The Great Gatsby – Chapters 6 and 7
1: What do we learn of Gatsby on the first two pages?
2: This is where we learn of Dan Cody – why does Dan take Gatsby on?
3: How much did Gatsby inherit from Cody?
4: Did he get it?
The Sloane incident
Read through the incident where Tom turns up with a man name Sloane and a pretty woman in a
brown riding habit.
1: Write down – in the box below – just what you think is the point of this incident? What is
revealed about Gatsby’s character?
‘I’m delighted to see you – to – ‘light overcoat in hand, came out the front door’.
Tom also makes a comment about how women ‘run around too much’, clearly in reaction to Daisy’s
prior knowledge of Gatsby, something he is rightly suspicious of.
But Nick notes a new harshness in the air, a sense that the party atmosphere has changed.
2: Nick says later that it is ‘invariably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you
have expended your own powers of adjustment’
What do you think he means by this?
3: Daisy and Tom arrive at Gatsby’s party.
What colour motif suggests to us that Daisy is fully aware of Tom’s affairs and is able to taunt him
whilst she has her affair with Gatsby?
4: How does Gatsby proceed to taunt Tom?
Note how Daisy dislikes West Egg,
5: Pairs tasks
‘She was appalled by West Egg… that Broadway had begotten upon a Long Island fishing village –
appalled by its raw vigor that chafed under the old euphemisms… from nothing to nothing ’
Write out what tuis is saying in your own words – be ready to explain to the class.
He wanted nothing less of Daisy…
What does Gatsby expect of Daisy and how is his unhappiness reflected in the objects described as
he walks with Nick afterwards?
How does Nick describe Gatsby just before this passage?
Write down a direct quote from Gatsby that suggests he has unrealistic expectations of the romance
and what it means. How is the ‘past’ described by Nick? What narrative debvice is the author using
here?
6: Last pages of chapter 6
These are often left out of films and brushed over, but by studying this passage carefully I think we
learn something particularly insightful about Gatsby.
Read the [passage which starts with ‘…One autumn night… on the last two to three pages (in case
you all have different versions).
On your table, read through Gatsby’s description and note Nick’s reaction to what he is saying:
1: What is Nick’s reaction to this event between Daisy and Gatsby?
2: So what does this say about the difference between Gatsby and Nick?
7: Note what happens, on the face of it, it appears to be a desciption of a man about to kiss a
woman. But you’re A level English literature students who go beyond the obvious…
Note Gatsby’s thoughts just before he kisses her, are they not slightly surprising? Baring in ming all
he has done and achieved financially. So what might be another interpretation of his comments?
Individually – note your thoughts here -= try to come up with your own thoughts.
Chapter 7 – the tension builds…
Okay, so, what quotes have we got so far? Plenty hipefully – but here’s some useful ones if you
don’t already have such things noted (always try to keeo a list of quotes in a notebook or separate
sheet of paper for any novel – turns out very useful come essays and the exam.
Nick’s loneliness ‘I was within and without…’ – C2
Gatsby’s idealism? – ‘of course you can!’ ‘…he could suck on the pap of life.’ C6
Opulence and riches? ‘He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them one by one’ C5
Englishness? Oxford, Jordan’s shoes, Gatsby’s suit, the Rolls Royce. Emulating the English.
Class? (Catherine’s eyebrows, town tattle, haughtily, furniture too large – Nick’s snobby view) C2
Cast ourselves back to the end of chapter 5 a moment…
Nick’s lonely ending to the chapter
Is Nick making a point here?
Re-acquaint yourself with the opening couple of pages:
1: Trimalchio is referred to at the start – so you looked him up – what did you find?
2: Opening page – why the change to rudeness? Can you think why? (Not just gossip)
3: Nick says to himself ‘So the whole caravanseray had fallen in like a card house at the disapproval
in her eyes’ What do you think he means by this?
4: Can you spot the pathetic fallacy? Note it down.
5: What do you think to the comment about his damp ticket?
6: Notice how Nick paints a picture of an upper class ‘jazz-age’ society that has found itself with
nothing to do. Try to find some quotes that help to paint this picture – have a look at the way Daisy
and Jordan are described, for instance:
Put your quotes in the box below:
7: Daisy and Tom’s daughter turns up, this is a very important moment for Gatsby as it clearly
difficult for Daisy to just relinquish her daughter, or just take her with her if she fled with Gatsby.
So note how this moment occurs:
‘Afterward he kept looking at the child with surprise. I don’t think he had ever believed in its
existence before.’
This suggests the child has had an impact, perhaps a deliberate act by Daisy?
8: ‘On the Green sound, stagnant in the heat, one small sail crawled slowly toward the fresher sea’.
Why might this phrase be significant?
9: What do you think Daisy’s purpose is in inviting Gatsby, Nick, Jordan and Tom all together like
this?
10: What suggests Gatsby’s thughts at this stage of going into town? Note his response to Nick’s
comment on Daisy having an ‘indiscreet voice’ – is this a sign of a change in Nick? Note Nick’s
thoughts – the ‘golden girl’.
So, they set off for Manhattan, the Plaza no less…