The Great Gatsby

1. The Great Gatsby Chapter 2

2. The Valley of Ashes • Chapter 1 (Eggs = wealth) juxtaposed with Chapter 2 (Valley of Ashes = poverty) • The Valley of Ashes = The American Nightmare • “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (27). • Ashes = industrial waste (bi-product of the rich/extravagant lifestyle) • Grey – color motif (lifeless/poverty) • “Men” implies working class individuals • Beaten down by the drudgery of day-to-day physical labor

3. The Diction of Failure: • Diction (negative) • Desolate • Grotesque • Dimly • Crumbling • Ghastly • Impenetrable • Obscure

4. Dr. T.J. Eckleburg • The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg (motif – disapproval) • Billboard/Painting/Advertisment -“his eyes, dimmed a little by many paintless days under the sun and rain” (28) • “some wild wag of an oculist set them there to fatten his practice in the borough of Queens” (28) • Man’s face (w/ glasses) that “brood” (dwell with morbid persistence) • Negative connotation • Disapproval in what he sees? • “Doctor Eckleburg’s persistent stare”(28) • Tom “exchanges a frown with Doctor Eckleburg” • Later compared to “the eyes of God” by Wilson – moral decay as well as physical? • Bridge/River • “The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river…”(28) • Allusion to the River Styx – Greek Mythology • a river in Hades across which Charon carried dead souls • insinuates view from outsiders (in this case Nick)

5. Tom and Nick • Nick’s introduction to Myrtle via Tom • “I want you to meet my girl” (28) • Tom – possessive? Indication of Myrtle as a possession? • “His determination to have my company bordered on violence […] the supercilious assumption was that on Sunday afternoon I had nothing better to do” (28). • Second use of supercilious (haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression) to describe Tom’s behavior. • Again, Tom’s need for approval from Nick

6. Wilson’s Shop • Wilson’s shop • “…a garage-Repairs. GEORGE B. WILSON. Cars Bought and Sold” (29) • Description of shop indicates poor financial returns • “the interior was unprosperous and bare; the only car visible was the dust-covered wreck of a Ford which crouched in a dim corner”(29) • Car Motif • Jordan/Baker • Ford (American car) destroyed, old, not working • Cars in the 1920s = status symbol = wealth • Symbolic of the American Dream • Wilson’s dream has been metaphorically “put aside” and as a result is subject to decay

7. Wilson • Wilson = negative of Tom (poverty vs. wealth) • Blond/spiritless/anemic faintly handsome • “A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity” (30). • “faintly” suggest something that is past its glory similar to Wilson and his business • Wilson answers “unconvincingly” when asked about the state of affairs by Tom • Ignored by his wife • “She smiled slowly and walking through her husband as if he were a ghost” (30) • “Wilson…mingling immediately with the cement color of the walls” (30). • Tom and Wilson • Friendly with veiled antagonism (Tom) • Car discussion • “…maybe I’d better sell it somewhere else after all” (29) • Tom, like so many others he dismisses, also does not think highly of Wilson: • “He’s so dumb he doesn’t know he’s alive” (30)

8. Myrtle • Myrtle – finds Tom’s wealth appealing (foil of Daisy?) • Thickishfigure • Mid-thirties • Faintly stout • Sensual • No facet or gleam of beauty (face) • Vitality/smoldering • Materialistic • Attempts to elevate her social status through her relationship with Tom • Purchases: “Town Tattle”, moving picture magazine, cold cream, small flask of perfume, and a dog • Keeps an apartment in the city with Tom: “long white cake of apartment houses” (32) • Diction of superiority • Throws a “regal” (kingly) glance (33) • She enters “haughtily” (33)

9. Par-tay! Party at the apartment – “the bottle of whiskey – a second one- was now in constant demand by all present” (39) – drunken atmosphere = moral confusion • In reference to Katherine (her sister): “She’s said to be very beautiful by people who ought to know” • Changes her dress 3 times in Ch. 2 – changing audience and attitude • “The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur (arrogance) • Note: darker muddy colors in comparison to Daisy’s light and airy presentation • #1 –dark blue crepe-de-chine (no facet of gleam or beauty) at home in her garage • #2 – brown figured muslin, tight over her hips • #3 – elaborate afternoon dress of cream colored chiffron • At the party: “Her laughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment…” (35). • Also: “I’ve got to make a list of all the things I’ve got to get. A massage and a wave and a collar for the dog and one of those cute little ash trays…” (41).

10. “Who’s all there?” • Guests: • Catherine – Myrtle’s sister • Slender and worldly • 30 • Stick bob of red hair • “powdered milky white complexion” (34) • “proprietary haste” • Possessive • Reveals her attempt to be higher class (similar to her sister) with her Monte Carlo story (38). • Knows of Gatsby (again, notoriety?) – “Really, I was down there at a party about a month ago. At a man named Gatsby’s. Do you know him?” (36-37). • Rumor: Gatsby’s supposed relationship (cousin) with Kaiser Wilhelm • Note Keiser Wilhelm – Prussian (German) emperor often noted as the protagonist t of WWI • Informs Nick how neither (Myrtle or Tom) can stand the person they are married to (George or Daisy)

11. The McKees • Mr. McKee – self-absorbed with own accomplishments in photography • Pale feminine man • In the “artistic game” (photography) • Respectful and polite • Mrs. McKee – “I almost married a kyke who’d been after me for years. I knew he was below me” (38). • Shrill • Languid • Handsome • Horrible

12. Nick gets wasted…hilarity ensues. • Nick • Unreliable in opinion vs. action, now completely so as a result of his inebriated state? • “I have been drunk just twice in my life and the second time was that afternoon, so everything that happened has a dim hazy cast over it although until after eight o’ clock the apartment was full of cheerful sun” (33). • Recognizes his awkward attendance of the situation • “I wanted to get out and walk eastward toward the park through the soft twilight…”(40) • Indication of Nick’s love for country/nature • Distinctively “mid-western” in thought • Still reserves judgment in the end in his action of remaining at the party insteadof leaving in disgust • Myrtle uses the party as a platform to “show off” her wealthy relationship to Tom in front of the guests. • Myrtle’s relationship (her p.o.v.) simply exists to elevate her status over her current life with George • Irony/Hypocrisy – “My dear, most of these fellas will cheat you every time. All they think of is money” (35).

13. “These people!” • Again, an attempt to appear educated: “appendicitis” (35) is used in the incorrect way. • Dismisses comment on dress • “This crazy old thing, I just slip it on sometimes when I don’t care what I feel like” (35). • Intentionally wore • Rejects compliment in order to be accepted • In reality (garage) never would have owned the dress • Verbal animosity toward blue collar/servant class (note: that of herself and husband) • “These people! You have to keep after them all of the time” (36). • Tom = visible indication of the party as a distraction (beneath his lofty expectations?) • “Tom Buchanan yawned audibly and got to his feet” (36). • “Two what?” – disinterest in Mr. McKee’s photography • Insinuates his disgust of Myrtle’s (true) lifestyle with his comment to Mr. McKee: • “George B. Wilson at the gas pump, or something like that” (37). • Continues pattern of disrespect toward women • Orders Myrtle: “Get some more ice and mineral water” (36). • Later, physically hits her (41).

14. “Your tragic fate is looking so clear. It’s’ your nightmare!” • Myrtle’s “American Nightmare • Myrtle struggles to escape her current situation • Marriage to Wilson • Perception of superiority • “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman. I thought he was fit for breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe!” (39). • Materialism • “He borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in and never even told me about it…and I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon” (39). • Living in the Valley of Ashes • “They’ve been living over that garage for eleven years” (39). • Blue collar (poverty?) lifestyle • Pines for the life of the rich and famous • Uses Tom ($) • Refuses to face reality • Tom will never marry her despite what he says:

15. Romantic Idealism • Indication of (false) romantic idealism – story of how she met Tom (40). • Irony = attracted to Tom’s appearance, like her husband when she first me him • Give Myrtle the excuse (via Catherine to Nick) that he cannot divorce Daisy because she is Catholic • Catholics do not believe in divorce • “Daisy was not Catholic and I was a little shocked at the elaborateness of the lie” (38). • Attempts to (incorrectly) put herself on the same social level as Tom (and by association, Daisy) • “Daisy, Daisy, Daisy I’ll say it whenever I want to!” (41). • Tom recognizes this disrespect, and similar to his emotional control over Daisy, uses his physicality to control Myrtle • “Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (41). • At the onset of violence, the social air of the scene dissipates revealing the façade: • “women’s voices scolding” • Mr. McKee awoke from a doze and stared in a daze toward the door” • “…trying to spread a copy of “Town Tattle” over the tapestry scenes of Versailles”

16. Bow-chica-wow…wha? • Nick’s post-party excursion (drunk misadventures?) • Ends up in the elevator with Mr. Mckee • Returns to his apartment with him (both men drunk) • “I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands” (41). • Wakes up in Pennsylvania station (little recollection of how he arrived).