Chapter Two

English Literature Homework
Reading Journal – ‘The Great Gatsby’ Chapter Two

This chapter starts off with Nick’s point of view about the setting. He talks about New York City in complete contrast to the luxuries he described in the previous chapter about the East and West Egg. As him and Tom drive to their destination, he describes what he sees as a ‘dismal scene’. He also talks about - ‘a line of grey cars… gives out a ghastly creak… ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud’, which consists of a variety of negative descriptions and giving the impression of a not so well-off neighbourhood. Nick’s voice influences the reader’s response - to think that it is a poor and rough environment, one that he is not used to.

Nick knew of course that he was going to meet Tom’s mistress. Before going on their way, Tom told him – ‘I want you to meet my girl’. This is an extremely interesting use of language as he views her as a girl and not a woman and the use of the possessive pronoun – my, seems like he just views her as a property, one he can easily have and one he can easily dispose of. Nick’s description of the neighbourhood Tom’s mistress lives in is probably an insight to what kind of person she’s like. Nick does not know this at the time but his tone seems curious and a bit confused as he describes the place, probably thinking why Tom would pick a woman with no status and of a completely opposite background to his sophisticated life.

More characters are introduced and described in this chapter including Wilson and his wife Myrtle, whom we find out, is Tom’s mistress. Wilson doesn’t really say a lot when Nick meets him but he gives a distinct impression of himself through his actions and the way he responds to the people around him.

When Wilson complains about not getting the car Tom promised for him for his garage on time, Tom threatens to stop the deal and Wilson corrects himself quickly by saying ‘I don’t mean that’. Through this, I can tell that Tom has complete control over him. His authority demeans Wilson because without him, Wilson would be out of business. This also gives light not only to Nick but also the readers, as to why Tom would pick Myrtle out of all the women he could have as his mistress. Knowing that they are poor, he is the only one whom Myrtle and his husband depends on and he likes the feeling of power, which reinforces the way he was described in the first chapter - strong, intimidating and superior.

Wilson of course, is completely clueless to Tom and Myrtle’s relationship. Even if he suspects it, Wilson depends on Tom and probably doesn’t want to voice out his suspicions in fear of getting on the wrong side of him. Also, Myrtle seems in control of their marriage because when she orders him to get some chairs for their visitors, Wilson agreed ‘hurriedly’, just to please her and as if to avoid an argument. Again, this could be another reason why he doesn’t want to let Myrtle know of any possible suspicions. This theme of relationships carries on from chapter one and it seems that because of the affair, both marriages are affected and both marriages seem to be on rocky ground.

Myrtle is also described in detail when Nick first meets her. As she comes into the room, Nick says that she ‘contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her’. He doesn’t find her attractive but I can tell that he understands why Tom would be drawn to her. In my opinion, at that moment in time he was still reserving judgements. We do not really get an opinion from him whether he likes her or not.

Another comparison is made between the different lifestyles, not just with New York City and West/East Egg but also with Daisy and Myrtle; a very vague comparison, which I think Fitzgerald deliberately put in to show a deep contrast between the two women. Myrtle says to Tom – ‘I’d like to get one of those police dogs’, which shows that she likes the feeling of getting what she wants from Tom. It’s a completely different world to the life she leads with her husband. Nick spends a lot of time describing this scene and I think its relevance is to compare Myrtle’s desires to what Daisy actually gets. A dog would be nothing compared to what Daisy is entitled to being Tom’s wife.

‘At 158th Street, the cab stopped at one slice in a long white cake of apartment houses. Throwing a regal homecoming glance, Mrs Wilson… went haughtily in’. This quote describes a completely new setting and emphasises irony. White cakes are usually connected to weddings, although Tom and Myrtle aren’t married. Nick’s description makes me think, as a reader, that he finds it ironic himself that Myrtle would have picked this place for her apartment. The word ‘regal’ also connects to royalty or of the rich and sophisticated – traits that Myrtle does not possess. Again, this shows what Daisy has that she hasn’t. All Myrtle has is a place where she can pretend everything is different to what her life really is. It’s a place for her escape.

‘With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change… converted into impressive hauteur’. This extract talks about how Myrtle has changed her outfit since arriving to the apartment. It shows that there, she is in her element. Looking glamorous makes her feel comfortable in her own place. Nick also describes that she is wearing an ‘elaborate dress… which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room’. She sounds a bit too overdressed and the sound of her dress makes everyone notice her. This states that she likes being the centre of attention.

As the day progresses, the readers get the feeling that Nick doesn’t really like her much. He says – ‘as she expanded the room grew smaller around her until she seemed to be revolving on a noisy, creaky pivot through smoky air’. The word expanded shows that he thinks she likes to take over and shows that she wants to be dominant, again reinforcing her need for attention. The negative adjectives like noisy, smoky and creaky shows Nick’s very dim and negative view of her. She might look glamorous on the outside, but her personality isn’t very attractive. The use of language in the quote – ‘the room grew smaller’, suggests that Nick might have felt really small, as if with her around, everyone else including him have to be shunted to the background.

We find out more about Tom in this chapter as well. Tom tells Myrtle that she doesn’t have the right to mention Daisy’s name and when Myrtle insists, he ‘broke her nose with his open hand’. This shows violence on his behalf. He doesn’t just look violent, his actions also prove it. In the first chapter, he bruised Daisy’s finger, which you could argue was a clue to this upcoming event.

The scene that follows after has a great deal of meaning. Fitzgerald uses Nick to convey a description full of interesting use of language. Nick describes the scene like he is just watching and not doing anything to help, because he is too drunk. ‘… His wife and Catherine scolding and consoling and they stumbled here and there among the crowded furniture’ is a quote describing the complete chaos. Scolding and consoling are both contrasting words, which could mean that they are all so shocked and drunk that they don’t know what to do or could suggest Nick’s confusion about the whole thing.

He also describes Myrtle as ‘the despairing figure on the couch, bleeding fluently, and trying to spread a copy of Town Tattle over the tapestry scenes of Versailles’. This shows Myrtle trying to shield the important artwork with a gossip magazine of some sort. Again, this is quite ironic because it is as if at this point, her pretend glamorous life (symbolised by the artwork) is being covered by the unimportant issue, which represents her actual life. Tom’s actions towards her brings it back to reality that he’s not hers, and her life is not yet as secure with Tom as she wants it to be.

The use of time throughout the chapter is chronological up until this point. Everything is going smoothly and Nick is explaining the events in time order. After Tom hurts Myrtle, he suddenly becomes too drunk to realise what happens in what order. He describes the next couple of things in a very vague manner, suggesting that he remembers some things but not in full detail and he doesn’t know exactly what happened when. The ellipses towards the end of the chapter also suggest that there were moments in time when he didn’t have a clue where he was or what he did.