Chapter 9 Summary and Analysis May 2011 The Great Gatsby Chapter 9 Summary and Analysis May 2011

Chapter Nine – Summary Reporters and gossipers swarm Gatsby’s house One car actually drives by the house to see if a party is occurring Nick tries to get people to attend Gatsby’s funeral “Owl Eyes” attends the funeral – man astonished at Gatsby’s library Tom, Daisy, Klipspringer and Wolfshiem do not attend Henry C. Gatz shows Nick a book that Gatsby kept a self- improvement schedule in

Chapter Nine – Summary Nick meets with Jordan Baker – she tells him that he and she are both “bad drivers” Jordan claims to be engaged when Nick ends their courtship

Chapter Nine – Summary Nick runs into Tom Buchanan who admits he sent George Wilson to Gatsby’s house that day He shows no remorse and stated Gatsby deserved to die Tom and Daisy are capable of only cruelty and destruction Kept safe from consequences of their actions because of wealth and privilege Nick believes all characters possess some deficiency which makes them unsuitable to Eastern life East haunted after Gatsby’s death, Midwest seems idyllic as a scene on a Christmas card

Chapter Nine – Summary The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock is like the green continent of America American dream already dead when Gatsby began to dream it – his goals, wealth and status, had long since become empty and meaningless Contemporary Americans – any attempt to move forward, to progress is ultimately futile

Chapter Nine – Analysis Nick worships Gatsby’s courage and self-reinvention, yet disapproves of his dishonesty and criminal dealings Nick believes the past determines who we are All characters are Westerners and intrinsically unsuited for life in the East West – presented as the seat of traditional morality, an idyllic heartland in start contrast to the greed of the East

Chapter Nine – Analysis The final line of The Great Gatsby is one of the most famous in American literature “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Epitaph (noun) for Gatsby and the novel A commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site A brief poem or other writing in praise of a deceased person www.dictionary.com

Chapter Nine – Analysis Backward-driving force compared to the current of a river Gatsby’s life-long quest to transcend his past, not possible Humanity tends to move backward, therefore, progress is associated with outsized ambition

Chapter Nine – Analysis Fitzgerald links America’s fate to the fate of Gatsby’s America – founded on ideals of progress and equality Intended as a place for visionary dreamers to thrive Similar to Gatsby’s hope for himself European aristocracy compared to the New World (America) Excess created by Tom and Daisy Gatsby unable to reach this as he is from the New World Gatsby’s attempt to engineer his own destiny was sabotaged by their cruelty America failed to transcend European origins, Gatsby, too, cannot overcome the circumstances of his upbringing

Chapter Nine – Analysis Buchanan’s = East Egg Gatsby = West Egg When Gatsby dazed at the green light, he was looking East Green light, similar to green land of America, was once a symbol of hope; now the original ideas of the American dream have deteriorated into the crass pursuit of wealth Gatsby devoted his life to nothing more than material gain to get Daisy’s attention and love Gatsby’s ruin both mirrors and prefigures the ruin of America itself

Chapter Nine – Key Questions Why did Nick take care of Gatsby's funeral? How was James Gatz's childhood schedule consistent with the adult Gatsby's behavior? Who attended Gatsby's funeral? How and why is this significant? What is the purpose of Nick's last meeting with Jordan? Why does Nick call Tom and Daisy "careless people"?