Chapter Two Flashcards
Who does Nick meet and where? What happens after?
Tom’s mistress Myrtle and her husband, George. They own a garage on the edge of the valley of ashes between west egg and new york.
Myrtle agrees to go to New York with Nick and Tom and hosts an impromptu party in Tom’s New York apartment. She invites her sister and the McKees, who live in the apartment below. They all get drunk. Tom and Myrtle argue and he breaks her nose.
Why and how does Nick try to distance himself from the others?
Wants to narrate as an observational bystander rather than a participant in their immoral lifestyle. He doesn’t explicitly give his opinion, which suggests he wants to sound objective
How does Nick’s language contrast with his attempt to distance himself from the others?
Shows that he judges them harshly. He thinks Tom is “supercilious” and Mrs McKee is “shrill”
How does Nick try to maintain the moral high ground?
Claims that he only meets Myrtle because Tom “literally forced” him.
Why can’t Nick leave the party situation?
Admits to being both “enchanted and repelled” by the situation - he feels “entangled” and can’t leave
What could the “valley of ashes” be a reference to?
T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’, published three years previously
What is the “valley of ashes”?
A place of poverty that’s used as a dumping ground for all the waste produced by the city - it’s the ugly by-product of consumerism that’s forgotten by the wealthy Egg communities
What does its bleak and barren nature contrast with and what does this contrast also symbolise?
Provides a contrast to the loudness and brightness of New York and the beautiful exterior of the two Eggs - but also symbolises the moral decay and ugliness hidden underneath their surfaces.
T.J Eckleburg’s advertisement looks out indifferently at the desolation
How do the upper classes (and particularly Nick) react to the valley?
Try to ignore the reality of the valley
Eg Nick imagines that there are “romantic apartments concealed overhead”, but actually the entire garage is “in unprosperous and and bare”
What does New York represent and how is this illustrated?
Wild, selfish behaviour and the pursuit of pleasure. This is illustrated by the fact that it’s the setting for Tom and Myrtle’s affair.
The drunken debauchery of Myrtle’s party demonstrates the city’s lack of moral depth - people feel they can act how they want without fear of the consequences
What is Myrtle obsessed with that she claims not to be?
Claims not to care about clothes - “i just slip it on sometimes when I don’t care what i look like”, but actually she’s obsessed with her appearance - she changes clothes regularly and boys cold cream and perfume
What colours does Myrtle wear normally?
Bold colours in contrast to Daisy who wears white
What happens when Myrtle changes into a cream dress?
Her “vitality” changes to “hauteur” (arrogance). This shows that she thinks breeding is all about appearances
What proof is there that Myrtle is concerned with other people’s appearances?
She was seduced by Tom’s clothes the first time she met him, mentioning that he wore “a dress shirt and patent leather shoes” as well as a “white shirt-front”
Why is it significant that Myrtle pretended to be “looking at the advertisement” instead of looking at Tom?
Because both Tom and the advertised product represents Myrtle’s greed for material objects and wealth
