The Great Gatsby Chapter 1 Summary

In this chapter we meet the narrator, Nick, who starts off by sharing some useful beliefs that his father taught him and that he now tries to adhere to. His father taught him to not be judgmental and to reserve his judgments about other people because if he holds others up to his own moral standards, he will misunderstand them. Nick then mentions Gatsby, who represents everything he scorns, yet he says exempts him from his usual judgments; holding true to his father’s beliefs about not judging others. Then we find out that Nick is part of the Caraway Clan, a clan that is wealthy and has lots of class. After graduating from New Haven, Nick moved to the East, to the village of West Egg, Long Island, so he could work in the bond business. His

Where as West Egg is home to the “new rich” or those who have just recently worked hard and earned money, those who live at East Egg are the “old money” or the people that have inherited their money. East Egg is the more fashionable of the two and is also where Nick’s second cousin once removed, Daisy, lives. Nick goes to East Egg to visit the beautiful Daisy, and her husband Tom Buchanan, who he knew in college. He gets a firsthand experience of their complicated relationship and sees how roughly Tom, a physically powerful man, treats Daisy. Jordan Baker, Daisy’s friend who is also at the house, reveals to Nick that Tom is having an affair, which practically everyone knows about. When Nick finally arrives home, he sees Gatsby for the first time, standing on the lawn with his arms mysteriously reaching out toward the dark

She thinks that if her daughter is a "fool," she will be blind to the problems around her, and live a life of ignorant bliss because she doesn’t know any better. When you start to question things and become aware of all these problems life is much more complicated. This goes with the cliché saying “what she doesn't know won't hurt her.” This quote is significant because it shows that Daisy is not a fool. Most of the time she pretends to be one to and adhere to society’s standards about women. Her husband is cheating on her and their marriage is falling to pieces but yet she still stands by him and pretends it’s not. She knows that society doesn't value intelligence in women but their looks and 'simplicity' and is treated like a piece of property by her husband. Daisy conforms to this standard and will most likely try to keep doing so throughout the novel. She wept when she found out her baby was a girl because she knew that her life would be very difficult in this time period. That is why she wanted her daughter to be a true fool so she could have a painless life. This quote really helps show Daisy’s motives and why she acts like she