The Great Gatsby

1. The Great Gatsby Review of The Harlem Jazz Age Chapter 7 Analysis May 2011

2. Review, Harlem and the Jazz Age • Thousands of African Americans migrated north – major increase in population between 1910 and 1920 • New industry jobs – Henry Ford’s automotive factories • Harlem – center for African American artists from 1910 – 1930 • Harlem Renaissance literary greats – poet Langston Hughes, author Zora Neale Huston, writer Richard Wright and political thinker W.E.B. DuBois • Musicians – Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, etc.

3. Review, Harlem and the Jazz Age • Improvements to interracial relations – blacks and whites collaborate on music • Whites supporting this movement – Negrotarian • Jazz musicians from New Orleans to New York to California overcame racial racial differences • Harlem Renaissance forced artists to come to terms with new definitions of race made possible through various art forms

4. Chapter Seven – Summary • Gatsby no longer threw lavish parties • Servants were all fired to ensure Daisy does not get exposed to gossip • Daisy invites Nick, Jordan and Gatsby to lunch at her house • Daisy introduces her daughter – Gatsby shocked • Tom realizes there are romantic feelings between Gatsby and Daisy • Daisy = voice full of money

5. Chapter Seven – Summary • Tom wants to pick an argument with Gatsby – all head to NYC and get a suite at the Plaza • Stop at Wilson’s garage prior in Valley of Ashes • Taking Myrtle out west • Myrtle overcome by jealousy of Jordan • Tom panics – losing both his wife and Myrtle • Tom confronts Gatsby, whom he considers to be “lower-class” • Nick’s birthday

6. Chapter Seven – Analysis • Pivotal event – climax and tragic conclusion of Gatsby and Daisy romance • No need for lavish parties because he has already reconnected with Daisy • Fires servants because he is now concerned about his reputation in front of Daisy • Daisy very indiscreet – invites Gatsby to her house for lunch with her husband

7. Chapter Seven – Analysis Tom • Tom profoundly insecure – obsessed with his own downfall and the downfall of civilization itself • When finds out about Gatsby and Daisy, he then retaliates with a smirk – intermarriage between races • Believes he is Western civilization's greatest achievement – views the end of the world and interracial marriage to be equally catastrophic • Affair between Gatsby and Daisy = decline of civilization

8. Chapter Seven – Analysis Tom continued, • Less concerned about infidelity than the fact that Daisy is involved with a man of less social class • He does not regard his affair with even lower-class Myrtle in the same light • Realizes Daisy would never desert her aristocratic husband for “a common bootlegger,” regardless of her love for him

9. Chapter Seven – Analysis Gatsby • “Old” vs. “New” money • Daisy = aristocrat, wealth and privilege available at birth, her voice is “full of money” • a class of persons holding exceptional rank and privileges, especially the hereditary nobility (“old” money) • Daisy represents wealth and elegance for which Gatsby has yearned for all his life – he loses Daisy for the same reason he adores her, her patrician arrogance

10. Chapter Seven – Analysis • Unable to believe Daisy is a mother, unable to admit that time has passed in the last five years, until he meets Daisy’s daughter • Daisy treats her child similar to a doll and leaves her in control of the nanny • Selfish, immature Daisy is essentially a child herself

11. Chapter Seven – Analysis • Both Gatsby and Tom regard Daisy as something to take care of – Gatsby says to Tom, “you are not going to take care of her anymore.” • Incapable of independent action • Daisy is a spectator in this chapter, weak • Daisy’s carelessness and stupidity lead to the death of Myrtle Wilson – Gatsby forced to leave the scene and hide the car • Gatsby’s decision to take blame for Myrtle’s death shows his love for Daisy is undisputable – unchanged • Gatsby, although involved in criminal activities, is seen as noble

12. Chapter Seven – Key Questions • Who is Trimachio? Explain how this describes Gatsby. • Describe Daisy and Gatsby's new relationship. • Compare George Wilson and Tom. What did each man learn about his wife and how did they each react? • If Daisy says she's never loved Tom, is there someone whom she thinks she loves? • Describe the fight between Gatsby and Tom. What do these men think of each other? How are they similar and how are they different? • What was significant about Nick's 30th birthday? • What do you think Tom and Daisy were saying to each other in the kitchen? Do you think that Tom knew Daisy was driving the "death car"? Why, why not? • At this point, how would you end the novel?