The Great Gatsby
Chapter One
Summary
•
The narrator of The Great Gatsby is a young man from Minnesota named
Nick Carraway. He begins by commenting on himself, stating that he
learned from his father to reserve judgment about other people, because if
he holds them up to his own moral standards, he will misunderstand them.
Nick describes himself as highly moral and very tolerant. Nick worked in the
bond business and rented a house on a part of Long Island called West
Egg. West Egg is where the new rich live compared with East Egg which is
where the old rich live with higher social class. Gatsby lives in West Egg
where as Tom and Daisy stay in East Egg. One evening Nick goes to his
cousin Daisy’s for dinner which is where he meets Jordan Baker, a
professional athlete who is friends with Daisy. While everyone is enjoying
their evening Tom gets a private phone call from his mistress in New York.
This is the point that we find out that they are in an open relationship and
that it is not only Daisy who knows about Tom’s affair but also the rest of the
neighbourhood. When Nick arrive s home after the party he see’s Gatsby,
standing on the grass. He intends to go and introduce himself but decides
against it thinking Gatsby would prefer to be alone. He watches Gatsby for a
minute or two then takes his eyes off him, then Gatsby vanishes.
Important Quotes in Chapter One
S.
Tom receives a phone call during dinner from his
mistress in New York which Daisy is not happy
about.
“She might have the decency not to
telephone him at dinner time. Don’t you
think?”
A.
Jordan tells us of the phone call Tom
received from his mistress in New York. This
shows that Tom has affairs and Daisy is
aware of this as she knows about Myrtle, yet
does not stop him from seeing her.
Q.
S.
East Egg is a very upper class place to live with
large homes and those who live there have
expensive lifestyles.
Q.
“ The lawn started at the beach and ran towards
the front door for quarter of a mile, jumping over
sundials and brick walls and burning gardens –
finally when it reached the house drifting up the
side in bright vines as though from the
momentum of its run.”
This describes how upper class East Egg is when
compared to West Egg, it shows the people who live
here live lavish lifestyles and a life of luxury.
A.
S. The characters in the novel all live with some form of
hope which the green light symbolises.
Q.
“Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and
distinguished nothing except a single
green light minute and far away, that might have
been the end of a dock.”
A. The green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams
for the future which he wishes to share with Daisy. The
green light also symbolises hope for the other
characters in the novel in order for them to be in the
right relationship.
S.
Q.
A.
Daisy thinks very highly of herself and
thinks she is sophisticated.
“I KNOW. I've been everywhere and
seen everything and done
everything…Sophisticated - God, I'm
sophisticated.”
Shows how Daisy perceives herself as
sophisticated where as others would
say different.
Daisy
• She’s trapped in a marriage that she is unhappy in and trapped in a
world where she is unable to be free and independent. The word
careless describes Daisy well as she has become very much
wrapped up in herself part of this is due to the fact that she has been
spoilt all her life. Daisy was born into money and has had an
endless assortment of men who have continued to spoil her. Daisy
has learned to think only of herself without any regard for the people
it may hurt. She also comes across as quite shallow and foolish. As
Daisy delivered her daughter she described girls as being fools –
“that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”.
• Daisy is smart enough to understand the limits imposed on her and
has become jaded and indulgent because of them.
Nick
S. Nick Carroway is an honest man who doesn’t judge
people on their first appearance.
Q. “I’m inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has
opened up many curious natures to me”.
A. Unlike the rest of the characters in this chapter Nick
does not judge people upon there first appearance.
Nick acts as a *liaison between Gatsby and Daisy.
Despite repeatedly insisting that he prides himself on
his own honesty, Nick continually aligns himself with
next door neighbour Gatsby who’s entire existence is a
*fabrication remaining loyal to his friend.
*fabrication = to make something up
*liaison = A close relationship, connection, or link
Tom
Tom has been born into a wealthy family and so he has
never had to work a day in his life. He is having an affair
with Myrtle, George Wilson’s wife from New York. Tom
flaunts the relationship in public because he does not
concern himself with consequences of his actions.
S. Tom comes across as an aggressive character,
Q. “I hate that word hulking, objected Tom crossly”.
A. This shows Tom’s aggressive nature and how easily he
becomes angry.
Tom is also a careless man who will not be bothered by
the suffering he causes. He is in an open relationship
with Daisy.
Jordan Baker
• Jordan Baker is a very dishonest character in
The Great Gatsby. She is a tournament golfer,
Nick tells us about Jordan cheating at her first
competition, showing us dishonesty and that she
is a competitive woman. She is an old friend of
Daisy’s meaning she can give Nick all the
information he wants to know.
• Jordan Baker symbolises a modern woman in
the novel, she dresses like she wants, drinks,
smokes and has sex because she enjoys them.
Also she is very masculine compared with the
woman at that time, eg. Her name, her build.
Symbolism
East and West Egg – Wealth and social class plays a
large part in the novel which becomes apparent in
chapter one. Tom and Daisy live in East Egg which is far
more refined and well bred. Nick and Gatsby are on
West Egg which is for people who don’t really have any
real standing and were not born into money. There is a
barrier of water between East and West Egg which can
be seen to keep people from either side away from each
other.
Nick “ I lived at West Egg, the – well, the less
fashionable of the two”
Symbolism
Green Light – The Green light represents hope for the
characters, especially Gatsby who has longed for
money, success and a relationship with Daisy. The
Green light shines from the East Egg enticing Gatsby
towards what he has always wanted. And Daisy, the
woman that Gatsby has always wanted but never got,
lives on East Egg. The green light is very symbolic in
regards to each character as they all have something
they long and search for in the distance and in the future.
“Involuntarily I glanced seaward – and distinguished
nothing except a single green light minute and far
away, that might have been the end of a dock.”
Themes
Social divide is a major theme in The Great Gatsby and
contributes to the differences between East Egg and West
Egg. East Egg is classed as the old rich as it is where the
people who are born into a wealthy family live whereas
West Egg is classed as the old rich as the people who live
there seem to accumulate money in other ways rather
than be born inao it, they are more likely to work for it. The
new rich seem to lack social grace and taste e.g.. Gatsby
lives in a large mansion, wears a pink suit and drives a
Rolls-Royce. The old rich live who live in East Egg
possess taste but seems to lack in compassion, they
prove themselves to be quite careless and do not regard
other peoples thoughts and feelings e.g. Tom is in an affair
with Myrtle but doesn’t spare a thought for the impact it
has on his family.
Setting
Most of this chapter is set at the
Buchanan’s house which is situated in
East Egg, surrounded by wealth and
higher social class. Nearer the end of the
chapter, Nick see’s Gatsby standing on the
grass of his mansion, which is in West
Egg.
Key Incident
In chapter one the key incident takes place
during the evening meal at the Buchanan’s
mansion with Jordan and Nick. When Tom
receives a phone call from his mistress, Myrtle
Wilson, from New York. Whilst Tom is on the
phone Jordan tells Nick about Tom having an
affair. Also at this point we find out that Daisy
knows about Tom having this affair.
“She might have the decency not to telephone
him at dinner time. Don’t you think?”