Nick
"It was a body capable of enormous leverage - a cruel body." -Chapter 1
• This diminutive sized quote sums up the advantage Tom had with his appearance. At Gatsby’s party Daisy was expressively uncomfortable because of Tom’s threatening body.
"It excited him too that many men had already loved Daisy -- it increased her
value in his eyes.’-Chapter 8
• This is the moment in the story when Nick let’s on that this chase for Daisy is more like a game. Yes, Gatsby loved her and fought for her for many years but he persistently views their love as a ‘game.’
"He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way...and distinguished nothing except a single green light" – Chapter 1
• This shows how Gatsby was motivated to achieve his goal, but not finding it to be within sensible reach.
Tom
"He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York. He's so dumb he doesn't know he's alive." -Chapter 2
• Ironically, this same circumstance in playing in Tom’s life. Putting down his mistress’s husband’s awareness of her whereabouts and intentions is exactly what Gatsby, later in the novel, will do to Tom’s face
"The idea is if we don't look out the white race will be utterly submerged. It's all scientific stuff; it's been proved" -Chapter 2
• This quote again demonstrates one of the main themes in The Great Gatsby, lack of the American Dream. Unawareness, and the idea of gathering wealth for oneself to show off had become prevailing. In the pure American Dream, motivation to achieve ones' own private goal was key
Myrtle
"'He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in, and never told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out...I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried...all afternoon.'"
Daisy
"She’s three.”-Chapter 1
• "In June 1922, Daisy claims that Pammy is three years old. Daisy married Tom Buchanan in June 1919. If Pammy is certainly is three years old Daisy would have been 9 months pregnant on her wedding day. I believe the sketchy age of the child is purposely planted to suggest Daisy's premarital promiscuity ... It might also be emphasized that Daisy's mistake in Pammy's age was intended to indicate her lack of interest to the child." (Bruccoli 38)
"Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss
it? I always watch for the longest day of the year and miss it." -Chapter 1
• This quote makes obvious the lack of purpose and pointless life in which the unfilled, wealthy society has turned in to
Gatsby
"No we couldn't meet. But both of us loved each other all that time, old sport,
and you didn't know. I used to laugh sometimes to think that you didn't know"-Chapter 7
• Daisy is not worthy of the platform on which Gatsby places her. Since she is empty at the center, which is placed on an idea and not reality or substance
“That huge place over there?' 'Do you like it?' ' I love it.”-Chapter 5
• Gatsby needed to have a massive manor so he could be self-assured enough to win Daisy. Having accessories of prosperity could even provoke feelings of love. Jay Gatsby had all the paraphernalia of wealth: a gigantic mansion, expensive clothes (which he also included in his meeting with Daisy)and a luxurious car. His bountiful gatherings were designed to impress and lore in Daisy.
Jordan
“Somebody told me that he killed a man once” -Chapter 3
• Superficial, dishonest people like Jordan Baker gossiped about their mystifying host. Their shallow attitudes and less then impressive behavior represent Fitzgerald's expression of the shady American Dream.
