other.
CHAPTER IV
Chapter 4 opens up with Nick listing the people who attended Gatsby’s party as he said
they are the nation’s most wealthy and powerful people. One morning at 9 am; Gatsby drove up
to Nick’s house it was the first time Gatsby went up to the house of Nick, nonetheless, Nick
came over to his house several times. Nick says that he tried to have a deep conversation with
Gatsby but Gatsby would push him out and have superficial conversations, because of that he
though Gatsby wasn’t a person of substance. Gatsby told Nick that they were going for lunch. As
they were driving, Gatsby was a bit odd and suddenly asked Nick of what he thinks of him and
tells Nick to not believe of the rumors about him, and later on he tells Nick about his truth
Gatsby attempts to clear the record about his past so that Nick wouldn't "get a wrong idea" by
listening to the rumors. Nick is suspicious, however, when he hears Gatsby reveal that he was
born into a wealthy Midwest family (in San Francisco) and educated at Oxford, "a family
tradition." After touring Europe, Gatsby served as a major in the military where he "tried very
hard to die" but, in his own words, "seemed to bear an enchanted life." Gatsby showed to Nick a
medal he received from Montenegro and a picture of him on a cricket team from Oxford saying
that it was the two things that he carries all the time. Gatsby said he said all those things because
he has a request and that Jordan Baker will explain everything. As in testament to this disclosure,
Gatsby is pulled over for speeding, but is let go after producing a card from the police
commissioner for whom Gatsby had once done a favor.
Gatsby takes Nick to lunch and introduces him to Meyer Wolfshiem, who, he claims, was
responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series. Wolfshiem is a shady character with underground
business connections. He gives Nick the impression that the source of Gatsby’s wealth might be
unsavory, and that Gatsby may even have ties to the sort of organized crime with which
Wolfshiem is associated. Nick learned that Mr. Wolfshiem is known as Gatsby for a few years
for which his doubt to Jay increases more.
After the lunch in New York, Nick sees Jordan Baker, who finally tells him the details of
her mysterious conversation with Gatsby at the party. Jordan tells a memory she has in 1917,
saying that she was visiting Daisy and as she walked up to the porch she saw Daisy and a young
officer gazing into each other’s eyes lovingly and she had that the young officer was Jay Gatsby.
Jordan said that Daisy was so in love with Gatsby that she tried to sneak away from her from and
go to New York to see Gatsby after a while with Gatsby fighting war in Europe, Daisy received a
letter that informed her that Gatsby died from the war for which she was devastated from. The
next day she left without a word and married Tom Buchanan for which her parents approved of.
The following April, Daisy gave birth to a daughter. Jordan continues, noting what Gatsby told
her on the night of the party. Apparently, it was not coincidence that brought him to West Egg:
He purposely selected his house so that the house of his lost love would be just across the bay.
Jordan then relays Gatsby's request: that Nick invite Daisy over some afternoon so he can
arrange to come by and see her, as if by accident. She is to know nothing about the intended
reunion with her former lover; it is all supposed to be a surprise.
CHAPTER V
Nick comes home from his meeting with Jordan Baker, as he drives up to his house he
thought his house was on fire because Gatsby has put up so many lights on his house that lit up
the whole neighborhood. He thought Gatsby was having a party but as he drove up he realized
nobody was there, as Nick pulls in Gatsby comes up to Nick and asked if he wants to go to
Coney Island but was rejected, Gatsby offered him many invitations but was all rejected. Gatsby
showed nervousness from the meeting of Nick and Jordan and wants to know what happened.
The next day, Nick phones Daisy and extends his invitation with the stipulation "Don't
bring Tom." She accepts his invitation, agreeing on a day. The agreed upon day arrives and
Gatsby, wanting everything to be perfect, sends a man to cut Nick's grass and, later, has flowers
delivered. Arriving an hour before Daisy, Gatsby is nervous and, for the first time in the novel, a
little unsure of himself. At the appointed time, Daisy arrives. Nick ushers Daisy into the house to
find that Gatsby has disappeared, only to reemerge at the front door, looking pale and tragic.
Gatsby ushers himself into the living room and joins Daisy. The reunion is initially stilted and
unnaturally polite, leaving all three people feeling somewhat awkward, but amid the tea
preparations, a greater sense of ease overtakes the group. Excusing himself, Nick tries to give
Gatsby and Daisy some privacy, but Gatsby, as nervous as a young man, follows him out. Nick
sends Gatsby back in to Daisy, while he himself sneaks out the back and wanders around the
house for half an hour.
The awkwardness disappeared as tears were visible to the face of Daisy. Nick broke the
sad environment as he said that the rain stopped, Gatsby asked Nick to join him to tour Daisy to
his home. Both the men waited for Daisy as she wiped her tears outside. As they waited he told
Nick that it took him three years of work to pay for his house as Gatsby admired his own home.
As to the side of Nick he was surprised as he thought he inherited a lot of money from his family
but Gatsby told him that he lost a lot of money during pre-war. After their talk, Daisy interrupted
them as Gatsby toured her he couldn’t help but revalue his possessions as how Daisy reacted to
them. Daisy, just as Gatsby had intended, is delighted by the magnificence of his estate. Together
they wander from room to room, each one tastefully and carefully decorated to create a particular
ambiance. Along the way they meet Klipspringer, "the boarder," who was busy doing exercises
as if he hadn't a care in the world. Gatsby took them outside and means that he can see Daisy’s
house across the bay and that they put a green light on at night, Nick and Daisy realized what
that green light meant to Gatsby over the last five years. By the end of the afternoon, Gatsby has
shown Daisy all the material stability he possesses, yet Nick hints that perhaps Daisy doesn't
measure up — not because of a shortcoming on her part, but because of the magnitude of the
dream that Gatsby has built over the past five years.As they captured the night with beautiful
truths, Nick wanted to leave but they wouldn’t let him as he served as their safe net as Daisy was
still married. But at the end of the chapter, Nick left leaving Gatsby and Daisy alone together.
CHAPTER VI
At the beginning of this chapter a young man comes to Gatsby’s door asking him for a
statement but the speculation aroused when the young man didn’t know what to ask and just said
that he was sent there to get a statement. But Gatsby speculated that he was sent there because of
his continuing rumors around New York. Nick fills the reader in on Gatsby's real background,
which is in sharp contrast to the fabricated antecedents Gatsby told Nick during their drive to
New York. He said to young man that he changed his name when he was 17 years old and that
his real name is James Gatz. James Gatz came from a poor farming family from North Dakota.
On the shores of Lake Superior of North Dakota, he saw Dan Cody drop anchor on his yacht.
Prior to that time, Gatsby spent part of his young adulthood roaming parts of Minnesota shaping
the aspects of the persona he would assume.
Gatsby went sleeping with a bunch of women and lying to people about what he did for a
living. Eventually, he ran out of money and became a janitor at a church. After having some sort
of money from being a janitor he went back to the beach and met Dan Cody. As a man of money
from copper mines, he took James Gatz and gave him an opportunity to live as he pleased. They
embarked for the West Indies and the Barbary Coast. During their five years together, Cody and
Gatsby went around the continent three times; in the end, Cody was mysteriously undone by his
lady love, as Cody had a penchant for fifty years old women; Ella Kaye.
 When Cody died, he left Gatsby $25,000, but Cody’s woman prevented him from
claiming his inheritance. Gatsby then dedicated himself to becoming a wealthy and successful
man. After learning about the real past of Gatsby he didn’t see him for a few weeks. When Nick
finally came over, he was shocked as he saw Tom Buchanan at his house as he invited Gatsby to
go horse riding but was rejected as Gatsby said he didn’t have any horse because of his trauma
with his old horse. The following Saturday night, Tom, apparently concerned with Daisy's recent
activities, accompanies her to one of Gatsby's parties. Gatsby tries to impress the Buchanans by
pointing out all the celebrities present, then makes a point of introducing Tom, much to his
unease, as "the polo player." Which made Tom aggravated as he was football player not a polo
player. Gatsby and Daisy dance, marking the only time Gatsby really gets involved with one of
his own parties. But as the party continues, Daisy was having a bad time because of Tom who
upsets her by telling her that Gatsby’s fortune comes from bootlegging. She angrily replies that
Gatsby’s wealth comes from a chain of drugstores that he owns.
After the Buchanans leave and the party breaks up, Nick and Gatsby review the evening.
Gatsby, fearing Daisy did not have a good time, worries about her. When Nick cautions Gatsby
that "You can't repeat the past," Gatsby idealistically answers "Why of course you can!" words
that strike Nick soundly because of their "appalling sentimentality," which both delights and
disgusts him. At the end of the chapter, there was a flashback to when Gatsby and Daisy first
kissed, as that kissed meant everything to Gatsby he knew from that kissed that Daisy would be
the woman he wants to be with for the rest of his life.
CHAPTER VII
Nick hasn’t seen Gatsby for some time so he decided to go to Gatsby’s house to check up
on him and to his surprised was there was a different butler who opened up for him. Gatsby, who
was preoccupied by his love for Daisy, Gatsby calls off his parties, which were primarily a
means to lure Daisy. He also fires his servants to prevent gossip and replaces them with shady
individuals connected to Meyer Wolfshiem.
The next day, Gatsby called Nick to invite him as Daisy invited him over for lunch. Nick
hoped on a train and he went there he finds Gatsby and Jordan Baker there as well becoming
more uncomfortable to the environment. As they were seated for their lunch, Tom excused
himself as he needed to speak on the phone with his mistress. Gatsby and Daisy cannot hide their
love for one another. Daisy boldly kisses Gatsby, declaring her love for him. Later, after Daisy
suggests they go to town, Tom witnesses a soft glance that passes between Daisy and Gatsby and
can no longer deny the two of them are having an affair.
Itching for a confrontation, Tom seizes upon Daisy’s suggestion that they should all go to
New York together. Tom uses Gatsby’s yellow car and with him is Jordan and Nick, while
Gatsby uses Tom’s blue car and with him is Daisy. Tom, it turns out, has been suspicious of
Gatsby all along and has had him investigated. Noticing the car is low on gas, Tom pulls into
Wilson's station where he finds Wilson visibly unwell. Wilson abruptly announces he and Myrtle
will be headed West shortly because he has just learned of her secret life, although the identity of
Myrtle's lover is yet unknown to him. Tom, doubly enraged at the potential loss of his mistress
and his wife, malevolently questions Gatsby after the group assembles at the Plaza hotel
mocking his habit of calling people “old sport.” He accused Tom of lying that he did not attend
Oxford, but to the defense of Gatsby he said he went to Oxford for five months. As the tension
rises, Tom asked Gatsby his feelings for his wife, and Gatsby replies that Daisy loves him, not
Tom. Tom, in disbelief, turns to Daisy for confirmation. Daisy, however, cannot honestly admit
she never loved Tom. Realizing he has bested Gatsby, Tom sends Daisy back to Long Island
with Gatsby to prove Gatsby’s inability to hurt him. As the row quiets down, Nick realizes that it
is his thirtieth birthday.
The narration now skips to George Wilson who has been found ill by his neighbor,
Michaelis. Wilson explains he has Myrtle locked inside and she will remain so until they leave in
two days' time. Michaelis, astonished, heads back to his restaurant. He returns a few hours later,
hears Myrtle's voice, and then sees her break away from her husband and rush into the road. As
she enters the highway Myrtle is struck by a passing car that fails to stop, continuing its route out
of the city. Nick, Tom, and Jordan arrive on the scene shortly. Excited by the thought of
something going on, Tom pulls over to investigate. He is grief-stricken to find Myrtle's lifeless
body lying on a worktable. Tom learns the car that struck Myrtle matches Gatsby's in
description. Tom, visibly upset by the day's events, can only whimper of his anger toward the
man he already hates.
Returning to East Egg, Tom invites Nick inside to wait for a cab to take him home. Nick,
seeing clearly the moral and spiritual corruption of Tom, Daisy, and the whole society they
represent, declines. Outside the Buchanans', Nick bumps into Gatsby who asks if there was
trouble on the road. Nick recounts what he has seen. After asking a few questions, Nick learns
Daisy, not Gatsby, was driving at the time. Gatsby, however, in true chivalric fashion, says he'll
take the blame. The chapter ends with Gatsby, the paragon of chivalry and lost dreams,
remaining on vigil outside Daisy's house, in case she needs assistance dealing with Tom, while
Nick heads back to West Egg.
CHAPTER VIII
The chapter takes place right after the events of past night – Nick is in bed and can’t
sleep, early in the morning he hears a car pull into Gatsby’s driveway and he gets out of bed to
meet with Gatsby. Gatsby tell Nick that he stayed at Daisy’s house all night to watch upon her
just to make sure her husband wouldn’t hurt her. Nick tries to convince Gatsby to leave because
his car was the car who hit and killed Myrtle Wilson but Nick knew if Gatsby had any chance of
staying would Daisy he wouldn’t leave until he was absolutely certain that Daisy didn’t want to
be with him. Nick's comments make Gatsby reveal the story of his past, "Because 'Jay Gatsby'
had broken up like glass against Tom's hard malice." Daisy, Gatsby reveals, was his social
superior, yet they fell deeply in love. The reader also learns that, when courting, Daisy and
Gatsby had been intimate with each other and it was this act of intimacy that bonded him to her
inexorably, feeling "married to her." Gatsby left Daisy, heading off to war. He excelled in battle
and when the war was over, he tried to get home, but ended up at Oxford instead. Gatsby tells
Nick that the night he left for war, he and Daisy cuddled all night and was left with a good
memory. Daisy didn't understand why he didn't return directly and, over time, her interest began
to wane until she eventually broke off their relationship.
Moving back to the present, Nick needed to go to work but he didn’t want to leave
Gatsby because he really sympathized with him. Nick tries to stay and support Gatsby and ends
up missing two trains to town but by the third one he knew he had to leave, as he heads out he
tells Gatsby that he’ll call him around noon. Gatsby threw a question to Nick asking if he thinks
that Daisy will actually call and Nick answered with a lie that he thinks she will.
For Nick, the day drags on; he feels uneasy, preoccupied with the past day's adventures.
Jordan phones, but Nick cuts her off. He phones Gatsby and, unable to reach him, decides to
head home early. The narrative again shifts time and focus, as Fitzgerald goes back in time, to
the evening prior, in the valley of ashes. George Wilson, despondent at Myrtle's death, appears
irrational when Michaelis attempts to engage him in conversation. By morning, Michaelis is
exhausted and returns home to sleep. When he returns four hours later, Wilson is gone and has
traveled to Port Roosevelt, Gads Hill, West Egg, and ultimately, Gatsby's house. There he finds
Gatsby floating on an air mattress in the pool. Wilson, sure that Gatsby is responsible for his
wife's death, shoots and kills Gatsby. Nick finds Gatsby's body floating in the pool and, while
starting to the house with the body, the gardener discovers Wilson's lifeless body off in the grass.
CHAPTER IX
At the beginning of this chapter, with the police and the paparazzi storming Gatsby's
house. Nick becomes worried that he is handling Gatsby's burial arrangements, believing there
must be someone closer to Gatsby who should be conducting the business at hand. Nick tried to
call Daisy and Tom several times but they had already packed up all their stuff and left town
before any of this stuff wet down. Nick tried also calling Mr. Wolfshiem but he couldn’t find any
information on him.
The next day, Nick sent a letter to Mr. Wolfshiem letting him know what happened and
asked him to come on the next train so he could help him with Gatsby’s funeral. Later that day,
received a response and said that he was deeply sorry but that he was much too busy to deal with
things about Gatsby, he also mention that he didn’t know any of Gatsby’s family. Nick felt that it
was him and Gatsby against the world. Nick receives a telegram from Henry C. Gatz, Gatsby's
father in Minnesota. Gatz, it seems, learned of Jimmy's (Gatsby's) death through the Chicago
newspaper. Gatz refuses to take the body to the Midwest, noting "Jimmy always liked it better
down East." Nick described Henry as a frail old man who was weakened by grief. He left Gatsby
and Henry alone. That evening, Klipspringer phones and Nick, thinking another mourner will be
joining the funeral the next day, is dismayed to learn Klipspringer is only calling to inquire about
his tennis shoes. The morning of the funeral, Nick forces his way into Wolfshiem's office, again
hoping to convince Gatsby's closest business associate to attend the services. Wolfshiem again
refuses, but discloses he did not just give Gatsby a start in business — he made Gatsby's fortune
by using him in various questionable activities. When Nick returns to Gatsby's, he finds Mr. Gatz
going through his son's house, growing more proud as he takes in the possessions around him.
Pulling out a copy of Hopalong Cassidy, once owned by the young Jimmy Gatz, Gatsby's father
points out his young son's drive toward self-improvement by calling Nick's attention to the daily
schedule penciled in the back. Shortly after, the men adjourn to the funeral. At the graveside are
a few servants, the mail carrier, the minister, Nick, and Mr. Gatz. Nick is struck by the bitter
injustice of Gatsby's solitary death.
As the West side haunted him, he decided to move back home but before he left he
wanted to settle things with Jordan and decided to end with her lies. Nick says although they
ended things they were still in love with each other. The time comes for Nick to leave West Egg,
on the last night, he wanders over to Gatsby's for one last visit. Strolling down to the water he is
called to remember the way Gatsby's house used to be, filled with people and lavish parties. He
considers Gatsby's wonder at picking out Daisy's dock in the darkness, how far Gatsby had
traveled in his life, and how he always had hope in the future. In his final thought, Nick links
society to the boats eternally moving against the current on the Sound.