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STUDYWORLD STUDYNOTES

The Great Gatsby

 

Comprehensive Summary and Review of Chapter 5

Summary:

On the day that Gatsby and Daisy are to meet, Gatsby has arranged everything to perfection. They start at Nick's home, where the conversation between the three (Nick, Gatsby, Daisy) is stilted and awkward. They are all embarrassed, and Nick tells Gatsby that he's behaving like a little boy.

They go over to Gatsby's house, where Gatsby gives a tour. Nick asks Gatsby more questions about his business, and he snaps back "that's my affair," before giving a half-hearted explanation. Gatsby shows Daisy newspaper clippings about his exploits, and has Ewing Klipspringer, a boarder, play the piano for them.

One of the notable mementos that Gatsby shows Daisy is a photograph of him with Dan Cody, his closest friend, on a yacht. As they leave, Carraway realizes that there must have been moments when Daisy disappointed Gatsby during the afternoon, for his dreams and illusions had been built up to such grandiose levels.

Review:

The fact that Gatsby thinks of offering a job to Nick in return for arranging the meeting with Daisy for him, is indicative of how he views people and relationships. Gatsby believes that favors need to be bought and are not the result of friendship.

The amount of preparation that Gatsby puts into his afternoon with Daisy borders on grand obsession ­ Gatsby even arranges aspects of Nick's home for him ­ but there are still unexpected inconveniences such as rain to spoil Gatsby's intended perfection.

The afternoon is an ostentatious display of wealth. The dozens of shirts and other piles of clothing are signs of conspicuous consumption, and Gatsby himself is dressed in gold and silver. Every detail is meant to impress, including the newspaper clippings and the picture of Gatsby in yachting costume.

Gatsby himself is incredibly nervous during the entire meeting. In previous chapters he has been consistently calm and composed, yet he breaks his composure when he meets Daisy, behaving in a sullen and withdrawn manner. This change in character is highlighted by the exchange between Nick and Gatsby when Nick scolds him for acting immature. This is the first instance in which Nick assumes a role equal to Gatsby. Gatsby further displays a tremendous sense of self-doubt and uncharacteristic anger, indicating that there is information concerning his affair with Daisy that he has not let Nick know.

Daisy herself plays a minor role in the entire ordeal. Her reactions to the display and pageantry that Gatsby has prepared for her are less important than the display itself. Rather, she is overwhelmed by the display, at a loss for words when shown the piles of multicolored shirts.

The chapter continues to provide evidence that Gatsby has not been truthful about his origins. Although he had earlier claimed to inherit his money, he admits that it took him years to earn enough money to buy his mansion. When Nick catches him on this, he again offers a halfhearted explanation, and is vague when explaining his business (he claims to have been in the drug business and the oil business, but is no longer in either).

Clocks are a recurring object in this chapter. Carraway says of Gatsby that "he was running down like an over-wound clock," while Gatsby nearly breaks Nick's clock out of anxiety when they first meet Daisy at Nick's home. They highlight the importance of time in the novel. It is quite significant for Gatsby that years (five years in November, as he precisely notes) had passed since he last saw Daisy.

The song that Klipspringer plays for Gatsby and Daisy is significant. The lyrics "In the morning, In the evening, Ain't we got fun‹" indicate a joy and carefree spirit which is opposite to the atmosphere that seems to prevail between Gatsby and Daisy's reunion. The lyrics "the rich get richer and the poor get‹" also are significant, bringing in issues of money and class that are omnipresent throughout the novel.

There is also the sense of inevitable disappointment inherent in the meeting between Gatsby and Daisy which Nick realizes upon the end of the day. Gatsby has been planning for this moment for years; no matter how well the meeting had gone, it could not fulfill the grand dreams that he has created for himself. This highlights an important aspect of Gatsby's character: he has an inability to conceive of anything in less than grandiose terms, whether parties, business arrangements or meetings with an old flame.