The Great Gatsby - Plot Summary

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The Great Gatsby - Plot Summary

Chapter 1

In chapter 1, we are introduced to Nick Carraway, who is the principal story-teller of The Great Gatsby. In his opening lines, Nick recalls  some advice from his father about not holding others to his own high standards. Though eloquently delivered, the self-assessment comes across as slightly condescending, with an air of false modesty. He alludes to Gatsby, who represents all the moral failings he detests...yet, he cannot hold him accountable on account of his otherwise attractive character. Nick offers a little background about returning from The Great War to his affluent family in the Mid-West. He decides to go in to selling bonds, and so moves to New York to work. Rather than live in the city, Nick locates himself on Long Island, on the newly fashionable West Egg side of the bay.   Nick's cousin, Daisy, lives in East Egg, married to Tom Buchanan - a descendant of the 'old money' families. Nick visits for dinner and is introduced to Jordan Baker, a wealthy golfer. Tom is a large and aggressive man, who espouses the racist views of a pseudo-scientific book by 'Goddard'. Later in the evening, Daisy and Tom fight because his mistress calls him on the home telephone. After an awkward end to the evening, Nick arrives home and catches a glimpse of his mysterious neighbor, Gatsby, as he stares out toward the shore. 

Chapter 2

Nick takes the train from Long Island into the city of New York. On the route is a vast area where the ash from the city is dumped. Overlooking this valley of the ashes is a large advertisement for an eye doctor in NYC. The enormous eyes of Dr T.J. Eckleberg watch the desolate scene, unblinkingly.  Also on the train is Tom Buchanan, who insists on taking Nick to meet his mistress. They call to a garage owned by George Wilson, whose wife, Myrtle, is having an affair with Tom. Making little disguise to hide their actions, Myrtle boards the train and heads to the city with Tom and Nick. They throw a party in the apartment Tom keeps for his mistress.  Drunk and gauche, Myrtle introduces a number of friends and neighbors who have various degrees of moral decrepitude. Rumors circulate about the infamous Gatsby, which further stir Nicks curiosity. Toward the end of the evening, Tom and Myrtle argue over Daisy. Despite a warning, Myrtle continues to say her name over and over. She is rewarded with a broken nose from the violent and chauvinistic Tom.  The neighbor, McKee offers to show Nick around some time, as they leave. Nick gets the 4am train home.  

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Chapter 3

One morning, Gatsby's butler appears at Nick's modest house, with an invitation to a party in Gatsby's, next door. Nick has heard of these parties as they are the talk of New York society. Through the day, Nick watches as caterers, chefs, delivery men, vintners and an orchestra arrive in preparation for this small get-together. That night, as Nick searches the house to thank his neighbor, he meets Jordan Baker again. Together, they tour the huge celebration where Nick hears more hearsay of a man he has never met. Some say he was a German spy, others say he fought in the American army. Jordan heard Gatsby once killed a man. A rumor circulates that he attended school at Oxford. They can't all be right. The mystery adds to the allure. Searching still, Nick finds a library with one drunken guest inside. 'Owl Eyes' marvels at the quality of the duplicity - a whole library, each book a genuine, but all remain unread. Later, as Nick talks to a handsome stranger, they recognize each other from the war. This man, it turns out, is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is charming, remaining sober to tend for his guests, and inflects the air of the upper-class. Jordan is called for a private meeting with the host and when she returns to claims to have heard something extraordinary that she cannot reveal. Gatsby is then called to the phone for a call from 'Chicago'. Leaving the party, Nick sees Owl Eyes who has crashed his car. The end of the chapter sees Nick describe his weekday life, between work and his integration to New York society. Following a brief relationship with Jersey girl, he begins a romance with Jordan Baker. 

Chapter 4

Time skips by and Nick describes the blur of parties held by his neighbor that summer. The guest list is a who's-who of the nation's movers & shakers.  One day. Gatsby offers to take Nick for lunch in the city. On the way, Jay Gatsby lists his extraordinary (and unlikely) accomplishments. He was educated at Oxford, claims to have been a big-game hunter, a collector of rare jewels and a war hero. His lineage, he says, is from a wealthy mid-western family. Hearing this, Nick asks where in the mid-west. The answer, confusingly, is San Francisco. When Jay notices Nick's skepticism, he shows him a picture of his cricket days at the illustrious British university and a medal presented by the government of Montenegro. Soon after, Jay is pulled over for speeding. Showing the Policeman a white card, the cop apologizes.  In the city, Nick is introduced to Meyer Wolfshiem. This is a criminal who is said to have fixed the 1919 World Series. These connections make Nick suspicious about Gatsby's wealth.  After lunch, Nick meets Jordan who tells him the secret she heard at the party. Jay was once stationed in Kentucky, where he had an intense romance with Daisy, before she was married. The war drove them apart, but the reason Jay bought his mansion in West Egg was to be close to Daisy. Nick is to help reintroduce Jay to his old flame. Remembering the first night he saw Gatsby looking over the bay, Nick now realizes that  his mansion looks across the water to that of Tom and Daisy Buchanan. 

Chapter 5

Arriving home to Long Island from his date with Jordan Baker, Nick is surprised to see Gatsby's house fully lit, yet empty. Jay sees him approach and rushes to meet him. Gatsby is nervous. He is talking quickly and trying to ingratiate Nick with offers of swims and other excursions.  Nick realizes that he is working is way up to asking the favor regarding Daisy.  Nick agrees to host the meeting and Jay is thrilled. He offers to send a gardener and a florist over to help beautify Nick's property. He then offers to help Nick make some money by cutting him in on a business deal, which he assures him is legitimate. Nick claims to be offended by the bribery.  On the day of the meeting, it is raining and Jay is terrified about the outcome. He worries that Daisy will reject him as soon as she sees him. When she arrives, Gatsby is nervous and clumsy and, at the beginning, the meeting is a shock to Daisy too. Nick leaves them alone for a while and, when he returns, he sees that the couple crying with happiness about their re-connection.  Jay takes them to tour his mansion, where he displays his wealth and projects visions of their future happiness. Nick, realizing his job is over, leaves them to be alone with each other. 

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 focuses on Jay Gatsby's early life. In the story-line, rumors continue to circulate and reporters are beginning to become intrigued by the Gatsby myth. Nick, as the book's writer, tells the true story of Jay Gatsby as he later learned it.  Jay Gatsby was born James Gatz, his family not from San Francisco, bu instead from rural North Dakota. After a brief period in a Minnesota college, where he worked as a janitor to pay his tuition, Gatz went to work on Lake Superior as a salmon fisherman. One day, there was yacht in the lake oblivious of an incoming storm. Gatz swam out to warn the owner, who turned out to be a rich copper baron named Dan Cody. Gatsby traveled with Cody for years to exotic locations like the Barbary coast and Caribbean islands, working as his personal assistant. One of his duties was to look after Cody when drunk. His heavy drinking was a warning to the young man, and he stayed sober to avoid becoming what he saw. When he died, Cody left James (now Jay) a fortune, which he was unable to claim because of Cody's corrupt mistress. He vowed to make his own wealth.  Back in the narrative, Nick visits Jay is alarmed to see Tom there. The meeting is awkward, though Tom still doesn't know of his wife's old love. Tom dislikes Gatsby because he is ill-bred. At the next party, Tom and Daisy attend, but this party is more debauched than others. Daisy leaves with Tom. Gatsby is distraught. He wants things to go back to the way it once was with Daisy, and believes that money can make that possible. Nick laments the impossibility of that notion.  

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Chapter 7

Gatsby's great run of parties comes to an end. As they were originally designed to draw Daisy's attention, they have now served their purpose. Gatsby also decides to fire his servants to prevent any more gossip spreading to the press and instead replaces them with more of Wolfshiem's shady associates.  Nick travels to Tom and Daisy's house for lunch. He is surprised to find Jordan and Gatsby there, but not as surprised as Jay is when he learns of Daisy's daughter. As the afternoon rolls on, Jay and Daisy's affair becomes increasingly obvious to Tom, who is angered. They all agree to drive to town, taking two cars. On the way they stop at Wilson's garage, who has learned that his wife is cheating, but does not know with whom. Nick recognizes the irony of Tom's feelings of betrayal.  In the city, Tom and Jay have it out. Tom mocks the affected airs and gets the truth about the Oxford myth. He accuses Jay of Bootlegging for his ill-gotten wealth. Jay fights his corner but, as the argument continues, Daisy seems more drawn to Tom than to Jay. Seeing he has won, Tom sends Jay and his wife back to Long Island ahead of the others. On their own way back, they learn that a speeding yellow car (just like Jay's) has run over Myrtle on the road. Apart from Nick - who learns the truth that evening - everyone assumes that Gatsby had been driving. The truth is that Daisy was behind the wheel. 

Chapter 8

After a sleepless night, Nick visits his neighbor. Jay had kept watch on the Buchanan house till late the previous night, worried Tom may hurt Daisy. In that regard, he had nothing to worry about, because the Buchanans seem to have patched up their differences. Jay recalls the early days with Daisy and tells Nick of their young love. He had lied about his station to earn her notice, but their love had been real. They had become lovers and Daisy had promised to wait for Jay until after he returned from Europe. By the time he had, she had married Tom, who was from a wealthy family and was a good choice from her parents' perspective. Now that dream was over. Before he leaves, Nick tells Gatsby that he is worth more than the Buchanans. Jay decides to use the swimming pool that he has never entered. Across the island, George Wilson is thinking about Myrtle's death. He knows that Tom was driving a yellow car into town, but drove another car back after the accident has happened. George figures that the driver must be the man who is cuckolding him. He thinks about judgment under the eyes of God and, when he sees the eyes of Dr TJ Eckleberg's ad, believes this is a sign that he must carry out judgment. Wilson finds Gatsby's house. He walks around to the pool and shoots Jay, then turns the gun on himself.  Nick pictures Gatsby in his final moments, lamenting the death of his dream without Daisy.  

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Chapter 9

Two years have passed sine the murder of Jay Gatsby. His death had caused a ghoulish stir among the media and other rubber-neckers. More wild rumors began circulating after his death than had even when he had been alive. The feeling was that there no was no smoke without fire, so it was widely assumed that it was Myrtle and Jay's affair that had sent George Wilson over the edge.  Nick, as one of Jay's only true friends, tries to organize a large funeral. Despite Jay's generosity in life, few felt they owed him an appearance by his grave. Tom, Daisy, Wolfsheim and many others make their excuses or are out-of-town. The funeral is sparsely attended by Nick, Owl Eyes Gatsby's father, Henry Gatz and a few servants. Henry Gatz is proud of what his had achieved and tells Nick more details about his friend's youth.  Nick makes plans to return to the mid-west. His relationship with Jordan is over. She claims to be engaged to another man. Nick meets Tom on a New York street. Tom relates how it was he who told Wilson that Gatsby owned the yellow car. He believes that Gatsby deserved to die. Nick concludes that Tom and Daisy are self-absorbed people who value their money over any personal virtues. Nick also muses on the vapid and corrupting nature of the East, as odds with the more honest lifestyles of the mid-west.  On a last night in West Egg, Nick visits Jay's mansion and wonders about the nature of the American dream. By many measures, Jay Gatsby had achieved that dream, but his real pursuit was of an impossible future with Daisy. The closer we get to the future, the more we are pulled back by the currents of the past.