The Great Gatsby: Chapter IX / pages 163-180

Summary:

               After the murder of Gatsby, Gatsby’s house is filled with reporters, police, and detectives. After Myrtle’s sister, Catherine, convinces both herself and the reporters that Myrtle did not cheat on George, the reporters reduce George to a man “deranged by grief”. Nick calls up Daisy an hour after they found Gatsby’s voice only to find out that Tom and she have gone away, leaving no address or any other information. Nick felt the desire to find somebody for Gatsby; he felt Gatsby telling him to find somebody for him. Nick sends Wolfsheim a letter and Wolfsheim replies back in a letter saying how he has very important business to attend to and so cannot get mixed up in this matter. In addition, Nick receives a call from a mysterious man who thinks he is Gatsby. On the third day Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, sent a telegram to Nick saying to postpone the funeral until he came. When Henry arrives, he can only speak of good things about his son. He is very proud of his son and his accomplishments. On the day of the funeral, practically no one shows up. Only Owl Eyes, Nick, Henry, and Gatsby’s servants attend the funeral. Nick decides to go back home, but before he leaves he decides to talk to Jordan about what had happened between them. Nick also sees Tom and finds out that it was Tom who told George where Gatsby lived. When Nick leaves, Gatsby’s house is still empty and on the white steps an obscene word has been scrawled on by some little boy and so Nick erases it. Lastly, Nick talks about dreams and how we are always chasing them. He states that even when we finally reach our dreams something new  will arise and will start chasing it all over again.

Nick Carraway:

• “I see now that this has been story of the West, after all – Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life” (176).

• Nick is trustworthy, loyal and honest. Most people use Nick as their confidant because they know he will not spread their secrets. Nick is drawn to the East, with its parties and excitement, but he is also repelled by its damaging and dishonest lifestyle. In addition, Nick does not like leaving things in a disarray and so chooses to fix his problems. For example, he confronts Jordan after their disagreement and finally ends his relationship with her. I believe that Jordan is similar to the East in Nick’s eyes. He is drawn by her vitality and energy, but also disgusted by her dishonesty. At the end of the novel, Nick decides to get away from the East and go back to his home. At his home, things are way different than in the East. It was at his home where Nick learned his values from his father: to not judge others by the same standards. Nick’s loyalty can be seen by his actions after Gatsby’s death. He stays on Gatsby’s side and does his best to find people to go to his funeral.

• Nick is a narrator we can trust. His honesty and nonjudgmental ways is what allows us to see the story as it is. He doesn’t sugar-coat anything or have any bias thoughts. He is honest throughout the entire novel. In the novel, Nick is an observer. He does not get involved in any of the drama between Gatsby, Tom, and Gatsby. However, by the end of the novel he starts to take action. He gets involved in Gatsby’s funeral and makes a change in his life by going back home, away from the East.

Quote:

“Look here, old sport, you’ve got to get somebody for me. You’ve got to try hard. I can’t go through this alone” (165).

               After Gatsby’s death, Nick hears Gatsby’s voice in his head asking him to find somebody for him. Nick struggles to find people to attend Gatsby’s funeral but is left with no one. At the funeral only Owl Eyes, Gatsby’s father, Gatsby’s servants, and Nick are present. Although Gatsby held extravagant parties at his house every weekend, no one cared about his death. In addition, Klipspringer who had been living at Gatsby’s house as a freeloader does not even bother to attend. Instead, he calls Nick and asks if he could send him his shoes over. The reality is harsh; nobody cared about Gatsby. I also started to think, why was Nick so focused on finding somebody for Gatsby? Couldn’t Nick have been the somebody who is there for Gatsby? Gatsby’s goal in life was Daisy; he only needed her. Thus, when she left him he had nothing; he had no one.