'The Great Gatsby' reading journal, chapter seven

Unusual because of the lively reputations that Gatsby's parties posses, Nick mentions a number of automobiles in Gatsby's driveway were driving 'sulkily away'. What hasp happened to cause this? Further confusion arises when a new servant answers the door. Nick notes that his 'villainous face squinted' and I think this could be to represent the up-coming destructive nature of the novel. Again, contrast is made clear when Gatsby's kitchen is revealed to look 'like a pigsty' but again, I think this is a sign of the changes that Gatsby is currently undergoing - previously, his past and his emotion were bottled up (possibly represented by the way his servants kept his house so clean?), but now that his relationship with Daisy has been re-kindled, and Tom is heavily suspicious of him, the emotions have been unleashed, creating a mess. Gatsby reveals that he had fired a high amount of his previous servants and had replaced them, his reason being "somebody who wouldn't gossip" upon seeing Daisy, he is trying to keep their affair out of the public eye. Something that I want to draw particular attention to in this chapter is the significance of the weather, and how it affects the characters. Nick notes that the next day was the 'last, definitely warmest, day of summer'. In this chapter, it seems as if the power of the heat causes tensions to rise in the relationships between characters, which I will details throughout this reading journal.

Nick has an ability to quickly identify the sub-text of what people are saying. A butler, on the phone says "the masters body? I'm sorry madame, but we can't...". However, Nick mentions that he was saying something quite different - "Yes...Yes...I'll see". Is this again another element of foreshadowing? or has the heat effects Nick so much that he is hallucinating, and not actually being clever? Jordan and Daisy are sat on a sofa in the Buchanan's house, and they both comment "we can't move", Which reminds me of similar image brought up in chapter one, of Daisy being sat on the sofa and saying a nearly identical phrase. Back then, Daisy said that she couldn't move because she was "paralysed with happiness", which, given the events that have occurred throughout the novel, probably isn't true. What seems to be causing this stillness now, however, could be the heat. It locks everyone down and makes them motionless, which is parallel to Tom's wealth and power. Another reflection of the first chapter happens when Daisy's young daughter arrives. She appears rather jolly, and Daisy calls her an "absolute little dream". In chapter one, Daisy had stated that she wanted her daughter to be a "beautiful little fool" because of the toils of life that she will have to endure by being a women. She is perhaps also seeing a reflection of herself in her daughter. Daisy's views have been described by Nick previously as being 'artificial', so maybe, by calling her daughter a 'dream' she is just putting the fact right in her face that it is better to dream, than a life like the one she has had to live.

Tom uses a sentence that I feel puts the upcoming tensions into a summary. "The Earth's going to fall into the sun". The outcome of novel involves a significant amount of death, and this sentence, to me, suggests that for all forms of live, death is inevitable. Another interesting comment which is made by Jordan seems to fit in-line with the character actions that take place in this chapter, as well as chapter eight - "life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall". The next day, in chapter eight, involves a lot of important actions, and also happens to be the first day of Autumn - lives are ended, creating a huge sense of irony to this sentence. Before they set off to go to town, we get a strong indication that Tom has uncovered all of the lies that surround Gatsby. He says to Gatsby that "You can by anything at a drug-store nowadays". He admits to Nick and Daisy that he has sussed out Gatsby's schemes with bootlegged alcohol at many of his purchased 'drug stores' so it is as if he is shoving a hint in Gatsby face at this point, viciously, as if it is something Gatsby should know about. Once they arrive at Wilson's garage, it is as if Wilson has now become aware of something suspicious that his wife is keeping secret from him. He now knows that Myrtle had 'some sort of live apart' from him, but only now, prompted I think by the extreme weather conditions, he is aware of dangerous the nature of it is, so therefore He wants to get both of them as far away as possible from it (he says that they going to "go West"). We are then reminded of the surprising power that Myrtle possess (for a women during that time period) - 'other eyes were regarding us' i.e. Myrtle's.

Tom's power, however, seems to be 'slipping precipitately out of his control'. He once had control of two different women, and now, it seems as if he is going to lose both of them to other men. Again, this indicates a role reversal between Tom and Wilson - Wilson had previously been quite and frightened of Tom, but suddenly he has taken control of his wife and it looks as if Tom is about to lose Myrtle to him. Once in New York, at the plaza hotel the 'compressed heat exploded into sound' - the argument, which had been taking place mentally between Tom and Gatsby about Daisy, has now become verbal. At points in the bickering, the text notes that 'A pause' occurred many times. This truly represents how awkward the tension between Gatsby, Tom and Daisy is getting. Spaces are just left blank. People are stunned to silence by the remarks. After Gatsby tells the truth about his involvements with Oxford, Nick mentions that he 'wanted to get up and slap him on the back' because he has just had 'one of those renewals of complete faith in him that I'd experienced before'. What confuses me here is the word 'before'. It suggests that Nick has not always thought so highly about Gatsby during the entire time that he knew him, yet he has always spoken of him with much positive passion. It suggests that Nick is somewhat indecisive, and again, judgmental. Now that the truth of Gatsby and Daisy's relationship has been exposed to Tom, Nick notes that 'Gatsby was content'. In the heat of the situation (caused by both tension and the weather) this feeling strikes me as being an out of place one. In a situation like that, I would have thought that the first thing Gatsby and Daisy would do would be to flee. However, maybe he content at just that simple fact - the truth is out. He has nothing to hide anymore, so he feels less pressure. As to why she married Tom, Gatsby states that it was "because I was poor" once more, Daisy's attraction to wealth over personality shines through. She may loved Gatsby's personality, but it was his lack of wealth that caused Daisy to walk away from him. The point that wants to make clear though, is that Daisy only loved him, and never, at any point, Tom. He wants Daisy to admit this, and at one point, it appears as if she is about 'come of age' but 'her hand as she tried to shake a cigarette was trembling'. She admits that at one point, she did love Tom. The coming of age vision is then shattered.

It appears here, however, that Tom is able to re-gain his power in the ways he speaks so passionately about his love for Daisy. At one point, his 'words suddenly leaned down over Gatsby' which, in terms of imagery, suggests the idea that Tom would have the visual higher ground over Gatsby, as if he was once able to demand. Tom only further goes on to detail Gatsby's amount of false - believing that he stole "the ring he put" on Daisy's finger. Tom is now purely set on shattering Gatsby's reputation, and, with the heat from the sun still beating down, puts the spotlight, both mentally and verbally, on to Gatsby. It is when tensions are this high that Nick suddenly remembers that it his birthday. He is now thirty-years-old, and thinks that he will be heading down a 'portentous, menacing road of a new decade' which is interesting, as I would have thought that the current time and the recent past were quite menacing already. He also describes it as a 'promise of a decade of loneliness', but at the end of the third chapter, Nick used a lot of statements that suggested that he was already quite lonely. On the other hand, he could be using it to describe what happens in the future, when he is without Gatsby, Tom or Daisy. Despite all of the new things learned about the relationships between Gatsby, Tom and Daisy today, Nick, jut he did ant the end of chapter three, shows that he cares only about himself and his relationships. The sentence 'But there was Jordan besides me...' expresses this as it shows what he is thinking about. Nick thinks he knows his story all too well at this point, indicating that as they were in the car, they 'drove towards death'. The word 'death' however, has an association towards a number of people in the upcoming chapters, but first, it strikes at Myrtle Wilson.

The car that hit Myrtle had not only killed her in an instant, but also literally ripped her open. The imagery that Nick describes here is very grim, noting that her 'left breast was swinging lose like a flap' - this suggests a high amount of bloodshed and body parts barely attached to the body. Tom, however, through the crowds that have gathered over the accident, is again able to show that he is able to gain power when he needs to use it - a 'wad of muscle back of his shoulder' that Nick happens to make note of, and he picks up Wilson 'like a doll' which suggests lifting up a person is just light work for him. Back at the Buchanan's house though, Tom says something that suggests he is vulnerable, rather than powerful. He asks Nick "won't you come in" but it appears not in the bullying sense that had asked for when requesting Nick's company previously. Then, he only wanted Nick around so he could heighten his status, by standing next to someone of a lower class to make himself appear much better. After the events of this chapter, though, it just seems that Tom actually wants his company to make himself feel better, but in am emotional sense because he is feeling so distraught. When Nick is about to leave, he discovers Gatsby hiding in their garden, wanting to make sure that Daisy was alright. He reveals that she was driving during the accident that killed Myrtle, but says that "I'll say I was" - he is going to take the blame for it. Gatsby is using dishonesty to protect someone else, whereas, during his past, it is revealed that he used it only to benefit himself. Nick checks the house windows for him, and sees Daisy and Tom in one room 'sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table'. The things that they both learned today have made them somewhat distant from each other, and I think that this is what the table is representing. However. Nick also mentions that there was 'natural intimacy' in the air, which sounds as if they both in some sort of agreement with each other. Possibly because what they learned about each other today, they are comfortable with saying that they are 'even' with each other?...