An Unexpected Party
For the most part, Gatsby's chapters center on parties: chapter one features that little soiree at the Buchanan place, chapter two that violent debauch at Tom and Myrtle's "love shack" (baby), and chapter three the first of several bashes at Gatsby's mansion (and a few days after it).
When I go to a party, I go with a few questions in mind:
It starts with a demand. "We're getting off. I want you to meet my girl." And Tom pulls Nick off the train into the Valley of Ashes under the unoccupied eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. The meet Myrtle and are soon buying a dog.
That dog, if you'll allow me a digression, is the only character in this book for whom I have genuine sympathy. I can imagine that dog being more or less alone in that hot apartment for days on end. Alone. And no one should whimsically purchase a dog! Poor puppers.
Then, Tom and Myrtle, ahem, disappear, ahem, into another room. Nick goes to buy cigarettes, which, apparently, were a staple item back in the day. You must have heard stories of people going to "buy cigarettes" and then simply not returning. This is certainly a possibility for Nick, but he returns because he either a. lacks imagination, b. lacks initiative, c. is just plain stupid, d. likes being a third wheel, or e. likes intrigue just as much as Jordan Baker does. (Choose all that apply.)
Of course, some of you may be saying, "He probably could have or should have confronted his college pal about the questionable morality of his actions." Maybe. I don't think that sort of thing is in Nick, though.
Things start escalating on page 37. Nick is sitting with Myrtle's sister Catherine (who seems have have one the "better named sister" competition). Myrtle gets profane when the subject of the man she's married comes up.
Nick: this is the time to leave--but that's a pro move. I don't expect that much of you.
On page 41 the party seems to be dying and he's wiping dried shaving cream off the face of a man he's sitting with.
Nick: that's a sign you've been at the party too long. If you are seated next to a man who cannot adequately groom himself, you are in the wrong place.
Soon, of course, Tom hits Myrtle. Breaks her nose. Blood everywhere.
Nick, of course, leaves then--but that's a no-brainer. A savvy person has been gone at least an hour before that. A really savvy person never showed up.
Nick shows that he, to quote John Mulaney's father, has "the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair." When I get to this point in the novel, I often wonder what it is about Nick that makes Tom waht his company, want his approval! I also want to turn to the last thirty pages of the book and watch Nick grow.
When I go to a party, I go with a few questions in mind:
- Where's the dip?
- How's the dip?
- When should I dip?
It starts with a demand. "We're getting off. I want you to meet my girl." And Tom pulls Nick off the train into the Valley of Ashes under the unoccupied eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. The meet Myrtle and are soon buying a dog.
That dog, if you'll allow me a digression, is the only character in this book for whom I have genuine sympathy. I can imagine that dog being more or less alone in that hot apartment for days on end. Alone. And no one should whimsically purchase a dog! Poor puppers.
Then, Tom and Myrtle, ahem, disappear, ahem, into another room. Nick goes to buy cigarettes, which, apparently, were a staple item back in the day. You must have heard stories of people going to "buy cigarettes" and then simply not returning. This is certainly a possibility for Nick, but he returns because he either a. lacks imagination, b. lacks initiative, c. is just plain stupid, d. likes being a third wheel, or e. likes intrigue just as much as Jordan Baker does. (Choose all that apply.)
Of course, some of you may be saying, "He probably could have or should have confronted his college pal about the questionable morality of his actions." Maybe. I don't think that sort of thing is in Nick, though.
Things start escalating on page 37. Nick is sitting with Myrtle's sister Catherine (who seems have have one the "better named sister" competition). Myrtle gets profane when the subject of the man she's married comes up.
Nick: this is the time to leave--but that's a pro move. I don't expect that much of you.
On page 41 the party seems to be dying and he's wiping dried shaving cream off the face of a man he's sitting with.
Nick: that's a sign you've been at the party too long. If you are seated next to a man who cannot adequately groom himself, you are in the wrong place.
Soon, of course, Tom hits Myrtle. Breaks her nose. Blood everywhere.
Nick, of course, leaves then--but that's a no-brainer. A savvy person has been gone at least an hour before that. A really savvy person never showed up.
Nick shows that he, to quote John Mulaney's father, has "the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair." When I get to this point in the novel, I often wonder what it is about Nick that makes Tom waht his company, want his approval! I also want to turn to the last thirty pages of the book and watch Nick grow.
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