The Great Gatsby - Chapter 7

'The Great Gatsby' Reading Log - Chapter 7

Key Events

- Gatsby doesn’t have a party and replaces all of his staff with Wolfshiem’s people

- Gatsby and Nick are invited to lunch at the Buchanan’s

- It is the hottest day in summer

- Gatsby and Nick see Daisy’s daughter

- Tom realises that Daisy is having an affair

- They all decide to go to New York

- Gatsby and Daisy go in the coupe – Nick, Jordan and Tom in the Rolls-Royce

- Tom sees that Myrtle and Wilson are going away – Wilson knows about her affair

- They get a room at the Plaza

- Tom and Gatsby fight over Daisy

- Gatsby makes Daisy say she never loved Tom which pushes her away and makes her choose Tom over Gatsby

- Daisy and Gatsby go home in the Rolls-Royce and Nick, Jordan and Tom go in the Coupe

- Nick, Tom and Jordan drive to the Wilson’s and see Myrtle’s dead body

- They find out it was the Rolls-Royce that hit her

- They go home and it is revealed that Daisy hit Myrtle

- Gatsby doesn’t lose hope and keeps watching the house to protect Daisy

Significant moments

- Hottest day in summer – creates tension – foreshadowing as it signifies anger/violence/etc.

- Tension as Gatsby and Tom fight about Daisy – find out about Gatsby and his illegal activities

- Myrtle is hit by the car – signifies the end of the American Dream

- Gatsby stays and watches the Buchanan’s – isn’t ready to let go of his dream just yet – never loses hope

Scenes and places

- Gatsby’s House – ‘the kitchen looked like a pigsty’ – contrast to his immaculate house previously – Daisy is turning him into a completely different person

- Buchanan House – ‘The room, shadowed well with awnings, was dark and cool’ – hid dreams with objects – materialism – contrast to the weather outside – shows a great change – for the relationship and the novel

Characters

- Jay Gatsby – ‘Gatsby had dismissed every servant in his house a week ago and replaced them with half a dozen others’ – doesn’t want people to find out about him and Daisy – hires people who won’t gossip – his previous servants would be more likely to be loyal – not Wolshiem’s people – ‘I wanted somebody who wouldn’t gossip’

- ‘fallen like a card house at the disapproval in her eyes’ -shows his loyalty to Daisy – anything she doesn’t like, he will replace – for her

- ‘he kept looking at the child with surprise. I don’t think he had ever really believed in its existence before’ – Gatsby can’t believe Daisy has a child – he can’t repeat the past as things have changed – it will never be like it was before

- ‘How do you like mother’s friends?’ Daisy turned her around so that she faced Gatsby. ‘Do…