As we explore the value of relationships in The Great Gatsby, one must ask one's self: what is the binding force that keeps the pivotal relationships of the story together? Are the feelings that the characters have for each other genuine? For example: does Gatsby truly love Daisy, and vice versa? Or does everyone have his or her own ulterior, self-serving motive within the reliationship? And if so, what kind of message do these relationships then serve to portray? The purpose of this particular wiki page is to help explore these questions, using the passage analyses students have written on the topic.

 

Table of Contents

Gatsby & Daisy & Tom - Emily & Eunice

Nick & Jordan - Emily

Tom & Myrtle - Eunice

Gatsby & Nick - Esther

Nick & Tom - Esther

 

Bolded parts = main ideas

  

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Gatsby & Daisy & Tom

 

Emily Choi 

"If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away. This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the "creative temperament"-- it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again. No-- Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men."(6)

 

Gatsby-- what is it that makes him so wondrous? The rare purity of Gatsby's love for Daisy is endearing; the ambiguity of his past (San Francisco a town in the Midwest?) is intriguing. Even so, I find it difficult to pinpoint exactly what is so "gorgeous" about his personality. Who is Gatsby, really?

To me, Gatsby seems not so different from Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights, another tortured romantic hero. Each harbors an inexhaustible, inextinguishable sense of passion that eventually leads to his destruction. Heathcliff is deeply in love with Catherine. However, when he overhears that she thinks marrying him would be 'degrading,' he spends three years abroad, making his fortune. When he returns, he executes his plot for revenge, damaging both himself and others in the process. On the other hand, Gatsby cannot forget Daisy and devotes himself to her for nearly five years. He buys his mansion for its proximity to Daisy and he cannot help but hope that she will wander into one of his parties some day. He constructs his own ideas of what Daisy will do, what she will say, how she thinks and what she is really like. 

There are parallels between the female protagonists as well. Both Catherine and Daisy are introduced as charming, irresistable people. As their stories progress, however, it becomes apparent that everything-- including people-- change. Catherine, once so wild and free, becomes cultivated into a lady. Daisy, once so sweet and innocent, develops a rather unpleasant, macabre quality. Catherine and Daisy choose to marry an unlikely candidate during the absence of Gatsby and Heathcliff. While not completely happy, neither are unhappy. When reunited with their first love, their fervor alight once more. Both women are the downfall of their men. It is questionable whether Heathcliff died of natural causes or Catherine's ghost murdered him. Gatsby was shot by the husband of a woman Daisy struck and killed with a car. Daisy did not grieve for Gatsby; for her, life went on. Catherine and Daisy, in my eyes, are deeply sinister characters.

Had Heathcliff and Gatsby never met their female counterparts, perhaps their lives would be different. Perhaps they would not be so miserable; perhaps they would not have died in such a terrible way. But is it possible to separate Catherine from Heathcliff, Daisy from Gatsby? Heathcliff and Gatsby allowed love to consume them completely. There is, indeed, something special, something alluring and "gorgeous" about them. This is, I think, what Nick was trying to say. Gatsby was extraordinary because of his resilience, his undying love for Daisy. The fact that Daisy did not, ultimately, return his affections amplifies Gatsby's own emotions even more.

 

Chapter 5

 

George Abraham

 "'I’ve got a man in England who buys me clothes.  He sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall.'

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' (97).

 

This passage is from chapter 5 is when Daisy and Nick go over to Gatsby’s house.

 Throughout class, we have been discussing the veracity of Gatsby’s love for Daisy. Is it really true love or merely his scheme to acquire even more wealth? Daisy is also a perplexing character because on the one hand, she is motivated by her own ideologies, yet time and time again, Daisy seems to conform to the norms of society.[...]

 In the passage, Daisy breaks down crying merely due to her amazement over Gatsby’s clothing.  To me, there seems to be something inherently wrong with Daisy’s action. She did not even break down crying when she first saw Gatsby, and yet she is sobbing over clothing?  Fitzgerald’s vivid description of the clothing “shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green,” adds to the attentiveness Daisy shows toward the clothing. It is no doubt that this passage exemplifies Daisy’s flawed character. At first, her love for Gatsby seems to be genuine and the reason she married Tom was because she had to, yet this passage clearly shows how important wealth is to Daisy. The same can be said for Gatsby; it seems he just wants to add Daisy to his trophy case to show that he can get whatever he wants.

Nonetheless, there seems to be a deeper message that Fitzgerald seeks to show in this passage. All throughout the novel, there is great emphasis on the outward appearances of the characters. In this high class society, it is clear that image is important. Fitzgerald uses the clothing to show how shallow the characters in the novel are. Rather than focusing on personality or integrity, the characters are interested in social standing and wealth.  The “sheer linen and thick silk,” gives an ostentatious and gaudy imagery to the clothing. In fact, it does not even seem that the clothing is that beautiful at all. It is the fact that it contains grade A materials that make it so fascinating to Daisy.  Relating to the cover of the story, Daisy’s eyes in this scenario seem to be focused solely on the clothing. It seems that she has lost “sight” of her true feelings for Gatsby.

 

Chapter 6 

 

Billy Min

"I suppose he'd had the name ready for a long time, even then. His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people-his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.

For over a year he had been beating his way along the south shore of Lake Superior as a clam-digger and a salmon-fisher or in any other capacity that brought him food and bed.

An instinct toward his future glory had led him, some months before, to the small Lutheran college of St. Olaf in southern Minnesota.

And it was from Cody that he inherited money-a legacy of twenty-five thousand dollars. He didn't get it. He never understood the legal device that was used against him…"

 

When we first talked about how Jay Gatsby loved Daisy, but also subconsciously might have thought of her as an item, I 100% disagreed.  I was reluctant to see the flaw Fitzgerald’s main character.  However the more we discussed the topic in class, the more it seemed to make sense.  The wording that Gatsby used ex. “her voice was full of money,” etc, seemed to fit in exactly as our classmates had said.  Then I started to think, why?  Why was Gatsby this way?  Why was a rich man so possessive of a woman like Daisy, and also treating her like a thing?  So I decided to go back into Gatsby’s, Gatz’s to be more exact, past.  I may have stumbled onto some answers that might contribute to Gatsby’s way of thinking. [...] Although Jay Gatsby is rich, James Gatz was not.  James Gatz seemed to have believed that he was destined for something greater, and grander, than being a poor farm boy.  He never “accepted them as his parents at all.”  He grew up struggling for a job working as a clam-digger and a salmon-fisher, struggling to achieve something different.  In history class we talked about the low class white men who oversaw the slaves.  We discussed that when the weak were given power it made them feel important.  This might somehow be what James Gatz had been feeling.  He wanted something that epitomized everything he ever wanted.  And as we discussed in class, Daisy had all those qualities… class, social status, money, beauty, and the choice to give it all up.  Gatz seemed to have wanted that so much, he wanted to be something.  And as Jay Gatsby that longing had never ceased.  Although he now had money, he neither had a high social status, beauty, nor Daisy.  So this ambition seemed to have clouded his judgment in subconsciously considering Daisy as a thing, even though he genuinely loved her.

 

Chapter 7

 

Ben Edlin

"'I don’t think there’s much gas,' he objected.

'Plenty of gas,' said Tom boisterously. He looked at the gauge. 'And if it runs out I can stop at a drug-store. You can buy anything at a drug-store nowadays.'

A pause followed this apparently pointless remark. Daisy looked at Tom frowning, and an indefinable expression, at once definitely unfamiliar and vaguely recognizable, as if I had only heard it described in words, passed over Gatsby’s face.

'Come on, Daisy,' said Tom, pressing her with his hand toward Gatsby’s car. 'I’ll take you in this circus wagon.'

He opened the door, but she moved out from the circle of his arm.

'You take Nick and Jordan. We’ll follow you in the coupe.'

She walked close to Gatsby, touching his coat with her hand. Jordan and Tom and I got into the front seat of Gatsby’s car, Tom pushed the unfamiliar gears tentatively, and we shot off into the oppressive heat, leaving them out of sight behind.

'Did you see that?' demanded Tom." (127-8)

 

This passage is interesting for the same reason that it is shocking. The Great Gatsby is obviously known as a social critique on wealth and on the material life, however, it is also a critique on love, and how things like money and social status affect it. Daisy first fell for Gatsby under the impression that he was a man of extraordinary wealth, and then, when he left, she married Tom because he was a respected social figure and had tons of money. She only fell for people who, in her opinion, could support her lifestyle and keep her comfortable. However, with money and luxury as her primary factors, she never truly LOVED either of them. And her constant fluctuation between Tom and Gatsby proves it. When Tom makes one stupid remark, she falls back in love with Gatsby, and chooses to ride with him. And then, when Tom wins the argument with Gatsby later in the novel, she falls back in love with Tom for good. This passage is a perfect example of the shallowness of “high society” relationships, and asserts Fitzgerald’s idea that love, motivated by money, isn’t real love at all. [...]

 

Chapter 8

 

Faiith Shapiro

“When they met again, two days later, it was Gatsby who was breathless, who was, somehow, betrayed. Her porch was bright with the bought luxury of star-shine; the wicker of the settee squeaked fashionably as she turned toward him and he kissed her curious and lovely mouth. She had caught a cold, and it made her voice huskier and more charming than ever, and Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, of the freshness of many clothes, and of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor.” (157)

 

This passage occurs when Gatsby is telling Nick the story of how he met Daisy. If given a cursory read-through, it seems like a beautiful description of young love. The language, however, upon closer consideration, denotes a less romantic connotation, It raises the question, was Gatsby in love with Daisy or her money?

This passage uses a lot of wealth associated terms such as “bought luxury” and “squeaked fashionably” to indicate the lavish lifestyle of Daisy. Even Daisy herself is described in terms of silver. Every sentiment that seems like it will be about Daisy is about something she has or something she represents. She is mysterious because she is wealthy. She has freshness about her because she is wealthy. She gleams, but not just gleams, she gleams like silver, a monetary form. It is so laden with references to wealth that it seems like more like a love sonnet to money than a story of young love.

Fitzgerald overwhelmingly implies that Gatsby was not in love with Daisy, but rather with what she represented. This passage portrays her as almost goddess like, she is described as being “safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor.” Gatsby sees Daisy as being god-like because she has money, and he hungers to be a part of her world. No where in the passage does he ever reference her personality, her appearance, her ambitions, which is a curious omission in the story of a forlorn lover, but perhaps Gatsby never really loved her at all.

 

Eunice Pak

“Through this twilight universe Daisy began to move again with the season; suddenly she was again keeping half a dozen dates a day with half a dozen men, and drowsing asleep at dawn with the beds and chiffon of an evening dress tangled among dying orchids on the floor beside her bed. And all the time something within her was crying for a decision. She wanted her life shaped now, immediately – and the decision must be made by some force – of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality – that was close at hand.

The force took shape in the middle of spring with the arrival of Tom Buchanan. There was a wholesome bulkiness about his person and position, and Daisy was flattered. Doubtless there was a certain struggle and a certain relief. The letter reached Gatsby while he was still at Oxford.” (158-159)

 

While the question of whether or not Gatsby ever loved Daisy continues to perplex many, this passage gives us some insight on how Daisy might have felt towards the two important men in her life – Tom and Gatsby.

The first paragraph first dives in to the reasons of why Daisy strayed from the idea of a future with Gatsby, and it largely has to do with her indecisive and impulsive nature. Unlike Gatsby, who had ambitions, goals, and dreams to work for, Daisy needed something to happen to her, for her life to be decided “by some force,” and it had to be decided soon. Daisy is a very dependent person – dependent on money, on praise and approval of other people, and on men who gave her value by desiring her. In fact, she reminds me of, like her name suggests, a delicate flower, whose fate is dependent on the environment surrounding her, and who is in need of tender care and protection.

And so, Daisy needed to “move again with the season”; she could not keep relying on Gatsby because her future with him was too uncertain, and at the moment of his absence, she was not sure if he’d come back to protect her. She felt vulnerable without Gatsby there to flatter her, and she felt unsafe without having a beau who had money and an “unquestionable practicality…close at hand.” This is where Tom Buchanan steps in; his “wholesome bulkiness” attracts Daisy because he appears to be stable, a person capable to secure her a good future.

Like Gatsby, Daisy had possible alternative motives for staying with either Tom or Gatsby aside from love; she needed them to feel secure about herself. This should bring light to a new question – not only is Gatsby’s love for Daisy under question, but so is Daisy’s. Did Daisy love Gatsby, or did she simply like the idea of him, similar to how it was proposed that Gatsby simply loved the idea of what Daisy embodied, being money? Is it possible that Daisy fell in love with not Gatsby himself, but rather his confidence in his ambitions and his made-up background as Jay Gatsby? Did she “love” him because she felt safe with him? And did she fall in “love” with him again because Tom’s neglect made her feel even more desirous of attention – attention which Gatsby offered so graciously?

To answer these questions, I say that Daisy never loved either men and simply used them to raise her own self-esteem. Whether or not that trait of hers is considered despicable is, of course, left up to the reader, but I believe that because Fitzgerald takes too much care to justify her actions, and sometimes to even beautify them, that his intention was never for his readers to hate her, but to actually understand her. Yes, Daisy is a rather ignorant character in that she doesn’t consider the consequences of her actions, in that she toys with the hearts of two men with only herself in mind, but perhaps this all points to her upbringing – which is possibly hinted at on page 123, when Daisy first introduces her daughter:

“I got dressed before luncheon,” said the child, turning eagerly to Daisy.

“That’s because your mother wanted to show you off.” Her face bent into the single wrinkle of the small white neck. “You dream, you. You absolute dream.”

Her treatment of the child, as if she were a little doll, made to dress up and impress others, might as well reflected how Daisy was treated at a young age as well. Perhaps such treatment, along with the “half a dozen” men doting on her, resulted in an overdose of attention, and made her grow desirous of love and of money.

And so, when Gatsby came along with his supposedly grandiose background, when Tom’s “wholesome bulkiness” presented itself before her eyes, Daisy could not help but be attracted to what they had to offer. She needed someone by her side to let her know how lovely a person she was, to perhaps, confirm that she was of some value, that she was loved. 

 

Chapter 9

 

Ciara Rafferty

“Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is a live and not after he is dead,” he suggested.  “After that my own rule is to let everything alone.” (180)

 

[...]The friendships that Gatsby maintained revolved around his money. People showed up at his house because of his extravagant parties, and people talked with him involving their work.  No one cared for him, and no one showed up to commemorate his life.

In this novel, money has more importance that anything else.  Money is the foundation of their lives and their relationships.  Gatsby’s dream from his youth was to be wealthy; this dream reflected itself in Daisy.  It is concluded that Gatsby probably wanted Daisy to complete his picturesque lifestyle of wealth, which was more important than anything else.  Daisy picking Tom over Gatsby is another example of money as a foundation.  Although she truly loves Gatsby, Tom’s wealth and power leans her decision towards him; the money that he has is more important than her love for Gatsby.

[...]Gatsby had worked so hard towards his goal of wealth that he made no true friends along the way.  He died with a lot of money, but no people mourning his death.  Ironically, the owl-eyed man describes Gatsby saying, “The poor son-of-a-bitch (183).”  After all that wealth that Gatsby built up, he died poor.  Friends and memories are the only thing that can keep your spirit alive when you are gone, and Gatsby did not have those solid relationships.  He has died truly poor.

 

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Nick & Jordan (Emily)

 

Jane Kim 

"I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gives to the restless eye. I liked to walk up Fifth Avenue and pick out romantic women from the crowd and imagine that in a few minutes I was going to enter into their lives, and no one would ever know or disapprove. Sometimes, in my mind, I followed them to their apartments on the corners of hidden streets, and they turned and smiled back at me before they faded through a door into warm darkness. At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others—poor young clerks who loitered in front of windows waiting until it was time for a solitary restaurant dinner—young clerks in the dusk, wasting the most poignant moments of night and life." (61-62)

 

This is one of my favorite passages because it illustrates the duality of city life: the clamor and the "constant flicker of men and women" versus the vast loneliness and the infinitesimal speck that is one’s own thought. I visualize sitting on a bench and people-watching, wondering about all the micro-plots going on in one seemingly insignificant square mile and at the same time contemplating how I fit into the big picture. 

He says he began to like New York. New York is certainly the city that never sleeps. Still, New York City still has some negative connotations for Carraway. It’s "racy," meaning no one really knows what is going on everywhere, and sometimes no one wants to know. Will he succumb to the vices once he becomes assimilated into the culture of the city and of Gatsby’s parties? In the later chapters he already starts to think that the crazy parties are normal and commonplace. 

The "corners of hidden streets" are another seedy aspect of the city. The dark imagery gives room for the reader to imagine what actually goes on in the dark. The big picture: the glamour of the speakeasies and the flappers infiltrate our imaginations, but just around the corner there are still millions of immigrants slaving away in factories for that golden opportunity. Looking at it from a human perspective, the darkness symbolizes the ambiguity and uncertainty of that "haunting loneliness" that exists everywhere; even the young clerks feel it. The clerks, with their temporary jobs and wasting time waiting for something to happen, represent the restless nature of city life and of the youth during the 20’s. 

I also noticed that there’s a constant gap between perception and reality, especially when romance is involved. Nick can envision following these "romantic women" home but does not actually attempt to pursue these "romantic women." Before I read the book I had the notion that the main character would be involved in a love story, and I doubt that his relationship with Jordan Baker is anything more than superficial and whimsical.

 

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Tom & Myrtle (Eunice)  

 

Chapter 2

 

Jake Lazarus

She smiled slowly and walking through her husband as if he were a ghost shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye. Then she wet her lips and without turning around spoke to her husband in a soft, coarse voice:

"Get some chairs, why don't you, so somebody can sit down."

"Oh sure," agreed Wilson hurriedly and went toward the little office, mingling immediately with the cement color of the walls. A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity--except his wife, who moved close to Tom. (30)

 

Fitzgerald’s illustration of the dark, desolate town provides the contrast necessary to introduce Myrtle and George Wilson. The juxtaposition of the wealthier areas with the valley of ashes allows the author to convey character without directly stating it. The author is able to convey the moral poverty of Myrtle by presenting her in a township impoverished itself. The passage above articulates the nature of Myrtle’s relationship with both George and Tom. Any resident of the pitiable valley is minimized by the wealthier towns adjacent. Thus, Myrtle’s affair with Tom represents the typical pathway from poor crudity to prosperous sophistication for the wedded woman in the consumer-driven society of 1920s New York society. The relationship seems fake, nonexistent and merely a guilty pleasure for Tom, who still recognizes Daisy as the only legitimate romantic partner in his life, evident by Tom’s behavior at restaurants and lounges when with Mrs. Wilson. 

Myrtle’s countenance in the scene demonstrates what drives her in romancing with Tom. She walks right through George, who, covered in ashes, appears as a ghost. Fitzgerald continues to play with this image, stating that Mr. Wilson mingled with the cement walls. The portrait is depressing and lonely: the entire valley is covered in ash, the demeaning blanket of poverty, except for Myrtle, who uses Tom to escape the ignominy of the unsophisticated lifestyle. Thus, Mrs. Wilson manifests this entity of superiority within her inferior habitat. Her superficial sophistication subordinates those around her, including the hardworking, ghostly George, and the other denizens of the valley. The scenario is frightening, as romantic infidelity, something morally wrong, provides a sense of superiority and security.  

Thus, Fitzgerald succeeds in conveying the sinful, awkward nature of the heavily consumer society. Morality is being usurped by the all-encompassing ladder of sophistication and prosperity that everyone in the involved area is attempting to climb. Networks of adultery and economic ruses, planted by visions of money and sex, are existent, but concealed by the eloquence of the West and East Egg lifestyles.    

George Abraham

“Can’t STAND them.” She looked at Myrtle and then at Tom.  

“What I say is, why go on living with them if they can’t stand them? If I was them I’d get a divorce and get married to each other right away.” 

“Doesn’t she like Wilson either?” 

The answer to this was unexpected. It came from Myrtle, who had overheard the question, and it was violent and obscene.   

“You see,” cried Catherine triumphantly. She lowered her voice again. “It’s really his wife that’s keeping them apart. She’s a Catholic, and they don’t believe in divorce.” (Fitzgerald 38)

 

This passage from chapter 2 consists of the conversation between Nick and Catherine, Daisy’s sister.  

They don’t believe in divorce? How is Tom’s unfaithful relationship with Myrtle justified? After reading this passage, I realized the hypocrisy prevalent in this high class society that Fitzgerald portrays. There are these supposed rules and unwritten guidelines that everyone is supposed to follow, yet underneath this seemingly ethical society, there is an underlying corruption. 

In this part of the passage, Catherine tells the perplexed Nick that Tom cannot get divorced with Daisy merely because she is Catholic. Does that really make sense? First of all, Tom is committing adultery, breaking one of the Ten Commandments. If Tom has a mistress in the first place, why does he care what Daisy wants? Again, Tom acts suspiciously when he breaks Myrtle’s nose later on in the chapter merely because she said Daisy’s name repeatedly. It seems that Tom wants his image in public to be intact. According to this high class society, getting a divorce is bad, but it condones engaging in secret, licentious activities. [...]

 

William Maxfield

We backed up to a gray old man who bore an absurd resemblance to John D. Rockefeller. In a basket swung from his neck cowered a dozen very recent puppies of an indeterminate breed.

"What kind are they?" asked Mrs. Wilson eagerly, as he came to the taxi-window.

"All kinds. What kind do you want, lady?"

"I’d like to get one of those police dogs; I don’t suppose you got that kind?"

The man peered doubtfully into the basket, plunged in his hand and drew one up, wriggling, by the back of the neck.

"That’s no police dog," said Tom.

"No, it’s not exactly a police dog," said the man with disappointment in his voice. "It’s more of an Airedale." He passed his hand over the brown wash-rag of a back. "Look at that coat. Some coat. That’s a dog that’ll never bother you with catching cold." 

"I think it’s cute," said Mrs. Wilson enthusiastically. "How much is it?"

"That dog?" He looked at it admiringly. "That dog will cost you ten dollars."

The Airedale—undoubtedly there was an Airedale concerned in it somewhere, though its feet were startlingly white—changed hands and settled down into Mrs. Wilson’s lap, where she fondled the weather-proof coat with rapture.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" she asked delicately.

"That dog? That dog’s a boy."

"It’s a bitch," said Tom decisively. "Here’s your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it."

 

This passage is important because it gives insight on Tom, the way people acted during the "Roaring 20’s" and it contains a reference that I am still attempting to fully decipher. 

[...]this shows Tom’s constant tendencies to make himself more dominant than those around him. In this example he does so through the use of money, but he has also attempted to remain dominant amongst those around him by cheating on his wife, spending large amounts of money, hitting women, and racial superiority. All these factors contribute to Tom’s zeal for greatness, yet he never seems to achieve what he once did during his years as a football star at Yale. The fact that he never feels this dominance again "make(s) him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart." Tom has become weaker as he tries to become stronger than those around him. By giving the man more money than needed and saying a condescending comment is an instance where Tom tries to make himself feel dominant. Further, this interaction between Tom and the man selling the dogs reveals a great deal about Tom, and gives insight on how the wealthy sometimes acted.[...]   

 

Jeremy Scher

"Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffon which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room. With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change. The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur. Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment and as she expanded the room grew smaller around her until she seemed to be revolving on a noisy, creaking pivot through the smoky air" (35).

 

This passage gives us a glimpse into the lives of the poor. Myrtle reflects the eagerness of women to be associated with money and wealth. In this particular instance, the dress is a sign of wealth for Myrtle and gives her the confidence to act as if she is part of the upper class. Nick also points out that she "changed her costume." While a costume can simply mean an outfit, it also is defined as a set of clothes worn by an actor or performer. Myrtle uses the dress to appear and act as if she is important and wealthy, while underneath she is simply the wife of a gas station owner. In reality she is poor, subservient, and naïve, but the transformation of the dress changes her to rich, controlling, and arrogantly informed. 

In addition, Nick portrays to us the effects of her gestures upon others. She is literally imposing herself, using motion as a method of assertion. This also touches upon the theme of self-absorption. Myrtle has become so absorbed in herself that everything else appears smaller and insignificant. In fact, she tries to occupy the entire room between her size and aggressive movements to make herself feel more important. As a poor woman just begging to be swept away by a rich man, she needs to be the center of attention and craves acknowledgment by those who are sophisticated. The hand motions and "noisy, creaking pivot" also represent her class. She is making a lot of noise and foisting herself upon others because she wants to feel important. The creaking is her essentially screeching for attention. She is begging to be pulled into the upper class by Tom, and we will have to see whether her seemingly helpless efforts actually accomplish anything.

 

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Gatsby & Nick (Esther)

 

Chapter 3

 

Laura Bruno

"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 or five times in life. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at that point it vanished—and I was looking at an elegant young rough-neck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. Some time before he introduced himself I’d got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care" (Fitzgerald 52-53).

 

In this passage Jay Gatsby is introduced. Nick intended to meet him at the party but didn't know who he was until he and Gatsby struck up a conversation. It's interesting how Gatsby is described prior to him identifying himself; he isn't extravagant, boisterous, or obnoxious; he's simply "a man about [his] age." I can imagine that Nick had painted this surreal photo of a majestic "great" Gatsby who would make it clear he was wealthy. I was expecting someone confident and, well, different than how he is described in this paragraph. 

According to Nick, Jay is just a guy, nothing that special. But it's his smile, his demeanor, that gets to Nick. He's taken aback by his smile "with a quality of eternal reassurance" and I think that this idea reflects how he is comfortable around Gatsby. It goes back to the beginning when he's talking about how he doesn't want to and especially tries not to judge other people. Now we see Gatsby, who "understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey." I'm sure that being around someone of that same manner was a great experience for someone who tried to keep his mouth shut about others.  

It's interesting, though, that when he notices this unique smile and seemingly softens his mind about Gatsby, it was no longer there. That smile turned into what he really was: "an elegant young rough-neck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd." In this scene, it's like Nick goes off in his mind and evaluates Gatsby's expression, almost judging him but keeping it to just what he saw and how he responded, and then he snaps himself back into reality. He claims that his formality of speech was close to being ridiculous and even before he had introduced himself he had a weird feeling that Gatsby was pre-screening his words so as to be a "perfect guest." Now that he knows it's Gatsby, he thinks he's striving to be a "perfect host." 

Lastly, looking back at this passage, knowing what I know now, I think that Gatsby was trying to make a nice, clean-cut impression the first time he met who was going to bring his love back into his life. I'm sure he was worried about keeping his reputation and staying a good man with a lot of money. He had to play his part. But even Nick notices that he doesn't belong. He's just an "elegant young rough-neck" and he's so awkward when talking that Nick is able to pick up his phoniness. His first impression, however, was an interesting one indeed! 

 

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Nick & Tom (Esther)