3.8.1

Chapter Eight

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Chapter Eight - Gatsby's Relationship with Daisy

After a sleepless night, Nick goes to Gatsby’s house for breakfast. Gatsby says that he waited at Daisy’s house until 4am, but 'nothing happened' so he came home. Gatsby then recounts the story of his relationship with Daisy.

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Gatsby meets and 'takes' Daisy

  • Originally, he found her 'excitingly desirable' because of her wealth and status.
  • Although Gatsby was, at the time, a 'penniless young man', he 'let her believe that he was a person from much the same strata as herself' and, 'one still October night', he 'took' her, meaning they slept together.
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Gatsby's beliefs about her marriage

  • Gatsby had to leave to fight in the war, and Daisy waited for a while before she encountered Tom Buchanan and married him.
  • Gatsby thinks she chose to marry because of an eagerness to begin her life, and she chose Tom because of her love of money and an 'unquestionable practicality'.
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Analysis of the relationship

  • This background to Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship helps us to understand Gatsby’s actions.
  • Loving Daisy gave Gatsby an insight into a better life, and helped him develop his new identity as part of the 'new money' class.
  • It is noteworthy that Tom seems to have avoided becoming involved in WW1, presumably because of his wealth and status.
  • Meanwhile, 'penniless' Gatsby had no choice but to go and fight, so perhaps Fitzgerald is highlighting the unfairness of an unequal society.

Chapter Eight - Summary

After breakfast, Gatsby and Nick walk together in the garden. A gardener approaches Gatsby and informs him that he intends to drain the pool. Gatsby tells him to wait a while so that he can use it as he’s 'never used that pool all summer'.

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Nick leaves for work

  • Nick has to leave to go to work, and as he walks away from the house he shouts back to Gatsby that the others are a 'rotten crowd' and that Gatsby is 'worth the whole damn bunch put together'.
  • This is the first time Nick has ever complimented Gatsby and, in response, Gatsby’s face 'broke into that radiant and understanding smile', just like in happier times.
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Nick and Jordan's argument

  • While Nick is at work later that day, he receives a phone call from Jordan. They end up having an unpleasant argument and one of them hangs up, although Nick can’t recall who.
  • Nick realises he no longer cares about his relationship with Jordan.
  • Jordan represents a link to the 'old money' world of Tom and Daisy, and Nick no longer wants to be a part of it.
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Wilson's reaction to Myrtle's death

  • Nick then tells the story of how George Wilson reacted to the untimely death of his wife, Myrtle.
  • His neighbour, Michaelis, sits with him all night while George incoherently rambles on about how he believes the owner of the car that hit Myrtle was her secret lover.
  • He tells Michaelis how he had confronted her about the suspected infidelity.
  • Michaelis notices that, as Wilson is saying 'God sees everything', he is staring into the eyes of the Doctor T. J. Eckleburg advertisement. Wilson disappears later that morning.
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Gatsby's death

  • Later in the afternoon, Gatsby goes swimming in his pool, which he specifically requested not to be drained that day, and tells his butler to let him know if anyone calls for him, which nobody does.
  • Later that afternoon, one of Wolfsheim’s men and Nick find Gatsby shot dead in his pool, and the gardener sees Wilson’s body 'a little way off in the grass', also dead.

Chapter Eight - Analysis

In Chapter Eight, Gatsby discusses his past with Daisy. The chapter ends with the discovery of Gatsby's death.

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Significance of Gatsby's pool

  • Gatsby instructs his gardener not to drain his pool.
    • The pool becomes an important part of the plot later in the chapter, and Gatsby’s decision not to have it drained that day could be said to have deadly consequences.
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Nick's new attitude towards Gatsby

  • Nick tells Gatsby that the others are a 'rotten crowd' and that Gatsby is 'worth the whole damn bunch put together'.
    • Nick had always 'disapproved' of Gatsby and the way he lived his life: vast displays of wealth, questionable business associates and illicit love affairs, but now Nick has developed a respect for Gatsby’s pure love of Daisy. He realises just how 'rotten' everyone who has used him really is.
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Analysis of Wilson's response

  • Myrtle’s death has left George Wilson a broken man: he had little before, and now he has nothing at all.
  • Michaelis notices that, as Wilson is saying 'God sees everything', he is staring into the eyes of the Doctor T. J. Eckleburg advertisement. The connection between the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and God could be a sign that George is so grief-stricken that he has become confused. This is a clear sign that he is in a very poor mental state.
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Significance of the deaths

  • At the end of the chapter, one of Wolfsheim’s men and Nick find Gatsby shot dead in his pool, and the gardener sees Wilson’s body 'a little way off in the grass', also dead.
    • The reckless attitudes of the Roaring Twenties have brought about the destruction of almost every relationship: the Wilsons, Myrtle and Tom, Gatsby and Daisy, Nick and Jordan. The only union which remains is the one which is built on 'old money' values: Daisy and Tom.

Jump to other topics

1Specification Overview

1.1Specification Overview

2Context

3Plot Summary

4Character Profiles

5Key Ideas

6Writing Techniques

7Love Through the Ages - Thematic Analysis

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