3.5.1
Chapter Five
Chapter Five - Summary
Chapter Five - Summary
When Nick returns to West Egg that night, he is surprised to see Gatsby’s house 'blazing with light' as it seems that every room in the house was lit up.
Nick confesses about lunch
Nick confesses about lunch
- Gatsby then approaches Nick on the lawn and asks Nick to accompany him to Coney Island or to take a swim in the pool, but Nick points out that it is far too late and he needs to go to bed.
- Gatsby continues to look at Nick with 'suppressed eagerness', so Nick tells him that he has spoken to Jordan and has agreed to host the lunch where Daisy and Gatsby will meet. They agree that the lunch will take place 'the day after tomorrow'.
Gatsby's nerves for lunch
Gatsby's nerves for lunch
- On 'the day agreed upon', Gatsby is clearly overcome with nerves.
- Despite the rain, he sent a gardener to cut Nick’s lawn and arranges for the house to be decorated with flowers.
- Despite being dressed in his finest clothes ('a white flannel suit, silver shirt and gold-coloured tie'), Gatsby looks 'pale' and has 'dark signs of sleeplessness' beneath his eyes.
Gatsby's nerves in front of Daisy
Gatsby's nerves in front of Daisy
- Gatsby quickly leaves just as Daisy is arriving and reappears at the front door, 'pale as death'.
- Gatsby goes through to the living room where he meets Daisy. She is described as 'frightened but graceful', while Gatsby sheepishly says 'we’ve met before'.
- At this point, because of his nerves, he knocks a clock from the mantelpiece and catches it with 'trembling fingers'.
Gatsby's response to seeing Daisy
Gatsby's response to seeing Daisy
- Gatsby and Daisy are awkward and overly formal with each other, and at one point Gatsby follows Nick to the kitchen to tell him that this has been 'a terrible, terrible mistake'.
- Nick tells him that he is 'acting like a little boy' and sends him back to talk to her properly.
- Nick leaves the pair alone for half an hour and sees that they have gotten over the initial awkwardness of the meeting and that 'every vestige of embarrassment was gone'.
Tour of the house
Tour of the house
- Gatsby invites Nick and Daisy for a tour of his mansion, and Daisy is amazed by how 'huge' the house is.
- They begin their tour of the house and while looking through Gatsby’s extraordinarily large collection of luxurious clothes, she begins to 'cry stormily'.
Nick's thoughts on Daisy
Nick's thoughts on Daisy
- As the meeting comes to an end and it is time for Daisy to go home, Nick wonders to himself how Daisy could ever live up to Gatsby’s nostalgic vision of her: he thinks she must have 'tumbled short of his dreams' because of the 'colossal vitality of his illusion'.
- It seems that the intensity of Gatsby’s focus on his past relationship with Daisy prevents him from seeing who she really is, or how she may have changed during the years they have been apart.
Chapter Five - Analysis
Chapter Five - Analysis
In Chapter Five, Daisy and Gatsby are reunited.
Analysis of Gatsby's business offer
Analysis of Gatsby's business offer
- After Nick agrees to host Daisy and Gatsby's lunch, Gatsby offers Nick a secretive business opportunity but says it is 'a rather confidential sort of thing'.
- Nick declines the offer and does not want to hear anything else about it.
- Nick has helped Gatsby by arranging for him to meet Daisy, and Gatsby shows how corrupt he has become by his 'new money' lifestyle when he wants to repay Nick by inviting him to join in with a presumably criminal 'business' opportunity.
Analysis of Gatsby's nerves
Analysis of Gatsby's nerves
- Because of his nerves, Gatsby knocks a clock from the mantelpiece and catches it with 'trembling fingers'.
- Up until this point, Gatsby has maintained a calm and composed exterior, and the fact that he is overcome with nerves on that day that he is to be reunited with Daisy shows just how much she means to him.
- Perhaps the knocking over of the clock is symbolic of Gatsby’s desperate desire to turn back time in his relationship with Daisy.
Analysis of Daisy's breakdown
Analysis of Daisy's breakdown
- In Gatsby's bedroom, Daisy begins to 'cry stormily'.
- There are a number of reasons why Daisy may have had this breakdown in Gatsby’s bedroom: perhaps she is simply overcome with the memories of her previous love affair with Gatsby, or perhaps she is realising that Gatsby could have given her a life of luxury after all.
Analysis of the 'green light'
Analysis of the 'green light'
- At the end of the tour, Gatsby points out that it is possible to see the 'green light that burns all night' at the end of Daisy’s dock on the other side of the bay.
- This green light had, for so long, been his only connection to Daisy and was therefore extremely significant. But Nick now says that 'the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever' as the pair had been reunited.
1Specification Overview
1.1Specification Overview
2Context
3Plot Summary
3.1Chapter One
3.2Chapter Two
3.3Chapter Three
3.4Chapter Four
3.6Chapter Six
3.7Chapter Seven
3.8Chapter Eight
4Character Profiles
4.3Daisy Buchanan
4.5Minor Characters
5Key Ideas
6Writing Techniques
6.1Structure, Genre & Narrative Voice
7Love Through the Ages - Thematic Analysis
7.1Love Through the Ages
Jump to other topics
1Specification Overview
1.1Specification Overview
2Context
3Plot Summary
3.1Chapter One
3.2Chapter Two
3.3Chapter Three
3.4Chapter Four
3.6Chapter Six
3.7Chapter Seven
3.8Chapter Eight
4Character Profiles
4.3Daisy Buchanan
4.5Minor Characters
5Key Ideas
6Writing Techniques
6.1Structure, Genre & Narrative Voice
7Love Through the Ages - Thematic Analysis
7.1Love Through the Ages
Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring
Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home
Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs
30+ school subjects covered