- Chapter summary for the Great Gatsby
- detailed analysis for the chapter
- used by myself for the OCR: English literature and language specification (H074, H474)
- however, it can be used for other specifications
- achieved A* with these notes (combined with others I have uploaded)
CHAPTER 1
Overview:
- Nick Carraway introduces himself as the narrator; he has just moved to West Egg to start a career in bonds
- He goes to dinner in East Egg with the Buchanans – his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom. At dinner he meets
Jordan Baker, a professional golfer.
- Tom is revealed to be a racist. He is also having an affair with an unnamed woman.
- Nick returns home and sees Gatsby next door, reaching across the water towards a green light.
PURPOSE - Fitzgerald uses this chapter the set the scene of the novel:
- It is made clear that the events in the novel have already taken place – the characters’ fates are already decided.
- Most of the main characters are introduced, even Myrtle is present in a way as her phone call interrupts dinner.
- Nick talks about ‘Midas and Morgan and Maecenas’ – all three men were renowned for their incredible wealthy.
Morgan and Maecenas were real men, whereas Midas’s story is a Greek myth. By mentioning both mythical and real
people in the first chapter, Fitzgerald hints that myth and reality will be mixed throughout the book.
Nick as a character and narrator:
Nick as the narrator takes the reader into his confidence. He is sharing with us his recollection of certain experiences.
Narration helps Nick to comes to terms with the events and explore the significance of them.
His style can be challenging; Nick’s sentences can be grammatically complex, and his vocabulary is at times
unfamiliar and even obscure.
His narration isn’t neutral, and aspects of his character are reflected in the information he offers us. Nick likes to
remain a detached observer but is accepted in both communities; this position enables him to observe from within.
Tolerant - Nick claims that he remembers his father’s advice when he meets new people – other people haven’t had
the ‘advantages that he’s had’ – this gives the impression that he’s tolerant and has strong moral and family values.
Judgemental - However, Nick admits that he repeats his father’s advice ‘snobbishly’, and the fact that his father had
to tell him to not judge people to harshly suggests that this is one of Nick’s failings. Nick’s claim that he has a better
‘sense of the fundamental decencies’ than most people also makes him seem judgemental. This mix of self-
awareness and arrogance is typical of the complex contradictions in Nick’s character.
Dishonest – There are hints that Nick can be intolerant and judgemental, e.g. he says that he ‘feigned sleep’ when
people confided in him, he views Gatsby’s life with ‘unaffected scorn’, and he’s ‘disgusted’ by Tom and Daisy’s
marriage. This makes the reader less trusting of his narration because it suggests that he is dishonest.
Untrustworthy – Nick sometimes misreads situations which also makes his narration untrustworthy. He thinks Daisy
has everything she wants so he sees in her eyes ‘the absence of all desire’. But we later find out that she has ‘had a
very bad time’.
Note that although the First World War ended in 1918, Nick’s move to East Egg didn’t occur until 1922. This may
reflect the fact that he is not an impulsive person, but it might also suggest that other factors were involved in his
decision to move. Perhaps his difficult love affair back home played a larger part that he is willing to admit.
Theme of past and present:
Right at the start of his narration Nick talks about the advice he received from his father. Jay Gatsby, we later find
out, has turned his back on his parents and has found a very different role model in Dan Cody. This demonstrates an
important theme in The Great Gatsby; the relationship of the past to the present, including what is handed on from
one generation to the next. This may take the form of material wealthy, but it may also be a set of values, attitudes
or expectations.
Gatsby’s optimism:
Nick is drawn to Gatsby due to his ‘extraordinary gift for hope’.
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