The Great Gatsby Chapter 4 Analysis

Chapter seven starts with Gatsby changing his whole life around. He no longer hosts parties every week, he doesn't need to anymore because he has Daisy. He also fires his past servants and replaces them with workers of Meyer Wolfsheim, since he does not want any gossip around him. To Nick’s surprise, Gatsby was headed over to Tom’s house to have lunch. It is the hottest day of the year when this lunch is happening. The group hears Tom yelling at Mr.Wilson on the telephone. Gatsby sees Pammy, Daisy’s daughter and is somewhat irritated because he realizes how much more complicated the situation had become and the fact that there is living proof of Tom and Daisy’s love. Tom finds out about the affair when Daisy’s tone shifted when she spoke to

In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship is portrayed as obsessive, materialistic, and ineffective. Gatsby displays the quality of obsessiveness within the relationship by consuming himself with the desire to bring back the image of Daisy he fell in love with and his romance with her that had existed in the past. The intensity of Gatsby’s obsession is displayed when Gatsby invites Daisy and Nick over to his house. Nick observes that Gatsby “had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity. Now, in the reaction, he was running down like an overwound clock” (Fitzgerald 92). Nick’s examination of Gatsby obsession reveals that Gatsby has had this intense

These characters live in the age of the “Hollow Men,” and are portrayed as empty and absent-minded people. In fact, Nick voices his grievances with this at the end of the story; after Nick meets Tom Buchanan a couple months following Gatsby’s death, he takes time to reflect, pondering, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness” (179). Shaking Tom’s hand, he states that he feels like he “were talking to a child” (179). Nick feels a personal disdain for the carelessness of the characters in the book. Gatsby, however, acts with real thoughtfulness, as he exhibits his authenticity multiple times in the novel. Reflecting on Gatsby’s life, Nick proclaims that Gatsby’s heart “was in a constant, turbulent riot” (99). He then tells that “the most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted [Gatsby] in his bed at night” (99). These examples help validate that Gatsby, unlike the other characters, was genuine enough to feel passionate and convey emotion. While the readers dislike Tom and Daisy’s emptiness, they favor Gatsby’s compassionate and sincere personality, as they can relate to his

As Gatsby’s smile “vanishes,” his facade does as well (Fitzgerald 48). Nick then utilizes perceptive diction to illustrate his disenchantment upon realizing that the Gatsby whom he had just met was not the true Gatsby. Now, Gatsby is an “elegant young rough-neck” (Fitzgerald 48). A ‘rough-neck’ either refers to an unrefined person who lacks sophistication, or an oil rig worker and an ‘elegant’ person possesses grace and poise. Generally, a ‘rough-neck’ is incapable of being ‘elegant’ and Nick notices this contradiction, using it to expose Gatsby’s shifting, inconsistent character. In addition, Nick also notes that Gatsby’s “elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd” and he “got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care" (Fitzgerald 48). One who treads carefully, exhibiting ‘care’ when selecting words, is either an English teacher or someone attempting to curate a specific version of themselves to display to others. Previously, Nick was blissfully unaware of the facade that Gatsby had spun into existence upon first interacting with him. Now, however, he recognizes

Fitzgerald paints Gatsby out to be this charming infectious man, although Gatsby retains some secrets. Gatsby was involved with this man named Meyer Wolfsheim, who happened to be a big time bootlegger. In chapter four Gatsby introduces Nick Carraway, the main character narrating the story, to Mr. Wolfsheim. He continues to ask him an odd question:

For most of Gatsby’s life, Daisy has been his motivation is his success and all goals in general. When Gatsby gets the chance to gather with Daisy after 5 years, he acts out. At fear of not impressing her, Gatsby begins to grow concerned. When he is caught trying to leave he says, “ this is a terrible mistake… [Nick replies] You're just embarrassed, that's all’ and luckily added, ‘Daisy's embarrassed too.” (Fitzgerald 87). Gatsby's care is shown in this scene because he is afraid of not impressing Daisy. He wants to make sure that every moment with Daisy is perfect because he does not want to lose her once again. After all, nothing says perfection like worrying. Another example of this is shown when Daisy goes back home after running over Myrtle. Nick tells Gatsby to go home but Gatsby's reply is, “I want to wait here till Daisy goes to bed, Good Night, old sport, (Fitzgerald 145). Gatsby is watching over Daisy from afar to make sure that she is safe. This is the ultimate way to show that Gatsby cares for her. He spent the whole night watching over Daisy just to make sure Tom would not bring any harm to her. Ironically, Nick points out that despite all efforts Gatsby, was not watching over anything. Also, because Daisy made it his life's goal to get Daisy back, he goes to any extent to make her happy. He tells Nick, “Can’t repeat

After reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I was able to gather a small playlist of songs that can relate to the book. The lyrics in these songs relate to scenes, symbols, and different characters in the book.

     Once he returned from abroad, it did not take long for Gatsby to attempt this. He knew that Daisy was a shallow woman, easily overwhelmed by material items, and thus the best way for him to gain her affection was to flaunt his wealth (which he did by throwing lavish parties). With Nick’s help, Gatsby and Daisy were reunited and Gatsby, given another chance to show off his wealth and win her back. He used this meeting to show Daisy what he had become. She was amazed by the extravagance of his house and when he threw his imported shirts around the room, she began to cry because she realized that she had missed out on much of his life. It was at this moment, when the dream that he had strived for was right in front of him, that he realized that Daisy was not as perfect as he remembered her. This was clearly evident to Nick who thought “there must have been moments […] when Daisy fell short of his dreams – not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything” (101). At this point, it becomes apparent that Gatsby’s dream can no longer be fully achieved; yet it is being achieved because he is finally back with Daisy, even though she is still with Tom.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a significant example of the principle that powerful messages could not only be told, but also shown through by the setting. In the opening of chapter 4, it starts off at the bridge. Nick describes his scenery with approval. There’s a sense of beauty. It’s obvious that he’s taken in by what he sees, “in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty of the world”. It’s known from previous chapters, that when Fitzgerald mentions something beautiful, there is always a false undertone. He then mentions the funeral bringing the reader back to the idea that nothing beautiful last forever. The next scene in chapter 4 takes place at forty second street. Fitzgerald chooses the lunch between the two to

One of Gatsby's most intriguing qualities is his ability to, in a very Emersonian fashion, transcend reality and adhere to his alternate persona. "The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God – a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that – and he must be about His Father's business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty" (99). Fitzgerald demonstrates that while Gatsby is in spirit a lovesick, naïve young man, his reinvented self has caused great harm to others. Especially pertinent is the scene in which Gatsby shamelessly fraternizes with Meyer Wolfsheim, a corrupt gangster who helped fix the 1919 World Series. Nick is naturally shocked by this abhorrent marriage of convenience:

On chapter 5, after Nick hearing a backstory on Gatsby, Nick arrives home and Gatsby waits for him to arrive and waits for Nick to give Gatsby an approval for help on being reunited with Daisy. After Nick agrees to Gatsby plans, Gatsby get excited and then in return for Nicks consideration. Later in the chapter, once Daisy and Gatsby are once reunited they get into their own world and forget about Nick. Once Gatsby get what he wants, he forgets all about Nick. Another example would be on page 120, Gatsby asks Nick a favor once again to come have tea with Daisy upon her request, but for what? When Gatsby needed Nick it usually had to do with something serious. Of course it was the day Daisy planned to confess to Tom that Daisy was planning to leave Tom. Later in the book, Gatsby get excited to tell Tom how Daisy never loved Tom. Although Nick have always been third wheel, Gatsby is seen as a very determined man to be reunited with his only love; Daisy. Gatsby figures out ways to be together with his love no matter what.

Nick points out a “secret place above the trees” that Gatsby could reach if he “climbed alone”; this secret place is the high-society life Gatsby has wanted all his life, but the only way for him to attain is it by leaving Daisy behind. Gatsby knows this and chooses to kiss Daisy anyway, where he “forever wed[s] his unutterable visions to her perishable breath”. Gatsby’s dreams were so vast and could have been gained had he not signed a death certificate by involving himself with Daisy, and Nick understands this. Gatsby loses a major part of himself to Daisy at this point in the story by devoting literally everything he does to her and remains just steps away from literally worshipping her. Another example of details is when Nick tells Gatsby not to “ask too much of [Daisy]” because “you can’t repeat the past”. This is something Gatsby refuses to accept as the truth and insists that he’s “going to fix everything just the way it was before”. At this point Nick registers that Gatsby’s life has been “confused and disordered” since he met Daisy and that he is actually stuck in the past. Nick is trying his best to deter Gatsby from pursuing Daisy yet Gatsby continues to ignore his one true friend that has only his best interests at

When Nick is talking to Gatsby minutes prior to Daisy’s arrival it is clear he is nervous and anxious, for example when he replies, “hollowly” to Nick. He also skims through a magazine with “vacant eyes” showing that he is not actually interested in the magazine but is really thinking about something else, something to with Daisy. He kept on “peering” out the window which indicates that he is shy and didn’t want to be seen. I think that the diction in this paragraph is really descriptive, for the reader to grasp the enormity and get an almost exact sense of how people are

In chapter 4 Jordan Baker narrates the love story of Gatsby and Daisy, but in the end Gatsby didn’t get the girl because he didn’t have the money. Unfortunately, “In June she married Tom Buchanan of Chicago…and the day before the wedding he gave her a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.” (p.76). Within the monologue, Jordan explains how Tom, in a way, bribed Daisy to marry him with “a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.” Daisy choose the money instead of the guy because she was told that she changed her mind and that she must return the pearls. The next day Daisy married Tom Buchanan. Finally, for some time after, Gatsby became a rich man and his perpetual love for Daisy empowered

“The Great Gatsby” is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in 1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922. The novel takes place following the First World War. American society enjoyed prosperity during the “roaring” as the economy soared. At the same time, prohibition, the ban on the sale and manufacture of alcohol as mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment, made millionaires out of bootleggers. After its republishing in 1945 and 1953, it quickly found a wide readership and is today widely