THE GREAT GATSBY - WEEK 6 - CHAPTER 5

THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Nick has decided to go through with the meeting. He tells Gatsby that he will call Daisy and set it up. Did you twinge at that thought? Was there a catch in your soul when Nick tells Daisy to not bring Tom?

The next day dawns to a downpouring of rain. (Foreshadowing) Despite this, Gatsby sends over a gardener to mow Nick's grass. A delivery van pulls up and gobs of flowers arrive. Gatsby wants everything as perfect as can be. He's like a caged animal, convinced she won't show up, and then there she is. Laughingly she asks Nick if he's in love with her. Is that why she has to come alone? Nick responds by telling her to send the chauffeur away. He leads her into the living room, expecting Gatsby to be there, but he's gone. A light knock on the front door resonates through the room, and Gatsby enters. Can you picture the scene? The shock? The palatable silence? The pulling of one's self together to be able to respond to what is happening? Nick excuses himself.

So much could be said here - but I'm jumping to Gatsby taking them to his house. All that has gone into planning for this moment. And then the slip up. The first real crack in Gatsby's story - where his money came from. The house is beautiful. It is almost unrecognizable to Nick without all the people. We get a glimpse of Gatsby when he takes them in his room. It's the simplest place in the house.

There are so many great quotes in this chapter to reference. Here are a couple of great ones. The green light - "Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever." One where Nick sees Gatsby looking at Daisy. "...I saw that the expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby's face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness. Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams- not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his." The foreshadowing! The realization that sometimes the anticipation of something is much more exciting than the event itself.