This chapter is considered the pivotal chapter in The Great Gatsby. The whole story led up to Gatsby's reunion with Daisy with Daisy, and now the plot shifts to focus on the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy.
On the day of his meeting with Daisy, Gatsby becomes terribly nervous. When Daisy arrives, Nick realises that Gatsby has disappeared. After going for a walk around the house in the rain, Gatsby shows up, yet he has not completely calmed down because he knocks over Nick's clock. Gatsby fears that things between him and Daisy will never again be like they were in Louisville.
Gatsby's fears quickly fade away when he finally opens up to Daisy, and only Nick realises that this affair will end with disappointment, since Daisy will not be able to live up to Gatsby's expectations.
Nick always claimed to be a honest and moral person, but in his actions in this chapter make us doubt this. Nick was willing to help Gatsby with his plan from the very start. Gatsby never needed to offer to pay him, which offends Nick. Yet Nick does not find the fact the Gatsby wants him to destroy his cousins marriage offending at all. Nick probably believes that it would only be fair for Daisy to look for the love and happiness she couldn't find with Tom and find it with someone else, since Tom had an affair with Myrtle. However, Nick is not the person to decide that Daisy is stuck in a loveless marriage, and help her find happiness with another man. Even if does what he does with good intentions, what he is doing is not moral and cannot be ignored.
As the fifth chapter among nine, it makes sense to be pivotal.
ReplyDeleteI like your review of Nick in this situation, though I think you're a bit harsh to conclude his efforts are immoral.
Why did Nick arrange for the meeting? Does he express any ambivalence about the arrangement?
Does Nick have any reason to question the legitimacy of the relationship between his cousin and her husband?
I'd like to read more about your reasons for doubting Nick's honesty and morality.