| Quote #7 He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was… (6.132) |
Post-Daisy, Gatsby can't be satisfied with scrambling up the social ladder, using ambition alone as incentive. It seems that he needs something on which to concentrate, and since Daisy brought unprecedented joy into his life, he now focuses all his drive into winning her.
| Quote #8 Usually her voice came over the wire as something fresh and cool, as if a divot from a green golf-links had come sailing in at the office window, but this morning it seemed harsh and dry. |
Nick’s sudden, overwhelming disgust with upper-class selfishness – specifically with how Daisy and Tom treated Gatsby and Wilson – leaves him unable to view Jordan in the same loving light as he did previously. Her membership in the upper class makes her guilty by association in Nick’s mind.
| Quote #9 I wanted to get somebody for him. I wanted to go into the room where he lay and reassure him: "I’ll get somebody for you, Gatsby. Don’t worry. Just trust me and I’ll get somebody for you – " (9.11) |
Nick is desperately saddened by the fact that no one comes to Gatsby’s funeral. No one – not one of his party friends, business acquaintances, or Daisy – seems to care that he’s gone. Nick’s compassion for Gatsby leaves him angry with those who are not compassionate.