The Great Gatsby (Blog 12)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

I honestly could not put this book down while I read chapter 7!  It was so eventful, and I didn't expect any of this to happen.  On what is said to be the hottest day of the summer, Nick, Gatsby, and Jordan join the Buchanan couple at their house for lunch.  There is much tension building up during this lunch.  Daisy and Gatsby do a terrible job of hiding their love for each other.  As a result, Tom sees Daisy tell Gatsby that she loves him.  "She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw.  He was astounded.  His mouth opened a little, and he looked at Gatsby, and then back at Daisy as if he had just recognized her as some one he knew a long time ago" (Fitzgerald, 119).  Tom is infuriated, and he tells everyone that they are going into town.  Once in town, they decide to go up to a suite in the Plaza, where matters only get worse.  Gatsby has the nerve to confront Tom about his wife.  (Bad idea, old sport.)  As if he isn't already crazy enough, Tom explodes and goes off on Gatsby.  He says that Daisy does love him, and no one can understand their relationship.  I was so shocked when Daisy defended Tom!  News flash, Daisy: your husband is crazy, and everyone hates him.  Just earlier in the afternoon, she was telling Gatsby how much she loved him.  Make up your mind, Daisy!

After leaving the hotel, Nick, Tom, and Jordan notice that someone has been struck and killed by a car.  A man named Michaelis informs them that Myrtle Wilson is the victim.  It was a hit and run accident, so the scene is especially hectic.  Nick quickly connects the dots and discovers that Gatsby and Daisy were the ones that hit her.  After leaving the tragic scene, Nick returns to the Buchanan's house.  Gatsby tells Nick what happened.  Daisy was the one driving, but Gatsby says that he is going to take the blame.  I would say that this chapter offered a lot to take in!  I think that Gatsby will come forth and confess to the crime for Daisy.  This will probably land him in jail.  I also am predicting that Daisy and Tom are going to be fine again.  This is because Daisy was acting completely normal while talking and eating with him in her room after the accident.  I am not a big fan of Daisy Buchanan anymore!

P.S.  I love Nick Carraway's sense of humor!  "Angry as I was, as we all were, I was tempted to laugh whenever he opened his mouth.  The transition from libertine to prig was so complete" (Fitzgerald, 130).  This was Nick's description of witnessing Tom's crazy outbreak.  I thought this quote was really clever and funny!