Chapter 8, pages 147 - 162

Summary

      In Chapter 8, Nick tells us he has the urge to speak to Gatsby in the middle of the night and around dawn, he rushes outside because he hears a taxi go to Gatsby's house. Gatsby tells him nothing happened at the Buchanan's and when he and Nick go inside his house, Nick explains how dusty and empty Gatsby's house is now. After Nick suggests that Gatsby leave town for a little they begin talking about Gatsby and Daisy's past. Gatsby tells Nick of their nearly perfect relationship and how Gatsby became attached to Daisy, contrary to her moving on from him. One of Gatsby's servants interrupts the conversation to tell Gatsby that he's going to drain the pool before the leaves clog it up but Gatsby asks him to hold off on it because he has a new found interest in it, along with the various things in his home that he's never once used. Nick puts off leaving Gatsby's but he eventually goes to work. Jordan calls him at work and they have a little spat over the phone where she mentions that she's engaged to another man. When she asks to meet up, Nick just blows her off and tries to think. After, we here more about George Wilson, after Myrtle's death. Michaelis tries to console him but he is just out of it and vengeful. They discuss George's marriage but he seems distant throughout the entire conversation. Michaelis eventually leaves to go home and sleep while someone else stays with George but when he returns, George is gone. We find that that he makes his way to Gatsby's house and while Gatsby's in the pool, George shoots and kills him then commits suicide.

 Character Analysis

• Dan Cody
• "A large photograph of an elderly man in yachting costume attracted me, hung on a wall over his desk"
• Dan's Good Qualities
• He's wealthy
• He took Gatsby in when he was 17
• Dan's Bad Qualities
• Lived in his own worl on his yacht
• Was taken advantage of by gold diggers
• Bad influence on Gatsby
• Dan is the reason James Gatz became Jay Gatsby. He was his mentor and influence when Gatsby was 17. Gatsby saw the dream that Dan Cody was living in because of his wealth and he was mesmerized by Cody's ability to escape from reality.

Important Quote & Significance 

 "The chauffeur-he was one of Wolfsheim's protégés-heard the shots- afterward he could only say that he hadn't thought anything about them."

When Gatsby was shot in his pool, no one made a fuss about it. The servants he had didn't bother to call the police or anything of the sort. It shows that the people Gatsby surrounded himself with were not good people and that they really did not care about him or what happened to him. This quote also shows that his servants were not very good people in the sense that they heard gunshots and were so used to them that they didn't think anything of it.