Shafia-Chapter one

Chapter one of ‘The Great Gatsby’ lays for the foundations for the rest of the novel as it introduces the main themes and characters of the book. Although some characters, such as Gatsby himself, are not physically introduced to us, we are made aware of their existence through the narrative voice of Nick. Through Nick, the reader receives a biased but humorous portrayal of Tom, Daisy and Nick.

The chapter begins with a witty commentary by Nick on a small piece of advice which was given to him by his father: “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone [...] just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” This introduces the theme of social class and wealth. Nick also suggests that how moral you are as a person is dependent upon your social class. I think that this is a very interesting remark.

On the second page, Nick begins to tell us about Gatsby and claims that he represents “everything for which I have an unaffected scorn.” He paints Gatsby as a hero of some sorts and perhaps a victim when he ambiguously describes something which “preyed” on Gatsby. It is only at the end of the chapter where we actually meet Gatsby. His reaching out towards the light is symbolic of his yearning for Daisy, for desire, for wealth and power and ultimately, the motif of ‘The American Dream’.

Nick then proceeds by introducing the characters of his cousin Daisy, and her husband Tom to us. He makes us aware of just how ridiculously rich and powerful Tom is by telling the reader that it “was hard to realize that a man in my own generation was wealthy enough to do that.” Considering that Nick himself is also very wealthy and attended the same, prestigious university (Yale) as Tom did, we are made to understand that Tom is able to purchase anything he would like and whenever we would like to. Nick appears to be very bitter and reproachful towards Tom. He makes his existence appear shallow and meaningless too. His power is also reinforced when Nick uses narrative techniques to show how Tom is able to stop the movement of the wind.

Both Daisy and her friend Jordan are dressed entirely in white. This could suggest the purity of the two women in the novel but it could also portray a sense of dullness or a lack of character. As the conversation sparks, we soon realise that Daisy is in fact, smarter than she appears. However, we soon realise that she believes her intelligence is one of her greatest downfalls and perhaps this is why she chooses to present herself as a pretty but superficial woman. We are made aware of this when she says “I hope she’ll be a fool-that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” This is the first insight that the reader gains into the true nature of Daisy’s character. We realise that she may be undermining herself and putting up defenses to protect herself.

The chapter ends on a cliff hanger, introducing Gatsby to us but not giving much away in terms of his physical appearance. As a reader, I think this had a profound effect as it left me anticipating some action and also left me intrigued, to know more about the character of Gatsby, whom Nick spoke so fondly of. It made me wonder whether Gatsby was more genuine and had more of a meaning to his existence than the other characters appeared to have.