THE GREAT GATSBY
CHAPTER 4
• CHARACTERISATION – GATSBY, NICK,
DAISY, JORDAN
• STRUCTURE/STYLE
• SYMBOLISM
• SETTING
CHARACTERISATION - GATSBY
• “He hurried the phrase ‘educated at
Oxford’, or swallowed it, or choked on
it,...bothered him before”
• Suggests that Gatsby is lying and
further adds to the mystery
surrounding him. This is continued:
• “After that I lived like a young rajah in
all capitals ...trying to forget
something very sad that had happened
to me long ago.”
CHARACTERISATION - GATSBY
• “With an effort I managed to restrain
my incredulous laughter.”
• DISCUSSION: What does Nick’s
reaction to Gatsby’s story reveal?
• STYLE/STRUCTURE: This quote again
reminds us that Gatsby may not be
what he seems – manufactured?
• Nick’s impression is challenged when
Gatsby shows him a medal he received
in the war.
CHARACTERISATION - GATSBY
• “To my astonishment, the thing had an
authentic look”
• Gatsby then shows Nick a picture of
himself at Oxford and Nick says,
• “Then it was all true.”
• He now sees Gatsby in a different light.
CHARACTERISATION - GATSBY
• Discussion: Why does Gatsby spend so
much time convincing Nick of who he
is? Why is Nick so important to a man
who seems to have everything?
CHARACTERISATION - GATSBY
• DISCUSSION:
• The incident with the policeman is a
strange one. What does it suggest?
• Does Gatsby have influence over
people because of his past?
• What does this add to the reader’s
impressions of him?
GATSBY’S RELATIONSHIPS WITH
OTHER CHARACTERS
• Mr Wolfshiem:
• Represents the criminal world
• He seems open about it in contrast to
Gatsby’s secrecy, page 76:
“His expressive nose”
“Let the bastards come in here…”
“Fine specimens of human molars”
Gatsby is a “mystery”
GATSBY’S RELATIONSHIPS WITH
OTHER CHARACTERS
• This acquaintance suggests that
Gatsby’s business and his associates
are shady and that they are up to no
good.
• DISCUSSION: Does this suggest that
Gatsby’s fortune is gained from illegal
activities?
• How does this make us feel about
Gatsby?
GATSBY’S RELATIONSHIPS WITH
OTHER CHARACTERS
• “They can’t get him, old sport. He’s a
smart man”
• This suggest admiration on Gatsby’s
part.
GATSBY’S RELATIONSHIPS WITH
OTHER CHARACTERS
• Jordan:
• “Oh, it’s nothing underhand...Miss
Baker’s a great sportswoman...she’d
never do anything underhand”
• The reader and Nick know that this is
not the case – does this cast doubt on
his judgements.
• Gatsby’s opinion is coloured by the fact
the he is trying to use Jordan to
arrange a meeting between him and
Daisy.
CHARACTERISATION - JORDAN
• “His name was Jay Gatsby...even after
I met him on Long Island I didn’t
realize it was the same man”
CHARACTERISATION - JORDAN
• The change to Jordan as narrator here
is important. It enables us to have an
insight into the relationship between
Daisy and Gatsby.
• Jordan can tell the story better than
Nick because she was there but also
has the distance needed for a
successful narrator because she was
not directly involved.
CHARACTERISATION - DAISY
• “She had a bottle of Sauterne in one
hand and a letter in the other...’Tell
‘em all Daisy’s change’ her mine’...She
wouldn’t let go of the letter...only let
me have leave it in the soap-dish when
she saw that it was coming to pieces
like snow.”
• DISCUSSION: What impression does
the reader get of Daisy’s feelings for
Gatsby from this section?
CHARACTERISATION - DAISY
• The incident before the wedding
suggests that Daisy did care for Gatsby
BUT..
• “Next day at five o’clock she married
Tom Buchanan without so much as a
shiver, and started off on a three
month trip to the South Seas.”
• Her ability to forget her ‘true love’ so
quickly suggests she is unfeeling.
What does this add to (or confirm
about) our initial impressions of Daisy?
CHARACTERISATION - NICK
• “Gatsby bought that house so that
Daisy would be just across the bay.”
• Nick’s perceptions of Gatsby’s
character have changed – he is no
longer just a show off
• Have the reader’s perceptions of
Gatsby changed because of this new
information – how do we see him now?
CHARACTERISATION - NICK
• “Then it was not merely the stars to
which he had aspired on that June
night. He came alive to me, delivered
suddenly from the womb of his
purposeless splendour.”
• LINKS TO GATSBY
CHARACTERISATION – Contradictions
of possible criminal businessman to
lovesick person desperately trying to
secure the woman of his dreams.
STRUCTURE/STYLE
• “He’s a bootlegger,” said the young
ladies ... “One time he killed a man
who had found out that he was a
nephew to Von Hindenburg and second
cousin to the devil.”
• Again the mystery surrounding Gatsby
is emphasised from the very beginning
of the chapter.
STRUCTURE/STYLE
• DISCUSSION: The following words
come directly after the quote above.
What does it add to the themes of the
novel so far.
• “Reach me a rose, honey, and pour me
a last drop into that there crystal
glass.”
STRUCTURE/STYLE
• Fitzgerald listed the guests in order to
give the impression of the nation’s
wealthiest people.
• This reminds the reader again of
Gatsby’s wealth.
• This reminder of Gatsby’s wealth is
continued in “gorgeous car”. This
suggests to the reader opulence.
STRUCTURE/STYLE
• “peculiarly American”
• This comment is in direct contrast with
“Old sport” which is very typically
English. This again adds a mystery to
Gatsby.
• DISCUSSION: In what way does this
add to the sense of manufacture about
Gatsby? Is there any other indications
of this in the novel.
STRUCTURE/STYLE
• “They shook hands briefly, and a
strained, unfamiliar look of
embarrassment came over Gatsby’s
face.”
• Foreshadowing – this adds to the
mystery. The reader questions why he
is embarrassed.
• Soon find out that this incident
foreshadows the revelation we are
about to hear.
SYMBOLISM
• “It was a rich cream colour, bright with
nickel, swollen here and there in its
monstrous length...triumphant hat
boxes...terraced with a labyrinth of
wind-shields that mirrored a dozen
suns...sort of green leather
conservatory.”
• DISSCUSSION: Identify words/phrases
that connote wealth and size.
SYMBOLISM
• The use of ‘green leather conservatory’
is using terms we normally associate
with a house
• This further suggests the size of the
car and Gatsby’s wealth – is his car
worth more (bigger than) some
people’s houses?
SYMBOLISM
• “Then it was not merely the stars to
which he had aspired on that June
night.”
• The green light at the end of Daisy’s
dock. Gatsby reached out to it in
chapter 1. This symbolises him
reaching out for Daisy.
• Represents his love for Daisy
• DISCUSSION: What is suggested by
the word ‘aspire’?
STRUCTURE/SYMBOLISM
• Jordan and Nick “Her wan, scornful
mouth smiled, and so I drew her up
again closer, this time to my face.”
• This gives the reader an interesting
contrast of someone who is actually
physically there for Nick
• Contrasted with Gatsby’s elevated
passion for an idealised and distant
object of desire.
SETTING
• “Then the valley of the ashes opened
out on both sides of us, and I had a
glimpse of Mrs Wilson straining at the
garage pump with panting vitality as
we went by.”
• This reminds us of the gulf between
rich and poor – the contrast of
Gatsby’s opulent car and the desolate
valley of the ashes.
SETTING
• DISCUSSION: Look at the underlined
section – what does this add to our
initial impressions of Myrtle.
SETTING - New York
• Seems bright and full of possibilities
• “Over the great bridge”
• “In its first wild promise of all the
mystery and the beauty of the world”
• “Anything can happen now that we’ve
slid over this bridge…anything at all”
• “Even Gatsby could happen, without
any particular wonder