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The Great Gatsby Chapter 1 Summary

2470 Words10 Pages

Joshua Myerson
Ms. Perry
MYP Eng II Ap Lang
11 May 2016
Chapter I
Chapter Summary: Chapter one of the book, “The Great Gatsby”, introduces the narrator, Nick Carraway, describes how the events took place in the years following World War I. The narrator begins to tell how his family was from the Middle West and moved to Long Island. Nick then rents a house that is by large mansions - owned by Jay Gatsby - which reminds him of his wealthy family. Nick is then invited to his cousin Daisy and Tom Buchanan’s home for dinner. Nick reveals that he and Tom went to college together and that Tom still has an aggressive appearance. When Nick returns home from dinner he sees his neighbor Jay Gatsby stretching his arms out towards a green light at the end …show more content…

Nick then describes a place called the valley of ashes where everything is gray and lifeless. He then describes a billboard for an optometrist, Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. This billboard features a pair of giant eyes that appear to be looking down on the people below them. When the train reaches the valley Tom tells Nick that they are disembarking the train so Nick can meet his girlfriend and Tom makes no effort to hide the fact that he is cheating on Daisy. The two men walk over to a repair garage and meet George Wilson, whose wife, Myrtle, Tom is cheating on with. Tom then persuades Myrtle to come to New York City with him and Nick. When the group reaches New York City it is revealed that Tom and Myrtle have an apartment. Later that night Myrtle invites her sister and neighbors to a party, where Tom and Myrtle begin to argue about Daisy, resulting in Tom hitting Myrtle’s nose.
Character Study - Myrtle Wilson: “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman” (34). Myrtle is attracted to dominate men, who in turn are unfortunately abusive and aggressive towards her. Myrtle is also not very intelligent, or she would have been able to tell that her relationships were at no benefit to her. Her role in the book is as Tom’s girlfriend who try to rise above her social

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