Summary:
Nick became curious when the lights in Gatsby’s house did not go on that Saturday night and so he walked over to see Gatsby. He was surprised when an unfamiliar butler opened the door and later found out that Gatsby had fired every single servant in the house and replaced them with some shady people involved with Wolsheim. The next day was really hot and Nick went to Daisy’s house; Jordan and Gatsby are there too. Tom is once again on the phone, but it does not seem to be with Myrtle but about a bona-fide deal. When Tom enters the room Daisy tells him to make them all a cold drink and he surprisingly goes and does so. When he leaves, Daisy boldly kisses Gatsby telling him she loves him. In addition, Daisy’s daughter enters the room and meets everybody. The heat is excruciating and so Daisy says that they should go to town. Tom leaves with Jordan and Nick while Gatsby and Daisy drive together. Tom then has to stop by Wilson’s garage to get gas for Gatsby’s car, which he had driven. When they see Wilson, he looks sickly and green. Wilson then tells Tom that he and his wife need money to go West, which surprises Tom. Wilson then hints that he knows about her affair and because of this he became sickly. Nick then sees Myrtle from the window staring jealously at Jordan, who she thinks is Tom’s wife. After leaving, they then meet up with Daisy and Gatsby and decide to go rent a suite at the Plaza Hotel. At the hotel, a man named Biloxi was brought up and how he lied about being the president of Nick and Tom’s class in Yale. Tom then turns the conversation to Gatsby, asking if he knew Biloxi since they’d be in the same class. Gatsby tells him that he had only been at Oxford for a while since it was only an opportunity given to officers after the Armistice. Tom and Gatsby then have a confrontation about Daisy. After a conversation about Gatsby’s past with Daisy and who she loves, the conversation ends with Tom accusing Gatsby of his dark past and Daisy, in a sense, chooses Tom. Tom then sends Daisy and Gatsby off to his house while he, Jordan and Nick go together. It is then introduced that it is Nick’s birthday; he is now 30 years old. A young Greek named Michaelis is then introduced as a witness to a hit-and-run. Michaelis is a neighbor to Wilson and had talked to Wilson earlier. He was shocked to find out that Wilson had locked Myrtle in their room. He left and then later came back to find Myrtle rushing out of the house and getting hit by a car coming from New York; it instantly killed her. As Tom, Nick, and Jordan were passing by Tom, realizing the situation, stops the car and goes to find out what happened. The police are interviewing people and Wilson is staring aimlessly at a swinging light. A pale well-dressed black man tells the police that it was a yellow car that hit Myrtle. Wilson then screams that he already knows what type of car it was and that is when Tom pulls him aside telling him that it wasn’t his car and that he had been borrowing his friend’s car when he saw him earlier. When they were driving away, Tom started to cry. After they got to Tom’s house, Nick decided to stay outside and wait for a taxi while Jordan and Tom went outside. While outside, Nick finds Gatsby hiding in the bushes. Gatsby then tells him that Daisy had hit Myrtle, but that he’d take the blame for her. Gatsby also tells Nick that he’ll wait outside for Daisy to make sure she’ll be okay and that Tom doesn’t hurt her. Nick then looks inside Tom’s house to see if there’s any sign of commotion, but he only finds Daisy and Tom talking to each other; it almost looked like they were conspiring together. He then goes outside and tells Gatsby that it is quiet and leaves Gatsby to watch over nothing.
Daisy Buchanan/Fay:
- “Her voice is full of money” (120).
- Daisy is materialistic, fake, indecisive, and a dreamer. She married Tom because of his wealth; she would not be able to survive without luxuries. Tom supports her and she is able to get what she wants through him. She is fake because she puts on the image of her being innocent. Hence, she wears white and uses a soft voice. She also pretends to be a fool, even though it is clear that she is not. She is aware that Tom is having an affair, but pretends not to in front of others. She also encourages him in a sense by giving him a pencil to write down their numbers and addresses. She is indecisive because she does not know who she wants to choose, Tom or Gatsby. Both are wealthy, so she could stay with whoever. In this chapter, it’s apparent that she doesn’t know who to choose. She is filled with love for Gatsby in the beginning, but then after Tom confronts Gatsby she slowly goes over to Tom’s side and chooses him. She is a dreamer because she likes creating illusions and living in a dream-state. When she sees the director and actress sharing a loving kiss, she states that she likes the gesture but not the emotion.
- Daisy is the object of Gatsby’s dream. She is what he’s been aiming to get for 5 years; he’s devoted his life to becoming wealthy so that he could woo her. However, if Daisy were to not choose Gatsby, he’d have nothing. Thus, Daisy’s indecisiveness is what I believe will lead to Gatsby’s downfall. She chooses Tom in this chapter, but Gatsby does not realize that. He thinks that Daisy loves him, and maybe she does, but in the end she does choose Tom. Although Daisy was the one who hit Myrtle with the car, Gatsby is more than willing to take the blame. And Daisy would probably let him, which is why she seemed to be conspiring with Tom. If Daisy can easily let Gatsby take the blame for a wrong she committed, I think it’s plain to see that she doesn’t truly love him.
Quote:
“I disliked him so much by this time that I didn’t find it necessary to tell him he was wrong” (143).
As a narrator, Nick is someone we could trust. He doesn’t judge others by the same standards and is truthful. So, when Nick first introduced Gatsby in the novel he talked about him with such high regards. As a result, we couldn’t help but like Gatsby too. However, when Nick states that he dislikes Gatsby it makes us question Gatsby as well. I mean if Nick doesn’t like him, then should we? Of course, we have our own opinions but still Nick plays an important role in whether or not we like Gatsby.
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