1. The first chapter in any book is the basis for the entire story. It must lay the foundation of how its literary world will function, providing depth and order. The Great Gatsby is no different as the first chapter introduces the characters and setting for the story. A crucial point is when Tom and Daisy ask Nick about a rumored engagement. He dismisses it as fiction, but is touched they asked him about it, saying it “made them less remotely rich”.
2. Nick is searching for something having just come back from war. He states he is restless and that the Middle West now seems “like the ragged edge of the universe”. To quell this agitation, Nick travels east to learn the bond business. Once there, he feels the “familiar conviction that life was beginning over again”.
3. Tom Buchanan is the husband of Nick’s cousin Daisy and is a man of considerable wealth. Even in the past “his freedom with money was a matter of reproach”. He is a physically imposing man, with “a body capable of enormous leverage – a cruel body”. Tom has “two shining arrogant
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When Nick goes to the Buchanan’s he meets another guest named Jordan Baker. Miss Baker is a model that Nick eventually remembers he has seen on advertisements for “sporting life”. He enjoyed looking at her, noting her “gray sun-stained eyes”. Miss Baker’s only family it seems is an elderly aunt, and through a friendship with Daisy she will be spending time at the Buchanan’s residence.
5. As Nick explains the setting for this tale, he frequently mentions a person known as Gatsby, and later Miss Baker refers to him as well. Towards the close of the chapter we see Gatsby for the first time as Nick sits outside after his dinner. Their properties are waterfront, and Mr. Gatsby stands out by the water. Nick believes him to be trembling, and he reaches out towards the water. The reason for this is beyond Nick and he searches the sea for something. Finding nothing beyond a small green light, he realizes Mr. Gatsby has