THE GREAT GATSBY THE GREAT GATSBY Chapter 5

Done by: Nick, Napon, Angel

Summary Summary

Nick comes home from the city after a date with Jordan.

Nick saw Gatsby’s mansion lit up brightly, but it seems to be empty.

Gatsby startles Nick by approaching him from across the lawn. Gatsby seems agitated and almost desperate to make Nick happy as if he had an ulterior motive

Gatsby wants Nick to agree to his plan of inviting Daisy over for tea. (Nick agrees)

Gatsby becomes terribly nervous. (Gatsby worries that even if Daisy accepts his advances)

SummarySummary In the beginning Gatsby’s reunion with

Daisy is terribly awkward. (Eg. Gatsby knocks Nick’s clock over and tells Nick sorrowfully that the meeting was a mistake.)

After he leaves the two alone for half an hour, Nick returns to find them radiantly happy. (side note- It has stopped raining)

Gatsby invites Nick and Daisy over to his house, where he shows them his possessions. (When Gatsby shows her his extensive collection of English shirts, she begins to cry.)

Nick realizes he is no longer needed and leaves Gatsby and Daisy alone.

Characters Characters Gatsby:

- A helpless young man that tries to bring back the past: he has painted a picture of Daisy in his mind to be his perfect dream girl, but has to be disappointed by reality.- “Almost five years! There must be some

moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams– not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather drifted his way. (Pg.92)

- Nervous and excited: Gatsby’s been waiting for this day for five years and he wants to make sure everything is perfect for Daisy.- “[Gatsby] was pale, and there were dark signs of

sleeplessness beneath his eyes.” (Pg.81)

Characters Characters - Determination: Gatsby is very determined to make

everything perfect in order to impress Daisy in every way.- Gatsby: “I want to get the grass cut” (Pg.80)

- Has pride and is proud of everything he has: Gatsby has been through a lot in order to achieve what he has today. The goal of it is to impress Daisy.- “My house looks well, doesn’t it?...It took me just three years

to earn the money that bought it.” (Pg.87)

- Complicated background: Gatsby starts to say things that make his background unusually complicated and suspicious Nick starts to doubt his Gatsby’s background.- Nick: “I thought you inherited your money.”

Gatsby: “Oh, I’ve been in several things. I was in the drug business and then I was in the oil business. But I’m not in either one now.” (Pg.87)

CharactersCharactersGatsby:

- Passionate: His passion for Daisy after all the years. He still remembers how long they have not met each other. - Gatsby: “Five years next November.” (Pg.84)

Characters Characters Daisy:

◦ Very shallow and blinded by wealth: Daisy only judges people from their outside appearance. “That huge place there?” (Pg.87)

◦ Very desired: Every move that Daisy makes is appreciated and valued by Gatsby. “[Gatsby] hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he

revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.” (Pg.88)

◦ Flirty: Daisy flirts with every man, even with Nick. “Are you in love with me,” she said low in my ear, “or why did

I have to come alone?” (Pg.83)Nick:

◦ Outsider: Nick has been like the unwanted third party for Gatsby and Daisy throughout this chapter, but still had the tolerance to follow Daisy and Gatsby around Gatsby’s house. “They had forgotten me… Gatsby didn’t know me now at all.”

(Pg. 93)

ThemesThemesAmerican’s Dream

◦Daisy has been like Gatsby’s dream for 5 years. “Sometimes too, [Gatsby] stared around at his

possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs.” (Pg.88)

◦Gatsby has illustrated Daisy in his dreams to be so perfect in which is impossible to achieve in real life. “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a

man can store up in his ghostly heart” (Pg.92)Reuniting romance of the past

◦The chemistry between Gatsby and Daisy is lit up once again. Memories of their good times in the past is brought back. “[Gatsby] and [Daisy] looked back at [Nick] remotely,

possessed by intense life.” (Pg.93)

ThemesThemesPower of Money: shows how

society judges others by money.◦Daisy judges Gatsby by his wealth◦Gatsby expects Nick to accept his

money for his favor “You don’t make much money, do you?...

Well, this will interest you. It wouldn’t take up much of your time and you might pick up a nice bit of money” (Pg.80)

◦Gatsby is willing to bootleg to earn his money to impress Daisy.

ThemeThemeMaterialism

◦The gold colored tie of Gatsby (pg. 81), 12 lemon cakes (pg.82) symbolize the materialistic of the 1920s.

QuotesQuotesNick: "I realize now that under different

circumstances that conversation might have been one of the crises of my life. But, because the offer was obviously and tactlessly for a service to be rendered, I had no choice but to cut him [Gatsby] off there.”(Pg.80)◦ Highlights one of the best qualities of Nick as an

honest man. He senses that Gatsby is offering Nick an opportunity to make great amount of money, yet Nick refuses because he does not want to be involved in illegal activities.

QuotesQuotesDaisy: “It makes me sad because I’ve never

seen such – such beautiful shirts before.” (Pg. 89)◦ Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed

social and moral values. The society’s overarching Materialism and empty pursuit of pleasure.

◦ Daisy is a materialist like many other Americans at that time. People desire for wealth and materials possessions. The hollowness of the upper class is also shown in this quote.

QuotesQuotesNick: “There must have been moments even

that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his [Gatsby] dreams - not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion.” (Pg. 92)◦ Gatsby’s expectation of Daisy is unrealistic, he

dreams of a perfect woman and Daisy could not meet his expectations. This also shows the materialism that was present in the 1920s.

My thoughtsMy thoughts Chapter 5 is the very climatic chapter of The Great

Gatsby, as Gatsby can finally reunite with Daisy. Before this event, the story of their relationship exists only in a dream, as Gatsby moves toward a dream that no one else can comprehend. In this chapter Gatsby’s history with Daisy is revealed, which gives the reader a look into Gatsby’s history with Daisy. The theme of the past’s significance to the future is shown in this chapter. This chapter explores ideas of love, excess, and the American dream, which becomes clearer to the reader as the story progresses. Gatsby’s emotional frame is out of sync with the passage of time. His nervousness about the present and about how Daisy’s attitude toward him may have changed causes him to knock over Nick’s clock, symbolizing the clumsiness of his attempt to stop time and retrieve the past.