The Great Gatsby Chapter 1 Summary

Summary: Tensions finally come to a head when Tom and Gatsby finally confront each other. Gatsby has become obsessed with Daisy, canceling his lavish parties and replacing his servants with bodyguards connected to Wolfshiem. In mid-summer, Nick visits Tom and Daisy, only to find Gatsby and Jordan there as well. Daisy complains about the heat, and asks about going into town and getting a hotel suite, which Tom aggressively champions, wanting a chance to confront Gatsby. On the way, Tom finds out that Wilson knows about his wife’s infidelity, but not the identity of her lover. In the suite, Tom accuses Gatsby of being a bootlegger and a pretty thief, taunting him that he and Daisy share history that Gatsby does not even know about. Despite Gatsby's

Daisy and Tom quickly move and do not leave a forwarding address, while Wolfsheim politely refuses to go to Gatsby’s funeral. Only a few people show up to Gatsby’s funeral, such as Nick, Owl Eyes, a few servants, and Henry Gatz, Gatsby’s father. Gatz is proud of his son, and recounts how he was always destined for great things. In the city, Nick encounters Tom, who does not appear to know that Daisy was the one who hit Myrtle, saying that he told Wilson who owned the car because he felt Gatsby deserved it. Disgusted with the lifestyle of lies and shallowness in the East, Nick decides to move west, breaking off relations with an angry Jordan, and wondering how Gatsby must have had such hope when he made it to New York, just like the original Dutch

While he loves his family, Gatz and his wife ran a strict household, and moved frequently from farm to farm. Nevertheless, Gatz was always proud of Gatsby, despite all the rumors. In the plot, Gatz serves as a reminder of what Gatsby was able to accomplish, going from being a poor farm boy to a multi-millionaire. Gatz also served as an example of Gatsby’s genuine generosity for the ones he loved, such as how Gatsby bought Gatz an entire house as a gift. Most of all, Nick is able to get a glimpse of what the real James Gatz and Jay Gatsby were like, from Gatz’s stories, as well as his own kind and hard working personality.

Quote: “He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city” (Fitzgerald