Gatsby+is+Great

=**Beware! This page contains chapter hints for the entire novel. Some might contain plot spoilers, so don't read beyond the chapter we are currently studying!!**=

=Chapter 1: Hints and Help= ="Translation" of the first four paragraphs of Fitzgerald's //The Great Gatsby//, pages 1-2.=

When I was younger, my father gave me some advice that I’ve been thinking about ever since.

“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

He didn’t say any more, but my father and I have always understood each other without saying much, and I got that he meant a lot more than he said. I took what I think he meant and applied it to my life. Because of his advice, I am inclined to reserve all judgments of others; I try not to judge people, and if I do, I keep my opinions to myself. This habit has made people willing to talk to me—I have suffered listening to the secrets of strange or dreadfully boring people. Abnormal people are quick to recognize good, nonjudgmental listeners and they like this quality in normal people. So as a result, I was accused of manipulating people when I was in college, since I always knew people’s secrets. Now, I didn’t seek out these secrets. In fact, I have often sought to avoid people’s confidences in me by pretending to sleep, by being preoccupied with something else, or by making fun of those who wish to confide in me. I can always tell when someone is about to tell me a secret, and seek to avoid them, since young men’s secrets often have a plagiaristic, false quality to them, or they are obviously only half the story anyways. Reserving judgment as I do is a matter of unlimited hope. I am afraid I might miss something if I forget what my father once snobbishly revealed to me, that I will now snobbishly repeat: not everyone has an equal sense of fundamental morality. I must remember that I am one of the lucky few to have received a fair share of these fundamental decencies.

After boasting this way of my tolerance of others, I have to admit that even my tolerance has its limit. People's behavior may be founded on a strong or a weak moral foundation, but after a certain point I don't care what it is founded on. When I came back from the East (New York) last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform (like we were in World War I) and at a sort of moral attention forever; I didn't want to learn anyone else's secrets or get to know anyone else's affairs any more. The only person I didn't feel this way about was Gatsby, the same Gatsby this book is named after. It is strange that I excused Gatsby from this reaction, because he actually represents everything for which I have a genuine dislike. If personality is made up of a series of successful gestures (or attempts), then there was something wonderful about Gatsby. He was like a piece of sensitive machinery that could sense even the slightest movements miles away, but he was sensitive to the potential of life, the promises that life holds for people. He had an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic attitude towards life that I had never seen before and that I don't think I will ever see again. No, Gatsby himself turned out all right in the end. But there was something that preyed on and hunted Gatsby, something that "floated in the wake of his dreams." And it is this "something" that made me lose my interest in other people's troubles and joys for a time.

**Big Ideas To Keep in Mind While Reading:**

The plot of the entire novel, narrated by Nick Carraway, has already happened. Nick retells the events of the summer of 1922 as an observer-participant. This means he was there, he lived it, and he is now sharing it with us. Consider what this means in terms of his ability to remain neutral and unbiased. Nick also does not tell the story in completely chronological order--Fitzgerald signals changes in setting and time by skipping a line between paragraphs. Examples of this technique are on pages 2 and 17.

**Character List:**
 * 1) Tom and Daisy Buchanan: Daisy is Nick's distant cousin, and Tom is her husband. They live in New York, on a spit of land called East Egg.
 * 2) Jordan Baker: a friend of Tom and Daisy's, Jordan is an athlete and a gossip.
 * 3) Nick Carraway: He's the narrator, of middle-class, midwestern background. He moved to New York to find a path in life, or at least a job.
 * 4) Gatsby: Nick's neighbor on West Egg, which is across the bay from where Tom and Daisy live.

**Setting:** Here is a Google Map that will help you get a sense of the "Eggs" and their distance to New York City. The map is interactive. Great Neck is "West Egg."

media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&t=h&ie=UTF8&ll=40.823942,-73.78109&spn=0.100023,0.21698&z=12&output=embed&s=AARTsJpnOA3ioEtcI9rx_v7gyZqlolGTYw" width="425" height="350"

At the end of the chapter, there is a passage that reads, "Beauty and the Beast...Loneliness...Old Grocery Horse...Brook'n Bridge" Mr. McKee, who is very drunk, paging through his portfolio while Nick looks on. Mr. McKee's drunkeness accounts for the slurred speech. The names in the quotes are the titles of his photographs.
 * Chapter 2 Quiz Hint: **

Look out for a break in the narrative at the bottom of page 55. Up until this point, each chapter has been a distinctly different event that took place during Nick's summer. In case you've forgotten: Chapter 1, the dinner party at Tom and Daisy's; Chapter 2, the party at the New York "love nest" with Tom and Myrtle; Chapter 3, the lavish and excessive party at Gatsby's mansion.
 * Chapter 3 Hints and Quiz Question: **

From page 55 until the end of the chapter, Nick steps out of the narration of the Gatsby-related events, and tells us a little about his own life. Nick takes care to tell his reader that those three events were "casual events in a crowded summer," and that they did not mean anything to him until much later (55). Of course, the reader must wonder what happened to make these events significant to Nick later in the summer. Nick also states that his "personal affairs" (56) were much more interesting to him than Tom, Daisy or Gatsby's. His personal affairs, of course, mostly refer to Nick's life in New York, and his budding romance with Jordan Baker. As he gets to know her, he notes that Jordan is "incurably dishonest" (58), though he also claims that such dishonesty is forgivable in a woman. **("Dishonest" QUOTE ON QUIZ!)**

Here are some terms you might not recognize:


 * Gilda Grey’s:** (1901-1959), star of the Ziegfried Follies who introduced the dance called the “shimmy.”
 * Belasco:** David Belasco (1854-1931) was a Broadway producer known for the realism of his sets.
 * 1920's Cars and their Wheels:** The wheel-wells of cars in the 1920's were outside the main body of the car, unlike today’s automobiles whose wheels are inside the body frame. Here's a picture of the type of car that might lose a wheel like the one Owl Eyes was in at the party:

…the white chasms of lower New York

Lower Manhattan is south end of Manhattan Island, the downtown area, the heart of the old colonial settlement. It is the government and financial center of New York City. It is characterized by massive buildings, narrow streets, and multitudes of denizens scurrying about the city sidewalks. The photo below was taken in 1928 of lower or downtown Manhattan.

Fifth Avenue

You can see what Nick is visualizing when he speaks of the “flicker of men and women and machines” on Fifth Avenue and “the Forties were five deep with throbbing taxi cabs” (here “Forties” means the 40th to 49th street—including the famous 42nd St.—which run East-West crossing the North-South Avenues, like 5th). Below is a photograph from 1924 of taxis lined up on Fifth Avenue awaiting passengers, probably during rush hour when all the markets closed for the day.



For more information on Fifth Avenue, you can try the Wikipedia entry: []

Check out the TeacherTube video on the Gatsby Links page--it shows some images of Gatsby's party, his mansion, etc.

This is a great chapter--we finally get a lot of information about who Gatsby is and what motivates his actions. The chapter is divided into 3 sections. The first is Gatsby and Nick's ride into town and lunch with Meyer Wolfsheim. The second section is on pages 74-77, where Nick tells us the history of Daisy's marriage to Tom. Be careful to notice the change in point of view here--Jordan is the "I" mentioned in these pages, as Nick is just telling the reader what Jordan told him at tea. The third section takes place as Jordan and Nick continue to spend time together after tea. They are taking a carriage ride through Central Park, talking about Daisy, Gatsby and Tom. As the chapter ends, Nick observes that it is a strange coincidence that Gatsby and Daisy ended up across the bay from each other. Jordan knows better, and replies "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay" (78). (#4 ON THE QUIZ)
 * Chapter 4 Hints and Quiz Question: **

There's not much that is tough about this chapter in terms of its structure. Fitzgerald has Nick tell us the story of Gatsby and Daisy reuniting from the beginning to end. However, there are a few things that might be tough.
 * Chapter 5 Hints and Quiz Question: **

On page 83, Nick mentions "his Finn." He is referring to the maid he hired in the beginning of chapter one, who is, apparently, of Finnish heritage. So any time Nick mentions "his Finn," he is referring to his maid.

On page 85, when Daisy finally arrives, Nick is surprised to find that Gatsby is no longer in his living room. While Nick was greeting Daisy in the driveway, Gatsby snuck out the back door of Nick's house. Then, when Nick and Daisy went inside, Gatsby pretended to "stop by" Nick's place, so he knocked on the door. (How cute.)

Finally, here's the quiz quote: "Your place looks like the world's fair." Figure out who said it, and to whom.

**Chapter 6 Hints:**  The trick about chapter 6 is to recognize that Nick begins the chapter with the "true story" of Jay Gatsby, aka James Gatz. This story is not in line with the chronology of the rest of the events in the chapter. Nick recalls the story of Jay Gatsby's friendship with Dan Cody until the top of page 101. Then, without the customary line break that usually marks a skip in time or change of location, he dives back into the story. When he resumes the narrative, it is a few weeks since Nick has seen Gatsby--the last time he saw Gatsby, Gatsby and Daisy had reunited after years apart.

Here are some terms you might not know:


 * underground pipe-line to Canada:** One of the myths of Prohibition was that alcohol was being piped into the United States from Canada.


 * Nevada silver fields, of the Yukon, of every rush for metal since Seventy-five:** The Comstock lode, the first major US deposit of silver ore, was discovered in Nevada in 1859. The Yukon, the northwestern most territory of Canada, experienced the Klondike gold rush beginning in 1896.
 * Barbary Coast:** The Barbary Coast is the area of North Africa from Egypt to the Atlantic; but it is uncertain whether Cody's yacht was capable of transatlantic voyages. During the nineteenth century the San Fran¬cisco honky-tonk district was called the Barbary Coast; it is possi¬ble that Fitzgerald was referring to this destination.


 * Madame de Maintenon:** Françoise d’Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon (1635-1719). Madame de Maintenon rose from a prison birth to become the most powerful European Monarch’s, Louis XIV of France, most trusted advisor and wife. She was at first Louis XIV’s consort and then wife, through a secret marriage, since members of different classes could not legally marry each other.

**Chapter 8 Hints:**  Much of this chapter is told via flashback. Nick retells several stories. The first flashback begins on page 148, where Nick explains that "it was this night" that Gatsby told Nick the "strange story of his youth with Dan Cody" (148). During the night, Gatsby also tells Nick the whole story about Gatsby and Daisy's early love story, including what he loved about her, and why he had to leave her. The retelling of their love story ends on the bottom of 151, where Fitzgerald kindly places a marker at the bottom of the page.

The chapter continues with Nick recounting the end of his all-night talk with Gatsby, including the moment that Nick finally and officially chooses sides. He calls out to Gatsby that "they're a rotten crowd," and that Gatsby was "worth the whole damn bunch put together" (154). (QUIZ QUESTION)

From the bottom of 154 until the bottom of 155, Nick describes his day at work. Then there is a skip in the narrative, where Nick goes back in time once again, to the aftermath of Myrtle's death, and how Wilson was helped through the night by the kindly Michaelis. In some ways, it is unclear how Nick could have known these details. One can suppose that various police and news reports helped him piece this story together. And then the end of the chapter, from 160-162. Whoa. What a last sentence.

This chapter is largely about wrapping up loose ends. We find out what happens to Tom and Daisy, to Nick and Jordan's love affair, and who attends Gatsby's funeral. We meet Mr. Henry Gatz, Gatsby's father. We find out how Wilson figured out who Gatsby was. We also find out that someone thinks Nick is a "bad driver" (177).
 * Chapter 9 Hints: **

Nick narrates some key passages that you may overlook. Nick reflects on his memory of West Egg, and recalls it as a place where the houses are both "conventional and grotesque," and "solemn men in dress suits" attempt to deposit a drunken woman in her home. But no one knows or cares where she really lives, so they turn into the first house that will do (176). Nick calls this vision of West Egg a distortion, but in some ways the description is very apt. The word grotesque often is used to mean exaggerated, and West Egg was certainly an exaggeration of the wealth and grandeur of East Egg.

Another key passage that is difficult is the final page. When Nick notes that coast of America would have been "a fresh green breast of the new world," the rest of the passage refers to the vast opportunity that seems to be promised by the vastness of the lands. America has been the country where anything is possible, and Gatsby believed that mantra to the extreme. You have to ask yourselves--what does Nick, based on his observations of Gatsby, conclude about America and Americans in this chapter?