Chapter 3 The Great Gatsby

Crazy Parties  “In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths…” (39). What does this show about this parties?  Nick watched this for several weeks, but was not part of the excitement.  Elaborate spread:  Motor boats on the water  Rolls Royce acting as a taxi  8 servants and a gardener to clean up the mess  5 crates of oranges and lemons each Friday  Tents in the backyard covered in lights  Buffet tables  Full bar  Full orchestra  Formal dress for the night party  Party lasted most of the night.

An invitation extended  Most people just showed up. Some left without ever meeting Gatsby and people acted completely insane.  Nick was actually invited. Gatsby’s butler walked over an invitation written out by Gatsby himself.  Nick knows no one when he gets there and no one seems to be able to tell him who/where Gatsby is. He wanders around awkwardly until he runs into Jordan Baker. Based on conversation, you can tell that this is not Jordan’s first Gatsby party.

Dark Rumors  A girls tells Nick that the last Gatsby party she attended she tore her dress. Gatsby asked for her name and address and sent her an expensive new dress. “He doesn’t want any trouble with anybody” (43).  “Someone told me he killed a man once” (44).  Some say he was a German spy in WWI.  “You look at him sometimes when he thinks nobody’s looking. I’ll bet he killed man” (44).  What is the purpose of these dark rumors being discussed?

A wild goose chase  Jordan’s party is a group from East Egg that is “slumming” and her date is hoping he will get lucky before the night ends.  Jordan ditches her party after dinner to help Nick try to find Gatsby.  They meet an owl-eyed man in the library who is very drunk and shocked that the books were all real. (A stocked library was a sign of wealth.)  “I’ve been drunk for about a week now, and I thought it might sober me up to sit in a library” (46).  As the night progresses, people get drunker and begin acting completely out of control.

Awkward Moment  Nick meets a man that served in the same army division as him during the war.  Nick has an entire conversation with Gatsby without realizing it and then puts his foot in his mouth: “This is an unusual party for me. I haven’t even seen the host” (47).  Gatsby tries to smooth everything over before his butler comes and gets him and tells him he has a call from Chicago.

Man of Mystery  No one seems to really know anything about Gatsby.  He claims he was an Oxford man, though Jordan doesn’t believe it.  He seemed to “drift coolly out of nowhere and buy a palace on Long Island Sound” (49).  Jordan claims that she likes large parties because “they’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy” (49). What does she mean by that?

The end approaches  Gatsby seemed to keep himself separate from everyone else and he was the only one not drinking.  Gatsby’s butler comes and gets Jordan because Gatsby wants to speak with her. She has no clue why.  As the end of the night approaches, couples are arguing all over the place. The main argument is about whether they have to leave or not.  Jordan returns and claims that she has “just heard the most amazing thing” (52); however, she isn’t supposed to tell anyone. She does tell Nick how to get in contact with her if he so wishes.

An amusing end  Nick is one of the last to leave and makes plans to go with Gatsby in his hydroplane the next morning.  As Nick leaves, he sees that a car has wrecked outside and a wheel has broken off. The owl-eyed man was the passenger.  The driver was too drunk to understand what had happened. He thought he ran out of gas and then thought that the wheel just could be popped back on.  Gatsby seems very isolated as he observes all of this from his porch.

A Normal Day  The events discussed so far are several weeks apart.  Most days, Nick went to work, ate lunch with colleagues, had dinner at the Yale Club, and then studied investments and securities at the library.  He had “a short affair with a girl who lived in Jersey City” but broke it off when her brother got involved (56).  He was lonely, though he was starting to like New York.

Incurably Dishonest  Nick and Jordan meet up again partway through the summer.  Jordan is surrounded by scandal. She was accused of moving her ball during a tournament, though it was never proven. She also left the top down on a borrowed car that got ruined by rain and lied about it.  Jordan “avoided clever, shrewd men” (57); why?  She was “incurably dishonest” (58).  Jordan is not careful at all and assumes everyone will stay out of her way.

Yin and Yang  “I hate careless people. That’s why I like you” (58). What does Jordan mean by this?  Nick is not sure of his exact feelings for Jordan, but he does like her. However, he first has to get himself “out of that tangle back home” (58). He’s still been writing the other girl.  “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (59).