"The Great Gatsby": short summary and analysis of each chapter.

Chapter 1.

Nick introduces himself and shows that he is tolerant of others and non judgemental. Nick does not like the lifestyle of New York and decides to move to the Midwest. Nick rents a small house in the West Egg. Nick goes to his cousin Daisy's house for dinner. We are introduced to Daisy's husband, and we learn that he is powerful and is also cheating on Daisy. Daisy seems to be afraid to confront Tom about this problem because she is drawn in by Tom's wealth and does not want to lose it. Daisy says she hopes her daughter will grow up to be a fool because women live best as beautiful fools. At the end of the chapter, Nick sees Gatsby staring out into the night at a green light. Nick does not know what this green light symbolizes. Even though Gatsby represents everything that Nick hates about New York, Nick admires Gatsby greatly because of the way the stands out.

Chapter 2

Nick goes with Tom to the valley of ashes (a valley halfway between West Egg and New York) to meet Myrtle. Myrtle is already married to George Wilson, a poor man who owns a garage. Tom taunts George, and takes Myrtle away. The valley of ashes is a place of poverty and symbolizes moral decay. Industrial dumping creates the valley. There is a billboard of enormous spectacles that seems to stare down at the valley. The billboard is titles Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. Tom keeps his affair with Myrtle a secret in the valley of ashes, but he is open about it once in New York. Even though Nick is Daisy's cousin, he does not seem to mind Tom's affair. Nick, Tom and Myrtle go to New York to have a party with Myrtle's sister, Catherine. Nick says that this is his second time getting drunk. The people of the party seem to know Gatsby, but Gatsby's history is still unknown.

Chapter 3

Through Gatsby's big elegant parties, he has become well known. People long to be invited, and some even sneak in. Nick later meets Jordan Baker. Rumors about Gatsby are discussed among the guests, and some even suggest that he was a German Spy and killed a man. Curious about their host, Nick and Jordan set off to find Gatsby. On their way, they meet a man with owled-eyed spectacles who sits poring over unread books in Gatsby's library. Nick later meets a handsome young man, Nick discovered that they served in the same division in the war. This man turns out to be Gatsby himself. Nick becomes more fascinated with Gatsby, and notices that Gatsby does not drink. Gatsby has a habit of calling everyone "old sport". Nick notices that Gatsby has an extraordinary smile. Later at two in the morning, a bulter tells Jordan that Gatsby would like to see her. Jordan emerges from her meeting with Gatsby and says she has just heard something extraordinary.

Chapter 4

Gatsby's past is revealed even more in this chapter. Gatsby invites Nick to go with him to meet Meyer Wolfsheim in New York. On the drive there, Gatsby tells Nick that he was a son of wealthy deceased parents from the Midwest (San Francisco). He also claims to have been educated at Oxford, have collected jewels in Europe, and have been awarded many medals in World War I by multiple European countries. Nick's doubts about Gatsby's history are removed when Gatsby shows Nick some of his medals. A policeman pulls Gatsby over for speeding, but Gatsby shows the policeman a white card, and the policeman says sorry for disturbing him and leaves. This raises even more question about Gatsby's history. After meeting Wolfsheim, who claims he fixed the 1919 World Series, Nick is given the impression that Gatsby's wealth may have been obtained from underground means. We discover that Gatsby used to be in love with Daisy. After lunch, Nick meets Jordan. According to Jordan, Gatsby met Daisy when he was stationed at the base near her home. All the officers were in love with her. She chose to marry Tom after Gatsby left for war. Jordan says that Gatsby bought the mansion in West Egg solely to be near Daisy. The green light in chapter 1 becomes a symbol for Gatsby's love for Daisy.

Chapter 5

After a date with Jordan, Nick comes home. Gatsby approaches Nick. Gatsby wants to make Nick happy, and invite him to go to Coney Island, or go for a swim in his pool. Gatsby is nervous, and wants Nick to help him carry out his plan of inviting Daisy over for tea. When Nick agrees, Gatsby is overjoyed, and offers to send someone over to cut Nick's lawn. He even offers Nick an opportunity to make some more money. Nick refuses. It rains on the day that Gatsby is to meet Daisy. Their reunion is awkward at first, but when Nick returns after 2.5 hours, he finds that Gatsby and Daisy are happily chatting. Daisy is overwhelmed by Gatsby's luxurious lifestyle. His house is compared to that of a feudal lord. She cries when she sees Gatsby's expensive shirts. In the end, they are having such a great time together that Nick is forgotten.

Chapter 6

The rumors about Gatsby continue to circulate in New York. A reporter even goes to his mansion to attempt to interview him. Gatsby was born James Gatz on a North Dakota farm, and though he attended college at St. Olaf's in Minnesota, he dropped out after two weeks, loathing the humiliating janitorial work by means of which he paid his tuition. He worked on Lake Superior the next summer fishing for salmon and digging for clams. One day, he saw a yacht owned by Dan Cody, a wealthy copper mogul, and rowed out to warn him about an impending storm. The grateful Cody took young Gatz, who gave his name as Jay Gatsby, on board his yacht as his personal assistant. Traveling with Cody to the Barbary Coast and the West Indies, Gatsby fell in love with wealth and luxury. Cody was a heavy drinker, and one of Gatsby's jobs was to look after him during his drunken binges. This gave Gatsby a healthy respect for the dangers of alcohol and convinced him not to become a drinker himself. When Cody died, he left Gatsby $25,000, but Cody's mistress prevented him from claiming his inheritance. Gatsby then dedicated himself to becoming a wealthy and successful man.

Chapter 7

Preoccupied by his love for Daisy, Gatsby calls of his parties. His parties mainly started as a lure for Daisy. Gatsby fires his servants to prevent gossip. He hires new servants who are connected to Wolfshiem. On the hottest day, Nick drives to East Egg to have dinner with Tom and Daisy. He finds Gatsby and Jordan there. We are then introduced to Daisy's child. Gatsby is shocked, but Daisy seems uninterested in her own child. During the afternoon, Daisy and Gatsby cannot hide their love for each other. Complaining of boredom, Daisy asks Gatsby is he wants to go to the city. Tom becomes certain of their feeling for each other when he catches the two staring at each other passionately. Tom accepts Daisy's suggestion, and they go to New York. On the way there, Tom stops by Wilson's garage for gas. They discover Wilson's plans to move his wife Myrtle to the West. Once in New York, Tom mocks Gatsby for calling everyone old sport. The then question's Gatsby's wealth and accuses Gatsby of lying about attending Oxford. Gatsby says that he attended Oxford for 5 months as an army program. The argument heats up even more as Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy loves himself. Tom says that himself and Daisy have a history that Gatsby cannot understand. He accuses Gatsby of running an underground operation. Although Daisy is in love with Gatsby, she feels herself moving closer and closer back to Tom. Tom sends Daisy and Gatsby home together to prove Gatsby's inability to hurt him. Driving back to Long Island, Nick, Tom, and Jordan discover that a big yellow automobile killed Myrtle. George first suspects Tom, but then Tom explains that that was not his car, and he was not driving it. Back at Tom's house, Nick finds Gatsby hiding there to make sure Tom did not hurt Daisy. Gatsby explains that it was Daisy driving the vehicle, but he will take full responsibility for it. This demonstrates his deep love for her. He has made it past the green light, but his dream is gone forever.

Chapter 8

Nick is sleepless so he goes to visit Gatsby. Gatsby tells Nick that Daisy has not called. Nick suggests that Gatsby should forget about her and leave, but Gatsby refuses. He tells Nick that when courting Daisy in Louisville, he says he loves her for her youth and vitality. It was the first girl he felt close to. Nick leaves and Gatsby goes for a swim in his pool. When Nick leaves, he shouts that Gatsby is worth more than the Buchanans and all their friends. George stays up all night talking to Michaelis. He says before Myrtle left, he told her she could not hide her sins from god. He believes the eyes of Dr. J. Eckleburg are god, decides that god demands revenge. He goes to Tom to ask whose car it was, and Tom tells him it was Gatsby's. George shoots and kills Gatsby in his pool. Nick finds Gatsby dead. To Gatsby, Daisy was the world to him, and he cannot accept that his dream is dead.

Chapter 9

Nick writes two years after Gatsby's death. Swarms of reporters had descended upon the mansion on the aftermath of this death. Nick tries to hold a large funeral for Gatsby, but no one wants to come. Tom and Daisy move away with no forwarding address. Meyer Wolfshiem claims he has business but does not want to come. Since he runs an underground business, he may have been lying and does not want the police to investigate him. The only people that attend the funeral are Nick, Owl Eyes, servants, and Henry Gatz(father). Nick is sick of the East and its empty values, so he moves back to the Midwest. He stops his relationship with Jordan, who has married another man. Nick encounters Tom in New York. At first, he refuses to shake his hand. Tom makes an excuse that what happened was not his fault. Nick then makes the conclusion that Tom and Daisy are careless people who makes messes for others to clean up, then retreat back to their wealth. Nick thinks about how this is a story of the West, even though it has taken place on the East coast. Nick, Jordan, Tom, and Daisy are all from west of the Appalachians, and Nick believes that the reactions of each, himself included, to living the fast-paced, lurid lifestyle of the East has shaped his or her behaviour. Nick remembers life in the Midwest, full of snow, trains, and Christmas wreaths, and thinks that the East seems grotesque and distorted by comparison.