Chapter 9, pages 163 - 180

Summary

       In Chapter 9, Nick recalls the days after Gatsby's death and his funeral. Nick scrambles to find people close to Gatsby, he finds out that Tom and Daisy left their home and didn't leave any information regarding where they moved to and he can't get a hold of Wolfsheim. He receives a letter from Wolfsheim that states he is too busy and caught up in something to attend the funeral but that he is truly sad for what has happened. Nick tells us that 3 days after failing to compile some of Gatsby's "friends", Gatsby's father, Henry Gatz, sends a telegram to him and when he arrives at Gatsby's house, Nick and Mr. Gatz have a long conversation on Gatsby. We see how proud of his son Mr. Gatz is and how modest a man he is. Klipspringer calls to see if Nick could send him his shoes but Nick just hangs up the phone. The next day, Nick goes to Wolfsheim's office to persuade him to go to the funeral, but his receptionist tries to convince Nick Wolfsheim's not there. Wolfsheim eventually meets with Nick and they talk about Wolfsheim's relationship with Gatsby and how close they were. Wolfsheim helped Gatsby make his name and reach success the wrong way. After Nick fails to persuade Wolfsheim so he returns home and he and Mr. Gatz talk about Gatsby again and how he was a very ambitious young man. Nick sees Jordan later on and they talk about what happened to their relationship and she mentions that she's engaged to another man but Nick doesn't care. Nick tells us about his encounter with Tom on Fifth Avenue and he tells us that people like Tom and Daisy just make a mess but don't stick around to clean it up. 

Character Analysis 

•  Mr. Henrey Gatz
• "After changing my clothes I went next door and found Mr. Gatz walking up and down excitedly in the hall. His pride in his son and in his son's possessions was continually increasing and now he had something to show me." 
• Mr. Gatz's Good Qualities
• He's proud of Gatsby
• He loves Gatsby so much
• He's a humble man
• Mr. Gatz's Bad Quality
• He sees only good in Gatsby which is a bit naïve
• Mr. Gatz shows us how Gatby's life was before he became "Jay Gatsby". Mr. Gatz is the "average joe" beginnings of Gatsby and also exemplifies how Gatsby would have probably ended up if not having become Jay Gatsby. His love for his son is wonderful and he really thinks of "Jimmy" as a great person. 

Important Quote & Significance

"And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses becan to melt away intil gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes - a fresh, green breast of the new world." 

This quote stood out to me because of its message, that however perfect something may seem, there is something imperfect about it, be it it's beginnings or it's purpose. This quote can represent Gatsby and his humble beginnings from the Midwest and his journey to going from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby. The quote could also describe Jordan, Daisy and Tom and how beautiful and perfect they seem on the exterior but how shallow, ugly and corrupt they are on the interior. Everything has a beginning and a meaning and no matter how much you try to sugar coat flaws, they always find a way of making their way to the surface of things.