The Great Gatsby: Chapter 7
- There is a sense of change in the novel, “the automobiles…drew sulkily away”
- Trimalchio was a servant who achieved great wealth and threw lavish parties. This was
Fitzgerald’s first and preferred title for the book
- There is a change in Gatsby, “Gatsby had dismissed every servant in his house a week ago”
- We see the continuation of Gatsby and Daisy’s affair, “Daisy comes over quite often-in the
afternoon”
- We see the insubstantiality of Gatsby’s dream, “the whole caravansary had fallen in like a
card house at the disapproval in her eyes.” This prepares the reader for the ending of the
novel
- At the beginning of this chapter we are introduced to the oppressive heat that will continue
throughout, “broiling”
- The reference to death, “The master’s body?” prepares the reader for the death of Myrtle
- The inertion of Daisy and Jordan, “lay upon an enormous couch” contrast with the vigour
and vitality of Myrtle. This description parallels with that in Chapter 1 and there are patterns
of repeat in the novel
- There is another echo of Chapter 1 when Jordan says, “The rumour is that that’s Tom’s girl
on the telephone”
- At this stage in the Chapter, Daisy sides with Gatsby, “she got up and went over to
Gatsby…kissing him on the mouth.” Here, Fitzgerald suggests the motional fickleness of
women
- Jordan’s attempt to be morally superior, “What a low, vulgar girl!” is undercut by the fact
that both she and Nick are complicit in the affair
- Daisy’s interaction with her child is awkward, “rooted shyly into her mother’s dress.” This
emphasises her lack of maternal instinct 9link to Zelda Fitzgerald)
- For Gatsby, the child is proof of the years he cannot wipe out, “I don’t think he ever really
believed in its existence before”
- Tom’s foolishness is illustrated, “I read somewhere that the sun’s getting hotter every
year…it’s just the opposite-the sun’s getting colder every year.”
- Daisy and Tom epitomise the lost generation, “What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon
and the day after that and the next thirty years?”
- This is the first time in the novel we see Daisy’s emotions, “on the verge of tears”
- Tom realises the truth about Daisy and Gatsby, “She had told him that she loved him and
Tom Buchanan saw.”
- However, Daisy doesn’t realise that Tom has recognised the truth, “You resemble the
advertisement of the man’, she went on innocently.”
- We see Tom’s aggression and anger and his desire for control, “His temper cracked a little.”
- The adverb “savagely” is used in preparation for Tom’s vicious attack on Gatsby
- Daisy symbolises wealth, “It was full of money.” For Gatsby, Daisy’s attraction is bound
together with her wealth and upbringing. The reference to the “king’s daughter” has
autobiographical links with Genevre King, Fitzgerald’s first girlfriend
- Tom makes a snide comment as his aggression turns on Gatsby, “You can buy anything at a
drug-store nowadays.”
- Tom associates Gatsby with the lower classes, “I’ll take you in this circus wagon.”
- There is a sense of change in the novel, “the automobiles…drew sulkily away”
- Trimalchio was a servant who achieved great wealth and threw lavish parties. This was
Fitzgerald’s first and preferred title for the book
- There is a change in Gatsby, “Gatsby had dismissed every servant in his house a week ago”
- We see the continuation of Gatsby and Daisy’s affair, “Daisy comes over quite often-in the
afternoon”
- We see the insubstantiality of Gatsby’s dream, “the whole caravansary had fallen in like a
card house at the disapproval in her eyes.” This prepares the reader for the ending of the
novel
- At the beginning of this chapter we are introduced to the oppressive heat that will continue
throughout, “broiling”
- The reference to death, “The master’s body?” prepares the reader for the death of Myrtle
- The inertion of Daisy and Jordan, “lay upon an enormous couch” contrast with the vigour
and vitality of Myrtle. This description parallels with that in Chapter 1 and there are patterns
of repeat in the novel
- There is another echo of Chapter 1 when Jordan says, “The rumour is that that’s Tom’s girl
on the telephone”
- At this stage in the Chapter, Daisy sides with Gatsby, “she got up and went over to
Gatsby…kissing him on the mouth.” Here, Fitzgerald suggests the motional fickleness of
women
- Jordan’s attempt to be morally superior, “What a low, vulgar girl!” is undercut by the fact
that both she and Nick are complicit in the affair
- Daisy’s interaction with her child is awkward, “rooted shyly into her mother’s dress.” This
emphasises her lack of maternal instinct 9link to Zelda Fitzgerald)
- For Gatsby, the child is proof of the years he cannot wipe out, “I don’t think he ever really
believed in its existence before”
- Tom’s foolishness is illustrated, “I read somewhere that the sun’s getting hotter every
year…it’s just the opposite-the sun’s getting colder every year.”
- Daisy and Tom epitomise the lost generation, “What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon
and the day after that and the next thirty years?”
- This is the first time in the novel we see Daisy’s emotions, “on the verge of tears”
- Tom realises the truth about Daisy and Gatsby, “She had told him that she loved him and
Tom Buchanan saw.”
- However, Daisy doesn’t realise that Tom has recognised the truth, “You resemble the
advertisement of the man’, she went on innocently.”
- We see Tom’s aggression and anger and his desire for control, “His temper cracked a little.”
- The adverb “savagely” is used in preparation for Tom’s vicious attack on Gatsby
- Daisy symbolises wealth, “It was full of money.” For Gatsby, Daisy’s attraction is bound
together with her wealth and upbringing. The reference to the “king’s daughter” has
autobiographical links with Genevre King, Fitzgerald’s first girlfriend
- Tom makes a snide comment as his aggression turns on Gatsby, “You can buy anything at a
drug-store nowadays.”
- Tom associates Gatsby with the lower classes, “I’ll take you in this circus wagon.”
