Summary
• Finally meeting Gatsby.
• A larger party is staged at Gatsby’s mansion
• Nick meets Jordan there. He notes that
lurid speculation concerning Gatsby’s past is
rife, and then he has his first meeting with
the man himself.
• The evening ends with a car accident outside
the big house.
• At a party, Nick meets again with Jordan
Baker, who has recently lost in a golf
tournament. The cloud of ‘romantic
speculation’ surrounding Gatsby becomes
thicker as the gossip deepens; it is said,
for example, that he killed a man, and that
he was a spy in the war.
• Nick encounters a man wearing owl-eyed
spectacles in Gatsby’s ‘high Gothic library’.
The owl-eyed man who has been”drunk for
about a week”, is impressed by the room’s
authenticity, especially the fact that it
contains real books.
• Then, for the first time, Nick meets his
host, although initially he did not realise
it was Gatsby. Gatsby claims to
recognise Nick from the war, and they
share memories of “wet, grey little
villages in France”.
• On leaving, Nick witnesses “a bizarre
and tumultuous scene” resulting from a
car accident.
Gatsby’s Parties
• Nick observes the parties from afar but
manages to take in a huge amount of
detail: “Every Friday…Monday”
• Notice the amount of imagery in the
opening couple of paragraphs
• From afar he seems to judge the
parties with an unfriendly attitude
mixed with fascination.
The Absent Gatsby
• Nobody even knows where he is
• “the two or three people I asked about
looked at me in such an amazed way”
• But he is the subject of rumour and
gossip
• “Somebody told me they thought he
killed a man”
• “he was a German spy during the war”
• “I heard that from a man…”
Conspicuous Consumption
• Gatsby’s lifestyle is an obvious example of
”conspicuous consumption”. This extends to
both of his cars, which stands out from the
majority of vehicles on the streets. Henry
Ford (1863-1947), who pioneered motor
manufacture in the United States, promoted
his automobiles as symbols of democracy. Ford
cars were cheaply produced and most
Americans could afford one. But Gatsby could
not be satisfied with a standard car, and the
very showiness of his vehicles was intended to
impress Daisy, this plays a crucial part in his
downfall. They are easily recognised, and
following Myrtle Wilson’s death in chapter 7 it
is easy for her husband to track down the
owner.
The End of the Party
• The guests are all drunk and the party
ends with fighting.
• Nick watches and comments comically.
• Nick is pleased to have met Gatsby:
“there seemed to be a pleasant
significance in having been among the
last to go”
“A Bizarre and Tumultuous
Scene”
• Fitzgerald describes the scene in a comical
way.
• “explained to him that wheel and car were no
longer joined by any physical bond”
“No harm in trying”
• The car crash contrasts with this quiet scene.
• Cars are important to plot and are a recurring
motif.
Narrative Voice
• The chapter concludes with Nick’s comments on what he has
written so far. He remarks that the events forming the
story absorbed “him infinitely less than his personal affairs
– work, study of investments and securities, and a short love
affair that faded away”.
• The speculation about Gatsby’s past is an extreme case of a
larger thematic concern in The Great Gatsby with
reconstruction of past events. It is evident from the novel
that recollection is inextricably linked to point of view. So,
the past may exist in different versions according to whose
memory is involved. The thematic issue is clearly linked
closely to the narrative technique employed by F. Scott
Fitzgerald, where the version of events we receive is
exclusively that constructed by Nick Carraway.
• Nick reminds us that he is looking back and
constructing an account
• He admits to being misleading
“I have given the impression..On the
contrary”
• He attempts to portray his everyday life
• However, he also reveals the inner desires
which he has.
• He makes the reader mistrust him more
Nick carraway
• He admits to feeling “a sort of tender
curiosity” towards Jordan.
• Despite their mutual interest in one
another, the noble Nick puts the brakes
on their relationship because he has still
not settled his feelings for the girl at
home.
Who is Gatsby?
• Gatsby is the subject of rumour and gossip
• “Somebody told me they thought
he killed a man once.”
• “it's more that he was a German spy during
the war.”
• “it couldn't be that, because he was in the
American army during the war.”
• “You look at him sometimes when he thinks
nobody's looking at him. I'll bet he killed a
man.”
Jay Gatsby
• Fitzgerald has delayed the introduction of the novel’s most
important figure—Gatsby —until the beginning of Chapter 3.
The reader has seen Gatsby from a distance, heard other
characters talk about him, and listened to Nick’s thoughts
about him, but has not actually met him (nor has Nick).
Chapter 3 is devoted to the introduction of Gatsby and the
lavish, showy world he inhabits. Fitzgerald gives Gatsby a
suitably grand entrance as the aloof host of a decadent
party. Despite this introduction, this chapter continues to
heighten the sense of mystery and enigma that surrounds
Gatsby, as the low profile he maintains seems curiously out
of place with his lavish expenditures. Just as he stood alone
on his lawn in Chapter 1, he now stands outside the throng
of pleasure-seekers.
• Nick describes Gatsby’s wealthy and
pretentious lifestyle. He owns a yellow
station wagon and a Rolls-Royce. He
also employs servants to maintain the
neat appearance of his property, and to
fix any damage caused during his riotous
parties.
• Gatsby’s wealth, it has been heavily
implied, is largely derived from illicit
sale of alcohol.
• Gatsby uses the English term “old sport”,
which he uses throughout. Nick notes that
Gatsby has “one of those rare smiles with
a quality of eternal reassurance in it”. But
he also perceives a rough reality beneath
his cultivated charm and even a risk of
absurdity in the instability of his image.
• Gatsby receives telephone calls from
Chicago and Philadelphia in the early hours
of the morning, , suggesting underworld
business connections.
• Nick is confused and intrigued. He
comments that “young men didn’t – at
least in my provincial experience I
believe they didn’t – drift cooly out of
nowhere and buy a palace on Long Island
Sound”. Gatsby speaks privately with
Jordan. She tormentingly hints that he
has disclosed “the most amazing thing”.
Motif - Cars
• Ford was not the only American producer of
cars in the early twentieth century. Edward S.
Jordan started to manufacture cars in 1915;
the Baker Company made vehicles powered by
electricity between 1899 and 1915. Note that
the name of the decidedly modern and mobile
Jordan Baker combines the names of two makes
of car. Once again, with Gatsby’s Rolls-Royce,
we see importation of privilege from classaware Europe to supposedly equality of
America.
Foreshadowing and Irony
• Think about the irony of so much talk in the
middle part of chapter 3 about driving, cars
and accidents
• This foreshadows the event to come resulting
in Myrtles death
Jordan Baker
• Nick remembers a news report concerning Jordan
cheating at golf, and concludes, “She was incurably
dishonest”. In the discussion that follows, Jordan
says, “It takes two to make an accident”. Then she
adds, “I hate careless people. That’s why I like you”
Nick confides that “for a moment I thought I loved
her. But I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules
that act as brakes on my desires”. He concludes, “I
am one of the few honest people that I have ever
known”. She is distant and confident
• “looking with contemptuous interest”
• “She held my hand impersonally”
• Nick and her seem closer
• “With Jordan’s slender golden arm resting in mine”
• And Nick seems more relaxed
The Owl-Eyed Man
• Nick and Jordan go searching for Gatsby inside his mansion, ending up in
the library, they meet a strange man examining the books.
• “A stout, middle aged man, with enormous owl-eyed spectacles, was
sitting somewhat drunk on the edge of a great table, staring with
unsteady concentration at the shelves of books.”
• The owl-eyed man appreciates the room, but he sees it through an
alcoholic haze. His week long drunken binge has taken place despite the
restrictions upon the production and consumption of alcohol during
America’s era of Prohibition.
• In many ways he is a comical character
• “I’ve been drunk for about a week now”
• He is amazed that Gatsby’s books are real: “pages and everything”
• And he is impressed by the authenticity of Gatsby's library: “What
thoroughness! What realism!”
• But he knows that it is fragile:
• “If one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse”
• The owl-eyed, bespectacled man whom Nick and Jordan come across in
Gatsby's library gives us one of the first hints that Gatsby is a fraud.
Owls, of course, have keen vision in the dark. Like the owl, this man, too,
will see things others have taken for granted.
• The books on the shelf reveal important clues when inspected. The man
expresses surprise that the books on the shelves are real, not fake, as
he had expected.
• "See!" he cried triumphantly. "It's a bona fide piece of printed matter.
It fooled me. This fella's a regular Belasco. It's a triumph. What
thoroughness! What realism! Knew when to stop, too-didn't cut the
pages. But what do you want? What do you expect?"
• There is a lot going on in this comment from a drunk. For one thing, he
refers to Gatsby as a "regular Belasco." Belasco was supposedly a
sorcerer in the 13th century, whose exploits were detailed by Dante.
The drunk is also pointing out just how far Gatsby goes to recreate
realism. Like the party atmosphere Gatsby manufactures, close
inspection reveals it all to be spell-like. Nick and Jordan, however, are
not ready to be disenchanted.
Setting – New York
• “White chasms”
This metaphor shows the streets of New York seem huge
and intimidating, dwarfing Nick and making him small and
insignificant in comparison
• Nick’s description of his life in New York brings attention to
the difference between substance and appearance, as it
shows both the bright and exciting allure of the city and its
dangerous lack of balance: he says that the city has an
“adventurous feel,” but he also calls it “racy,” a word with
negative moral connotations. Nick also feels conflict about
Jordan. He knows that she is dishonest, selfish, and cynical,
but he is attracted to her energy. Their relationship
emphasises the extent to which Nick becomes used to life in
the East, abandoning his Midwestern values and concerns in
order to make the most of the excitement of his new
surroundings.
Theme –New World contrasting
European Prestige and Social Class
• The Gothic style of Gatsby’s library harks back to European
models, but the Old World style was very fashionable in
America at the time The Great Gatsby was written.
• We are told that the invitation that Gatsby sends to Nick is
signed “in a majestic hand”. In the false world of his
parties, Gatsby watches events with the dignified
detachment of an Old World monarch. Yet his guests
behave “according to the rules of behaviour associated with
an amusement park”. These people form a social elite, yet
their behaviour is characterised in terms of crudeness:
another instance of difference in the novel between
pretension and reality. Amusement parks were very much a
feature of New York life in the 1920s.
Theme – Perception and Reality
• Chapter 3 focuses on the gap between
perception and reality. At the party, as he
looks through Gatsby’s books, Owl Eyes states
that Gatsby has captured the effect of
theatre, a mixture of honesty and dishonesty
that characterises Gatsby’s approach to his
life. The party is a kind of elaborate
theatrical presentation, and Owl Eyes
suggests that Gatsby’s whole life is just a
show, believing that even his books might not
be real. The novel’s title itself—The Great
Gatsby— suggests the sort of grand billing
given to a performer or magician like “The
Great Houdini,” emphasising the theatrical
and perhaps illusory quality of Gatsby’s life.
Quotes
• “In his blue gardens men and girls came
and went like moths among the
whisperings and the champagne and the
stars”
• “Eight servants…repairing the ravages”
• “Scampered like a brisk yellow bug”
• “On buffet tables…bewitched to a dark
gold”
• …the orchestra has arrived…
• The last swimmers have come in from the
beach now and are dressing upstairs…
• Shawls beyond the dreams of Castile
• The bar is in full swing, and floating
rounds…and casual innuendo…and enthusiastic
meetings
• …they conducted themselves according to the
rules of behaviour associated with an
amusement park
• A simplicity of heart that was its own ticket
of admission
• “I had been actually invited”
• But he is “ill at ease among the swirls
and eddies”
• “The only place where a single man could
linger without looking purposeless and
alone”