THE GREAT GATSBY
CHAPTER 4
In today’s lesson we will deepen our understanding of the
following in relation to Chapter 4:
• CHARACTERISATION – GATSBY, NICK, DAISY,
JORDAN
• STRUCTURE/STYLE
• SYMBOLISM
• THEME – FAILURE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
• SETTING – NEW YORK
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.
• This means his past is still a mystery
as we are still unsure what to believe.
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
• Gatsby’s car is an extravagant automobile:
‘ terraced with a labyrinth of windshields that
mirrored a dozen suns…….with fenders spread like
wings we scattered light through half Astoria’
• Gatsby’s headlights are blazing even though it is
sunny.
• His car takes natural light and multiples it
twelvefold.
• Reinforcing the FLAMBOYANCE of a wealthy man
who wants to be noticed.
• QUESTION: Why does he want to be noticed?
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
• Gatsby’s association with Wolfshiem shows
another side to his character.
• Implication that his lavish lifestyle is funded
by crime.
• Gatsby symbolises both the luxury and
corruption of the Jazz Age.
• Tom Buchanan also being in the restaurant
conveys that even established families and
OUTWARDLY respectable people ignore the
Prohibition law. This reflects that New York’s
corruption has spread throughout society.
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 - Daisy
• Her behaviour is contrasted to that of
Gatsby.
• She is briefly distressed, but marries
Tom ‘without a shiver’.
• Gatsby’s constancy highlights his loyal
and romantic nature.
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
• Chapter divided into three parts:
• Nick lists the party guests. He also lists
their misbehaviour. This again links with the
theme SHALLOWNESS OF THE UPPER
CLASSES and the theme APPEARANCE vs
REALITY
• Gatsby’s lunch with Wolfshiem. We see the
real Gatsby. What is he hiding with his
outrageous stories? Does his connection with
Wolfshiem suggest he may be a criminal?
STRUCTURE
• Interestingly, Jordan’s description of
Gatsby’s past romance with Daisy gives a
different impression of Gatsby. It portrays
him as innocent, romantic and shows
another side to his personality.
• This different impression adds another layer
of mystery.
Structure
• Jordan’s first person narrative makes
Gatsby into a more sympathetic
character. For Nick, Gatsby becomes a
real person – ‘delivered suddenly from
the womb of his purposeless
splendour’.
• Nick’s changing impression of Gatsby
reminds reader that the novel is
written from his point of view, which
introduces the idea of bias.
Structure
• Jordan’s story also suggests none of the
characters have changed:
• Gatsby is still obsessed with Daisy and
continues to have a ‘romantic’ desire fo her.
• Tom’s cheating clearly began early in his
marriage and has continued throughout.
• Daisy is easily led. She initially decides not
to marry Tom, but is then persuaded to go
ahead with the wedding.
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
• The fact that accusations that he killed
a man are made in between drinks
from ‘that there crystal glass’ indicates
that the relaxed guests have no
concern about their host’s potential
corruption – illustrates THEME Failure
of the American Dream / THEME
SHALLOWNESS OF THE AMERICAN
UPPER CLASSES
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.
Theme: Failure of the American Dream
• Initially, Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy
can be seen to symbolise the American
Dream. The image at the end of
Chapter One of him as a lone figure,
reaching out for the green light, shows
him striving for the object of his
desires……..
But…..
• The fact that Gatsby strives to win Daisy,
who is shallow, snobbish and fickle, reflects
the corruption of the American Dream – it
has become focused on the shallow pursuit
of wealth.
• Gatsby doesn’t care about breaking up
daisy’s marriage – ‘Nothing underhand’. The
American Dream has become about
individual satisfaction, not reaping the
rewards of hard work.
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