Gatsby Update & Chapter 5

1. Gatsby Update & Chapter 5

2. Summary of Events • Nick introduces reader to the world of excess that is the 1920s • Image of Gatsby staring off across the bay at the green light on a dock • Green Light = hope, youth, forward momentum, money • Gatsby’s parties are a who’s who of NY society • Gatsby & Nick have lunch with Wolfsheim • Another indication that Gatsby is dealing in something illegal

3. Summary of Events • Gatsby shares his background with Nick but it seems contrived until he shows “memorabilia” of the events • Jordan tells the story of Gatsby and Daisy • Gatsby & Daisy in love • Gatsby no money • Daisy marries Tom b/c money • Jordan asks Nick to invite Daisy to tea (Gatsby’s request)

4. Important Events in Chapter 5 • Nick invites Daisy to tea • Gatsby shows up an hour early (he’s way vulnerable) • Gatsby has been waiting, dreaming, hoping for this moment for 5 years • Once Daisy arrives, she and Gatsby and Nick stand in the living room • Gatsby leans against the mantle & almost knocks down a BROKEN clock

5. Important Events in chapter 5 • Significance of BROKEN clock • Clock is stopped at a point of time, trapped forever • In a way, so is Gatsby’s life stopped at the point in time when he realized he could not have Daisy b/c he was poor • He is also trapped by his dreams of ideal love with Daisy • Might also indicate that emotionally Gatsby has stopped growing because he is chasing a dream rather than living (frozen in time)

6. Important Events in Chapter 5 • Gatsby & Daisy’s emotional states change as they become more comfortable with each other • There is a “new well-being” radiating from Gatsby & Daisy • Gatsby wants to impress Daisy w/his house (he does & re-values all material possessions in the eyes of Daisy) • Significance of shirt throwing: to show how much he has amassed. Daisy cries b/c she is so overwhelmed by his material possessions & she loves material things

7. The Green Light • Gatsby points out the green light @the end of Daisy’s dock • Each day he looks at the light (a ritual) now the light no longer holds the significance b/c his love is standing beside him. • Gatsby’s goal (his entire adult life basically) must change

8. The End (chapter 5) • Nick offers this reasoning at the end of the chapter: • Gatsby may be dissatisfied with how his dream has turned out • Has Gatsby been in love with Daisy for 5 years or just the idea of Daisy (how he imagines her to be)?

9. Analysis Chapter 6 • Cloud of mystery surrounding Gatsby cleared away • James Gatz = Jay Gatsby (fiction) • North Dakota raised - never really accepted his Midwestern upbringing • Gatsby’s story is rags-to-riches • Man from middle of nowhere makes it big through ingenuity & resourcefulness • Money large part of American Dream • Money is not enough - clear when looked @through Gatsby’s experience

10. More Chapter 6 • Distinction btwn “new” and “old” money • Regardless of how much $ you have, where it comes from & how long you have had it are what counts • Tom & Co. show up @Gatsby’s house - shows how shallow and mean-spirited “old” $ can be • Gatsby will forever remain outside the circle of “old” $ - they will never accept him • Dreams are good but not when they consume the dreamer (Gatsby stopped growing the day “James Gatz” ceased to exist.)

11. Still More Chapter 6 • Daisy & Tom come to a Gatsby party • Gatsby worries that Daisy did not have fun • In his dream she would have had a good time • Gatsby is like a knight searching for the grail • He must continually return to the past to revise and modify his dream. • Sadly it will never be realized

12. Analysis Chapter 7 • Weather becomes oppressively hot (do not overlook this) • Gatsby & Tom go head-to-head • To Tom, Gatsby is common and his existence meaningless • Gatsby, in all his years of dreaming, never thought he wouldn’t get his way - when this happens he doesn’t know what to do & is exposed

13. More Chapter 7 • Meet the real Daisy • Relatively few lines • What lies underneath the surface isn’t good • She has an affair w/Gatsby to get back at her husband - she’s playing a game

14. The “Death” Car • Daisy is exposed • Her recklessness results in Myrtle’s brutal death • The reader has a sense that Daisy has run over Myrtle on purpose • Gatsby’s car symbolizes the clear and obvious manifestation (sign) of American materialism

15. Myrtle’s Death • Myrtle’s death is tragic but… • Materialism brought about her demise • She wants all the material comforts $ can provide (isn’t this why she fell for Tom in his nice suit) • In effect, she has been killed by her desires • Materialism can only bring misery

16. Nick - Chapter 7 • Realizes it’s his 30th birthday (passage from youthful idealism to reality) • He sees clearly what Tom, Daisy and Jordan are about • Grows up enough to take a moral stand (no longer reserves judgment)

17. Final Image - Chapter 7 • Gatsby stays @Daisy’s house to keep watch • The dream continues… • Funny, Daisy could care less about Gatsby’s feelings • So Gatsby holds on to the last vestiges of his dream by standing watch • Tom might be sad about Myrtle but she’s expendable just like everyone who isn’t of his social class

18. Analysis Chapter 8 • Nick is unable to sleep (premonition of bad things to come) • Gatsby becomes weaker, more helpless • Refuses to acknowledge that the illusion of his dream has vanished • Gatsby (as a young man) tried to become worthy of Daisy but cannot realize that his drive to succeed is worth ten times Daisy

19. More Chapter 8 • Gatsby loved Daisy, Daisy loved Gatsby • They each love the illusion they present to the other • If they are together they run the risk of exposing the real “selves” to each other • Daisy leaves Gatsby because she wants whatever is easiest to determine the direction of her life.

20. Still More Chapter 8 • Gatsby is a dreamer, has passion, genuinely cares for something even if it is a dream - more than can be said for the Buchannans or Jordan • Nick can’t stand to be with Jordan - he is irritated by her shallowness - he is growing seeing what society is really made of and having the courage to stand against it.

21. And Finally… • Wilson cannot be consoled - he is in effect a wasteland, void of spirituality, void of life - he believes the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg are the eyes of God & God sees everything • Overcome w/grief Wilson kills Gatsby thinking he is the one who killed Myrtle

22. Final Image - Chapter 8 • Gatsby’s Death in the Pool • His death is a rebirth (removes him from mortal life and allows him to go to a better place) • Gatsby remains the dreamer - his dream is completely dead • By doing nothing to protect himself, Gatsby dies in Daisy stead (chivalry at its finest)

23. Chapter 9 Analysis • Reader comes face-to-face w/ugly side of the American Dream • Gatsby’s Funeral is Center Stage • No one is interested in planning Gatsby’s funeral so Nick makes the arrangements • Gatsby’s father shows up to fill in the rest of Gatsby’s story

24. More Chapter 9 • Nick heads back to the Midwest where morality and kindness still exist • Nick learns that Tom sent Wilson to Gatsby’s house and feels “entirely justified” in doing so • Tom & Daisy are careless people - in essence like children • Green light - hopes and dreams of society • Gatsby lives on despite his death • Is there futility in chasing dreams? • “boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”