Chapter 4, pages 61-80

Summary 

      Chapter 6 consists of interesting and scandalous revelations to say the least. We learn more about Gatsby when he and Nick go to lunch. We find out that Gatsby really did go to Oxford and that his family did when he was young. When they meet for lunch, we meet one of Gatsby's friends, Mr. Meyers Wolfsheim and we learn that he is responsible for rigging the World Series in 1919.  After lunch, Nick meets up with Jordan for tea and she tells him about her memories of her friendship with Daisy, including when she went to Daisy's house and saw her on her porch with a army lieutenant named "Jay Gatsby." They make the connection that Nick's neighbor is the same Gatsby from Daisy's past and that Gatsby wants Nick to have Daisy over for tea and invite him over to see Daisy. 

Character Analysis 

•  Meyers Wolfsheim
• "'You sit here and discuss your sports and your young ladies and your-' He supplies an imaginary noun with another wave of his hand.'As for me, I am fifty years old, and won't impose myself on you any longer.'"
• Meyers' Good Qualities 
• He's a smart man (according to Gatsby)
• Meyers' Bad Qualities 
• Gambler
• Rigged the World Series
• Shady/gang related activities
• Meyers' doesn't have a specific role in the story. He's introduced to us as a 50 year old Jewish man with a big head, small beady eyes, a flat nose and being Gatsby's friend. We can tell he's a shady man when he tells the story of his friend Rosy Rosenthal who gets shot at Metropole. Later, we find out that he is a gambler and he rigged the 1919 World Series. Although we don't know much about him, we can tell what kind of person he his because he is the total opposite of both Nick and Gatsby. His friendship with Gatsby seems a bit odd as well considering Gatsby is a very precise and honest man and Wolfsheim is scheming and sly. 

Important Quote & Significance 

"I was flattered that she wanted to speak to me, because of all the older girls I admired her most." 

-Jordan Baker (p 75)

This quote stood out to me because it shows a side to Jordan that is not very familiar to us. So far, Jordan has come across as a very independent and sneaky woman but in this quote we find out that she looked up to Daisy in her youth. Daisy; the bright, beautiful woman hiding behind her rich husband who's cheating on her. I know that we all had that older girl that we thought was gorgeous and we looked up to her like she was a saint but it seems a bit surreal that Jordan would look up to Daisy, someone that she is nothing like aside from their "white girlhood" and blonde hair.

Chapter 3, pages 39-59

Summary

     Chapter 3 opens with a detailed description of Nick's neighbor, Mr. Gatsby's, party regimen. As the description of one of Gatsby's parties continues, Nick tells us about his first experience at Gatsby's parties beginning with being presented an invitation by Gatsby's chauffeur on his lawn. At the party, he runs into Jordan Baker and spends time with her and her party discussing Gatsby's mysterious persona. They all try and search for him but fail so they retreat to the garden. There, Nick meets a man that served in the war with him and they begin discussing their experiences in France and as the conversation continues Nick finds out that this man is none other than Mr. Jay Gatsby. They plan to go try out a hydroplane Gatsby just bought the next day and then he is quickly taken to his office to take a call but later on, requests to speak with Jordan alone. She tells Nick "it was simply amazing" and that she'll explain why at her Aunt Sigourney's home. As Nick leaves the party, he thanks Mr. Gatsby and witnesses the car accident of a man he met in Gatsby's library. He finishes the chapter discussing his everyday life and his relationship with Jordan despite knowing her dishonesty.

Character Analysis

• Jordan Baker
• "'Let's get out,' whispered Jordan, after a somehow wasteful and inappropriate half-hour; "this is much too polite for me.'" and “She was incurably dishonest. She wasn’t able to endure being at a disadvantage and, given this unwillingness, I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very young in order to keep that cool, insolent smile turned to the world and yet satisfy the demands of her hard, jaunty body.”
• Jordan's Best Qualities: 
• She's strong 
• She's independent
• She's beautiful
• Jordan's Bad Qualities: 
• She's dishonest
• She's cynical
• She's self-centered
• Jordan's Role in the novel is to provide a foreshadowing of the future women in America. So far, she is the only woman who cares about herself enough to have a back bone and "wear the pants" in every situation. She loves gossip and seems to be the type to fan the flames just to get a show out of it. She and Nick are romantically involved even though he dislikes her dishonesty. She values his truthfulness and his company.

Important Quote & Significance 

"Once they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby, and after that they conducted themselves according to the behavior associated with an amusement park."

This quote struck me because Nick describes people attending a high class in this way. Amusement parks are usually filled with wild and loud behavior and that is generally not the way one would act at a party with members of high society. Nick's testimony shows just how influential the changes of the 20's actually were.

Chapter 2, pages 23-38

Summary


     In Chapter 2, Nick and Tom take the commuter train to the "valley of ashes." There, Tom and Nick stop off at George Wilson's car repair shop where Tom talks about selling a car and coincidentally we meet Myrtle Wilson, George's wife and Tom's mistress. Tom tells Myrtle he wants to see her, so she tells her husband she's going to visit her sister in New York. From the garage, Tom buys Myrtle a dog and they (along with Nick) go to Tom's apartment that he keeps for the affair. Myrtle decides to throw a party and invites her sister, Catherine, and their neighbors, the McKees, over. They end up smoking and drinking heavily and Nick tries to leave but he's mesmerized by the way they were partying. The festivities ended as Myrtle began getting a bit carried away and kept repeating Tom's wife's name when he had told her not to. He broke her nose and Nick left with Mr. McKee and went on the 4 am train back to Long Island. 


Character Analysis

• Myrtle Wilson
• "Mrs. Wilson rejected the compliment by raising her eyebrow in disdain."
• Myrtle's Best Qualities: 
• She likes dogs
• Myrtle's Bad Qualities:
• She's cheating on her husband
• She's superficial
• She's arrogant
• She's fake and annoying
• She only cares about herself
• Myrtle's Role in the story is to be Tom's mistress. In my opinion, she is exactly just like Tom, but a woman. She and Tom have the same personality and are both extremely arrogant. Myrtle and Tom's not-so-secret relationship empowers her because she feels like she can do whatever she wants, regardless of whether she's a woman. This is the opposite of Daisy, who is still married to Tom because of the comfort and ease.

  Important Quote & Significance


"With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change."

I found this quote extremely significant because it not only explains Myrtle, but also Tom. I feel like they are so similar the only difference is their gender. I also find both of them very fake and deceptive. I think this theme will be coming up a lot as the novel progresses because this high class group of people exemplifies the wealthy society of the time and their life style. Also, I found it significant because it shows that we never really know a person completely. Like their clothes, they can just change depending on certain circumstances.

Chapter 1, pages 1-21

Summary

     In the first chapter of The Great Gatsby we are introduced to Nick Carraway; alumnus of New Haven, veteran of the Great War and inhabitant of West Egg. He tells us (vaguely) of his neighbor, Mr. Gatsby, and his extravagant house. We are also given a glimpse of the differences (though few) of East and West egg, the people that live in both Eggs and the type of writing being published in that time. As the chapter progresses, Nick presents 3 other characters to us: Jordan Baker and Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Daisy is Nick's cousin and she lives on East Egg with her husband Tom and baby daughter. We find out that Tom has a woman in New York and that Jordan is a competative golfer. 

Character Analysis  

• Tom Buchanan 
• "It was a body capable of enormous leverage - a cruel body."
• Tom's Best Qualities: 
• He had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven
• He is married to Daisy Buchanan
• He is strong/muscular
• He likes Nick 
• Tom's Bad Qualities: 
• He is extremely arrogant
• He is wealthy and shows it 
• He abuses Daisy
• He is cheating on Daisy with a woman from New York
• He lives in the past, constantly dwelling on his football years
• He is racist
•  Tom's role in the novel is to show us the general high society male of the time: rude, insensitive, arrogant, abusive and a hypocrite. He is portrayed as Nick's polar opposite. I also believe that Tom's role in the novel is an example for readers of how not to live and be. His irritability and lack of morals prove his lack of friends in his college years along with his pompous and elitist ideals.

Important Quote & Significance

     " And as I walked on I was lonely no longer. I was a guide, a pathfinder, an original settler." 

This quote stood out to me because of its versatility. It can be understood in many ways to everyone. Along from it explaining Nick's successful fit into his neighborhood in West Egg and its presentation of his strength and independence, it can also exemplify our struggle in life to find a place where we fit in and be truly happy.