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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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"?