They were careless people Tom and Daisy They

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy— They smashed up things and creatures and then they retreated back into their money

CHAPTER 7 OVERVIEW • Tom’s Realization • It becomes obvious that Gatsby and Daisy are romantically involved. • Tom also learns that Wilson and Myrtle will be moving, because Wilson knows his wife has been unfaithful • To escape from the summer heat, the group takes a suite at the Plaza Hotel.

• The Confrontation • The Drive Home • Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy doesn't love him, and has never loved him; • Tom calls Gatsby a "common swindler" • Daisy sides with Tom • In the valley of ashes, Nick, Jordan and Tom find that someone has been struck and killed by an automobile.

• Chapter 7, the Climax • Old vs. New Money • The romance between Gatsby and Daisy reaches its climax and its tragic conclusion. • Gatsby has earned his fortune through illegal means • Daisy is an aristocrat, a woman for whom wealth and privilege were available at birth. • As Gatsby himself remarks, even her voice is "full of money. " • For Gatsby, Daisy represents the wealth and elegance for which he has yearned all his life. • Gatsby thus loses Daisy for the same reason that he adores her: her superior arrogance.

• CHAPTER 8 Nick’s Advice • Gatsby’s Watch • The Eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg • The advice of Tom Buchanan • Advises Gatsby to leave Long Island until the scandal of Myrtle's death has quieted down. • He tells Nick that he spent the entire night in front of the Buchanans' mansion, just to ensure that Daisy was safe, although it is now obvious she has chosen Tom • Wilson mistakes them for the eyes of God. Wilson assumes that the driver of the fatal car was Myrtle's lover, and decides to punish this man for his sins. • Tom tells Wilson that Gatsby was the driver. Wilson drives to Gatsby's mansion to find him

• Nick’s Admiration • • • Gatsby's great mistake Nick says Gatsby is "worth the whole damn bunch of them. " Though he disapproved of Gatsby "from beginning to end, " Nick is still able to recognize him as a visionary, a man capable of grand passion and great dreams. • Chose an inferior object upon which to focus his almost mystical capacity for dreaming. • Just as the American Dream itself has degenerated into the crass pursuit of material wealth, Gatsby, too, strived only for wealth once he had fallen in love with Daisy. • Gatsby's death takes place on the first day of autumn, when a chill has begun to creep into the air. His decision to use his pool is in defiance of the change of seasons, and represents yet another instance of Gatsby's unwillingness to accept the passage of time. Symbolism of his mistake Gatsby’s Final Swim

• Gatsby’s Funeral • Gatsby's enormous circle of acquaintances has suddenly evaporated. Only 2 people attend. • Gatsby’s Father • Has pride in his boy, despite Gatsby basically pretending he was nonexistent • Symbolism of Tom and Daisy • • Overriding Theme of the Novel Tom and Daisy are capable only of cruelty and destruction; they are kept safe from the consequences of their actions by their fortress of wealth and privilege. • Gatsby, for all his greatness, failed to realize that the American Dream was already dead when he began to dream it: his goals, the pursuit of wealth and status, had long since become empty and meaningless.

• The final line of The Great Gatsby • So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. • Importance of the Line • Gatsby's lifelong quest to transcend his past as ultimately futile (like rowing against the current) • Gatsby’s Symbolism • Gatsby represents the failed American Dream; America was intended as a place where visionary dreamers could thrive. Instead, people like Tom and Daisy Buchanan get away with anything. • West vs. East • • The Change in the Green Light The West is presented as the seat of traditional morality, an idyllic heartland, in stark contrast to the greed and depravity of the East. • The green light was once a symbol of hope and dreams; now, the original ideals of the American dream have deteriorated into the pursuit of wealth.