Chapter 4

Chapter 4
Pgs. 61-80

Summary
-Nick describes the numerous amounts of people that visit Gatsby’s house in the summer such as the Cheadles, the Poles, the Mulready’s, etc. One morning, Gatsby invites Nick to lunch and they drive to New York in his expensive, luxurious car; Gatsby also asks tells Nick a personal story about his earlier life in which he was the son of a wealthy Mid-Western businessman. All his family died and he said he then went to Oxford and afterwards lived in many cities such as Venice and Rome. Gatsby shows him all his souvenirs and tells him that he has something important to discuss with him later; they then go to lunch in a cellar on 42nd Street. Jordan recalls the last few years of her life and describes how popular Daisy was among the boys and her first few years of marriage with Tom. During Nick’s date with Jordan, she explains Gatsby’s elaborate plan to meet Daisy by having Nick invite her to his house for tea.

Character Qualities
-Jay Gatsby: “Well, I’m going to tell you something of my life; I don’t want you to get a wrong idea of me from all these stories you hear (Fitzgerald 65).” Gatsby is a bright, eloquent, and friendly person. Everything he owns expresses his unique qualities: his car, his suits, his butlers, etc. The colors that we most frequently see associated with him are bright colors like blues and pinks that accentuate his exceptional personality. He is somewhat of a loner as he does not mingle at his parties very often. He is elusive and mysterious and very popular among many who spread false stories about him, but we learn his origins as he tells them to Nick during their car ride.
-Gatsby’s role in the story so far is to be the center of the plot; the most important, elusive, point that requires the reader’s full attention to understand and a topic of interest among the main characters in the story. He is the major theme of this story, and his elaborate plan to get Daisy will be the major plot arc.

Most Important Quote
-“After that I lived like a young rajah in all the capitals of Europe — Paris, Venice, Rome — collecting jewels, chiefly rubies, hunting big game, painting a little, things for myself only, and trying to forget something very sad that had happened to me long ago (Fitzgerald 65).” I think that this quote is important because it is our first real glimpse into Gatsby’s past and possibly even a hint that there may be some pent-up emotions inside Gatsby. I think it also has something to do with the reason why he implements such bright colors and seems to always have a bright and positive persona.

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