The Great Gatsby (Blog 7)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

I was shocked to learn about Gatsby and Daisy's past in chapter 4!  The "secret" that Gatsby built up was not anything as serious as I thought expected it to be.  When Nick makes Gatsby go with him to greet Tom Buchanan at the restaurant, I was confused as to why Gatsby got so embarrassed that he walked away.  Nick seems just as surprised as I was when Jordan Baker tells him the whole story of Gatsby and Daisy.  Jordan noticed the way that Gatsby looked at Daisy the first day she saw him.  "'The officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at some time, and because it seemed romantic to me I have remembered the incident ever since.  His name was Jay Gatsby, and I didn't lay eyes on him again for over four years-even after I'd met him on Long Island I didn't realize it was the same man'" (Fitzgerald, 75).  When Jordan proceeds to explain Daisy's meltdown before her wedding to Tom, I instantly figured that she must have realized she was really in love with Gatsby (although she hadn't seen him in years).  Jordan also mentions Daisy's reaction to Nick's speaking of Gatsby when he visited the Buchanan house in East Egg just six weeks earlier.  "'...-I was half asleep-she said in the strangest voice that it must be the man she used to know.  It wasn't until then that I connected this Gatsby to the officer in her white car'" (Fitzgerald, 77).  I found it interesting that Gatsby never gave up on reconnecting with Daisy; he constantly hoped that she would end up arriving at one of his parties.  He even bought his house in West Egg to be closer to her.  When he asked his guests if they knew her, he was excited to find that Jordan did.  This is the long conversation that the two must have shared in solitude at his party.  Daisy seems extremely lonely in her marriage, and I do not think she is happy at all.  (Not to mention, Daisy's husband is a complete jerk!)  Gatsby also seems like he isn't completely satisfied with his life.  I really would like to see the two of them find happiness together!  I have regained respect for Jay Gatsby at this point in the book.  In addition, I hope his reunion with Daisy at Nick's house goes well.

Side Note:  I was really surprised and excited at the sudden change in Jordan and Nick's relationship!