Chapter 5 Summary
-Gatsby asks Nick if he would like to swim in his pool
-Nick objects the offer so Gatsby asks if he would like to go on a trip to Coney island
-Nick then realises that Gatsby is just anxious for him to arrange a meeting with Daisy
-Nick accepts and Gatsby is very happy and offers Nick a job
-Nick is offended that Gatsby wants to repay him for helping and denies the offer
-When it’s the day that Gatsby and Daisy are to meet, it begins to rain, and Gatsby
becomes a little bit nervous
-Gatsby and Daisy initially meet at Nicks house and the conversation between them is a
little awkward at first because they are both a little embarrassed
-Then Gatsby accidentally knocks over a clock and both him and Nick step out for a
moment
-Nick tells Gatsby that he’s acting like a little boy and that he’s leaving her all alone in
there
-Gatsby then goes back in and Nick leaves them both alone for a while
-When Nick returns, they both seem very happy and Daisy has tears of joy running
down her face
-They then go over to Gatsby’s mansion and Gatsby gives them a little tour of the place
-Daisy is a bit overwhelmed by all the possessions that Gatsby owns
-Gatsby then shows her his large collection of shirts he owns and then Daisy says how
beautiful the shirts are and begins to weep
-Gatsby then calls Ewing Klipspringer to come play piano for them, at first he objects
and claims that it’s been awhile since he’s played so he’s a bit rusty
-Gatsby ends up getting him to play for them anyway
-As Daisy and Gatsby both are drawn closer to one another, Nick sees that he is no
longer needed and proceeds to leave them both alone
Vocabulary words
Innumerable:
Definition- many to be counted (often used hyperbolically).
Context-“The flowers were unnecessary, for at two o’clock a greenhouse arrived from
Gatsby’s, with
innumerable receptacles to contain it. (Pg. 81)
Defunct:
Definition- No longer existing or functioning
Context- “His head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of the defunct
mantelpiece
clock.” (Pg. 84)
Vestige:
Definition-A trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists
Context-“They were sitting at either end of the couch, looking at each other as if some
questions had
been asked, or was it in the air, and every vestige of embarrassment was gone.” (Pg.
86)
Postern:
Definition- A back or side entrance
Context- “Instead of taking the short cut along the sound we went down to the road and
entered by the
big postern.” (Pg. 88)
Hydroplane:
Definition- A light, fast motorboat designed to skim over the surface of water
Context-After the house, we were to see the grounds and the swimming pool, and the
hydroplane, and
the midsummer flowers.” (Pg. 90)
Themes and Analysis
Character:
"Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands still plunged like weights in his coat pockets, wad
standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes" (Pg. 83)
This quote is used to describe Gatsby in a physical sense of what he looked like when
he showed up at Nick’s house. Describes Gatsby by dehumanizing some of his physical
features like his hand and how they were like weights in his pockets. Nick also calls
Gatsby pale as if he was sad and has something on his mind.
"‘That huge place there?’ she cried pointing.
‘Do you like it?’
‘I love it, but I don’t see how you live there all alone.’" (Pg. 87).
This quote is used to describe Daisy character and how she was wowed at the great
amount of wealth Gatsby has. As they pull up the massive mansion Daisy is astonished
and cannot believe that he lives there. As Daisy goes through the mansion her
amazement grows larger and larger. In this scene Daisy seems to be hypnotized by the
wealth that Gatsby has and not worried about the man behind the money.
Relationships:
“They had forgotten me, but Daisy glanced up and held out her hand; Gatsby didn’t
know me now at all. I looked once more at them and they looked back at me, remotely
possessed by intense life.Then I went out of the room and down the marble steps into
the rain, leaving them there together.”
Gatsby and Daisy at this point are more comfortable with each other and are happy that
they are together once again. Their relationship has grown stronger once again and
they are both overwhelmed with joy to be in the presence of one another that they even
start to become unaware of Nick’s presence in the room. Daisy most likely still feels
guilty for not waiting for Gatsby to return from the war, and instead marrying Tom, but
she realizes that she made a mistake and here she feels like she is given a second
chance to be with Gatsby.
“You’re just embarrassed, that’s all; and luckily I added: Daisy’s embarrassed too.” (85)
This quote relates to the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby. Gatsby is
embarrassed that he knocked over a clock on the mantle because he was nervous.
Gatsby and Daisy have not met in over 5 years and he thought that he made a fool of
himself. Nick tries to comfort him by saying that Daisy is also embarrassed and that he
should not worry. This shows the feelings that Gatsby has for Daisy from the last time
they met.
Themes
Class:
“ ‘They’re such beautiful shirts,’ she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. ‘It
makes me sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful shirts before.’ ” (Pg.89)
Daisy is overwhelmed by the vast amount of beautiful shirts in front of her and she
claims that she has never seen so many beautiful shirts before. Daisy is not as wealthy
as Gatsby, and she is just overwhelmed by his wealth because of this, and that is why
she begins to weep. She could also be weeping because in the past she didn’t stay with
his because he wasn’t as wealthy then, and now that he has worked hard and obtained
lots of success, she feels bad that she didn’t stay with him from the start due to his
class.
Happiness:
“They were sitting at either end of the couch, looking at each other as if some question
had been asked, or was in the air, and every vestige of embarrassment was gone.
Daisy’s face was smeared with tears, and when I came in she jumped up and began
wiping at it with her handkerchief before the mirror.”(Pg. 86)
Gatsby finally got the courage to tell Daisy what he wanted to tell her and she
responded in a positive way. So because of this, both Gatsby and Daisy are
overwhelmed with joy, and this is shown through how Gatsby went from being nervous
to going back to his old self. Also a little after the quote, it describes Gatsby to literally
be glowing, so it shows that Gatsby is very happy with how things turned out.
Work Cited
Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. Strand: Penguin Books Ltd, 1950.