Chapter summaries Flashcards
1
Q
Chapter 1
A
- Narrator Nick Carraway comments on himself and his father, highly and morally tolerant
- Just arrived in New York and moved to West Egg in Long Island to work in Bond business
- Drives out to East Egg to have dinner with Daisy and Tom Buchanan
- Daisy lounges on couch with Jordan Baker
- Tom leaves to take phone call, Jordan says it’s his lover from New York
- Nick arrives home and sees Gatsby standing with his arms reaching a green light
2
Q
Chapter 2
A
- Tom and Nick riding the train into the city
- Leads Nick to George Wilson’s garage
- Tom takes Nick and Myrtle to NYC to have an impromptu party with Myrtle’s sister Catherine
- Tells Nick that she has heard that Jay Gatsby is the nephew or cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm, the ruler of Germany during World War I
- Party repulses Nick and he tries to leave
- Myrtle angrily chants Daisy’s name, Tom punches her and breaks her nose
- Nick drunkenly heads home
3
Q
Chapter 3
A
- Gatsby’s chauffeur brings Nick an invitation to one of his lavish parties
- Runs into Jordan Baker
- Hears gossip that Gatsby was a German spy during the war, Nick is a graduate of Oxford and that he once killed a man in cold blood
- They go to Gatsby’s library, then run into Gatsby
- Butler tells Jordan that Gatsby would like to see her
4
Q
Chapter 4
A
- Gatsby tells Nick about his past, but seems highly improbable
- Produces a medal from Montenegro
- Gatsby speeds through the Valley of Ashes and enters the city
- Policeman pulls them over but Gatsby’s car, Gatsby shows him a white card, policeman apologises
- Jordan tells Nick Gatsby is in love with Daisy
- Gatsby wants Nick to invite Daisy to tea
5
Q
Chapter 5
A
- Nick tells Gatsby he’ll invite Daisy to tea
- It rains on the day of the meeting, Gatsby sends a gardener and and a man with lots of flowers
- Gatsby disappears suddenly, then Daisy appears and the reunion is awkward
- Nick leaves them alone, then discovers they’re both happy
6
Q
Chapter 6
A
- Nick interrupts the story to talk about Gatsby’s true history
- Born James Gatz on a North Dakota farm
- Dropped out of college after two weeks
- Worked on Lake Superior the next summer fishing, warned Dan Cody of a storm and became his personal assistant
- Nick doesn’t see Gatsby nor Daisy for several weeks
- Tom and Daisy go to a party at Gatsby’s house, they both have a bad time
7
Q
Chapter 7
A
- Gatsby calls off all parties and fires all his servants to prevent gossip
- Hottest day of summer, Nick takes the train to East Egg
- Nurse brings in Daisy’s baby girl, Gatsby is stunned and Daisy uninterested
- Tom becomes certain of their feelings, they decide to go to the city
- Nick, Tom and Jordan hear from George Wilson that he’s discovered his wife’s infidelity, and plans to move her West
- They go to the Plaza hotel, Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy loves him, and Tom accuses Gatsby of running a bootlegging operation
- Daisy moves herself closer to Tom, Tom sends them back to Long Island together
- Nick realises it’s his 30th Birthday
- Discover Myrtle’s been hit by a yellow car
- Nick finds Gatsby hiding in the bushes making sure Tom won’t hurt Daisy, Daisy was the driver
8
Q
Chapter 8
A
- Gatsby tells Nick about his courting of Daisy in 1917
- Gatsby tells the gardener to wait a day to drain the pool
- Nick refuses to meet Jordan Baker for a date
- Shifts to tell the reader what happened to Myrtle
- Wilson swears on revenge, knows it Tom wasn’t Tom who arrived later, so goes to find Gatsby
- Shoots Gatsby and then shoots himself
9
Q
Chapter 9
A
- 2 years after Gatsby’s death, Nick described the funeral
- All his acquaintances disappeared, including Tom and Daisy, or refused to come, including Wolfsheim
- Henry Gatz is proud of his son and saves a picture of his house
- Nick breaks off his relationship with Jordan, and decides to move Midwest
- On his last Nighy Nick walks over to Gatsby’s mansion and imagines the island with no houses
