The Great Gatsby

Gatsby stops throwing lavish parties, thereby ending his time as “Trimalchio.” Occasionally, automobiles pull up to the house only to realize that there is nothing there for them.

Concerned that Gatsby may be sick, Nick goes over to visit. He encounters an unfamiliar servant and learns that Gatsby replaced all his servants with people who are rumored not to be servants at all. They are relatives who used to run a hotel, whom Wolfsheim wanted to help for some mysterious reason.

Soon after Nick’s attempted visit, Gatsby calls and asks him to lunch at Daisy’s house along with Jordan. Gatsby and Nick arrive to find Daisy and Jordan lying motionless on a couch. Meanwhile, Tom is on the phone with someone in front of Daisy. Jordan mentions that it is probably “Tom’s girl.” Daisy’s young daughter appears briefly, but the nanny quickly escorts her away. Later, when Tom isn’t looking, Gatsby and Daisy kiss in front of Jordan and Nick.

Tom is intent on showing his dominance in comparison to Gatsby. Daisy suggests that they all drive into “town.” Tom suggests that he will drive Gatsby’s car while Gatsby drives one of Tom’s. Daisy insists on riding with Gatsby while Nick and Jordan go with Tom.

Tom is enraged by the way the groups have split. He tries to engage Nick on the subject, but Nick plays dumb. Tom explains that he doubts Gatsby spent time at Oxford and says that he has people looking into Gatsby’s background.

Running low on gas, Tom and his companions stop at George’s garage to refuel. While there, Tom is startled to hear George say that he and Myrtle plan to move West. George’s insistence on this point signals that he knows about her affair. Recognizing this, Tom tells George that he will send over the car he plans to sell the next day.

Before they leave, Nick notices Myrtle peering at them from the garage’s windows. She mistakes Jordan for Tom’s wife and looks furiously jealous. As they drive off, Tom panics: both Daisy and Myrtle are, for the moment, out of his control.

To escape the extraordinarily hot weather, the group reunites in a hotel in New York. Tom mocks Gatsby for his frequent use of the phrase “old sport,” labeling it an affectation. Tom then challenges Gatsby about whether he went to Oxford. Eager to avoid a conflict, Gatsby concedes that he was only there for a short time after the war.

Determined to provoke Gatsby, Tom angrily accuses him of trying to steal his wife. Gatsby retaliates, insisting that Daisy has only ever loved Gatsby. When Tom presses Daisy on the issue, she admits that she loves Gatsby and never loved Tom. She and Gatsby vow that she will leave Tom.

At this, Tom confronts Gatsby about his alleged alcohol bootlegging enterprise. This revelation, which appears to be true, is jarring to Daisy. Finally back in control, Tom insists that they all return home. He also insists that Daisy and Gatsby ride together, this time in Gatsby’s car. As they all leave, Nick suddenly remembers that today is his 30th birthday. In a moment of foreshadowing, Nick says that they “drove on toward death through the cooling twilight” (144).

The death in question turns out to be that of Myrtle Wilson, who was struck by the car containing Daisy and Gatsby prior to the rest of the group’s arrival at the hotel. As they drive by the scene of the accident, George’s friend Michaelis tells them the accident happened after bizarre behavior between George and Myrtle. When Myrtle escaped and ran into the street, a speeding vehicle struck her.

Tom, Nick, and Jordan see George is standing in shock over the body. At Tom’s insistence, George allows some reluctant bystanders to lead him to his shop. Fearing that George mistook the car for one of his own, Tom shifts suspicion to an unknown suspect without explaining who was in the car or to whom it belonged.

As they leave, Tom whispers that Gatsby is a coward for not stopping. At the Buchanans’ residence, Daisy is home but Gatsby is nowhere to be seen. Tom and Jordan enter, but Nick is too disgusted and remains outside.

In the bushes of the driveway, Nick encounters Gatsby who is waiting to watch over Daisy. He hid the car in his garage. Gatsby reveals that Daisy was behind the wheel during the accident, and he is committed to helping her conceal her responsibility. Nick wonders what Tom would think if he knew that Daisy was the driver.