Tenzin Zomkyi

Schumacher - 3
Ap Lang
9 November 2016
Novel Notes : Chapter 3 - 4 , The Great Gatsby
Passages from text - 6 quotes per section of reading

Response (Analysis)

"I like to come," Lucille said. "I never care what I do, so I
always have a good time. When I was here last I tore my
gown on a chair, and he asked me my name and address
inside of a week I got a package from Croirier's with a
new evening gown in it (Fitzgerald 47-48).

Lucile is Jordans friend, and clearly through the

characterization from her dialogue, it is revealed how little
she cares for the actual quality value of the gown itself but values the price of the gown much more. This shows
what is clearly evident in the society that Nick and Gatsby
lives in - materialistic things and the obsession with money
and status. The author goes to a great length to clearly
show the priorities and the things that this society values,
because it sets up the reason behind a lot of the actions of
people like Gatsby and Daisy. In addition, it shows the
distorting image that women expect to always be
dependent on the men.

Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once

(...) it's more that he was a German spy during the war
(...)it couldn't be that, because he was in the American
army during the war (...) Ill bet he killed a man
(Fitzgerald 48).

All the wealthy and high status Americans that come to

Gatsby's parties seem to be absolutely enthralled and
intrigued by the mysterious past of his, and his mysterious
personality. I believe they are not fascinated by him as a
person, but rather fascinated and attracted to all the
wealth he has achieved - they want to know how he was
able to maintain all this with a mysterious past.
The fact that these individuals invest so much time to
gossip about Gatsbys past reveals - its almost
dehumanizing to him, for they dont even want to get to
know him personally, but rather talk about him.

I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others

young clerks in the dusk, wasting the most poignant
moments of night and life (Fitzgerald 62).

Yet again, the author continues to reiterate the idea that

despite all the wealth and potential happiness in reach for
people like Gatsby, isolation is the only pure essence that
roams in their lives. Among all the lavish and extravagancy
of wealthy East Egg, Nick can still clearly sense the
loneliness of it. The people from the high and incredibly
wealthy East Egg are characterized by Fitzgerald as
people that are incapable of maintaining or even have
relationships, romantic or not, that are truly requited and
meaningful. All the relations seem to be superficial and
has no real meaning and value. Nick is very different, and
struggles to understand and fit into the ways of this. This
introduces us to the theme of isolation and loneliness.

Jordan Baker instinctively avoided clever shrewd men

and now I saw that this was because she felt safer on a
plane where any divergence from a code would be thought
impossible. She was incurably dishonest. She wasnt able
to endure being at a disadvantage, and given this
unwillingness I suppose she had begun dealing in
subterfuges when she was very young in order to keep
that cool, insolent smile turned to the world and yet satisfy
the demands of her hard jaunty body (Fitzgerald 63-64).

Nick introduces to us the manipulative and deceptive side

of Jordan Baker. She is distinct from the personalities from
the other wealthy women, such as Daisy. While Daisy
flutters around, and giggles, and does all the things that
society deems girly, Jordan is the opposite. She is
hard-headed, manipulative, and cynical. It makes her a
captivating character in this story, because she is distinct
from the role of a woman that this society wants. Through
this characterization, it is revealed that she is an extremely
dishonest person, and takes many advantages. Jordan is
careless, and cunning. However, despite learning that
Jordan is not who she seems to be, Nick is still thrilled by
her presence. He still wants to hang out with her, and is
drawn to her, which reveals that Nick is not that different
from those who are attracted only to the glamorous lives of
the wealthy.

In June she married Tom Buchanan of Chicago, with

more pomp and circumstance than Louisville ever knew
before. He came down with a hundred people in four
private cars, and hired a whole floor of the Seelbach Hotel,
and the day before the wedding he gave her a string of
pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars
(Fitzgerald 82).

Tom comes with a lot of money and social status, which is

why Daisy married him. She is more in love with the value
of what materialistic thing and status he has, rather than
him as a person himself. It reveals her generations
obsession with materialistic and statistic love. It also
introduces to us reality vs. facade romance. Daisy
unknowingly doesnt truly love Tom. While it may seem to
her that she is truly in love with Tom, in reality, she is just
in love with what he represents to her - a clear flaw in this
corrupted and superficial love.

'It was a strange coincidence,' I said.

Throughout the whole chapter, Fitzgerald emphasizes on

wealth and social status, and how much Gatsby and many
others only wanted wealth. However, this conversation
with Nick and Jordan reveals how desperate Gatsby was
for the requited love from Daisy. His American Dream isn't
focused on wealth, as the audience might have thought of.
Instead, his dream was to have her, which is evident in his
actions and dialogue. By buying a house that was located
in the close proximity to Daisy, it reveals the extremity of
his desperateness. His love for Daisy clearly means
everything to him, and all he probably wants in life.
Everything he did might have been to get her attention,
such as throwing lavish parties near her, and building his
wealth and social status (which is what Daisy is attracted
to.

'But it wasn't a coincidence at all.'

'Why not?'
'Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just
across the bay' (Fitzgerald 84-85).