Journal Entry #9

Chapter 9: Pages 163-180

Chapter Summary:

In Chapter 9, written two years after Gatsby’s death, Nick tells of all the rumors and gossip surrounding the death and his relationship to the Wilsons. Nick tries to organize a large funeral gathering for Gatsby, figuring that he wouldn’t want to be alone, but has trouble finding friends of Gatsby’s to attend. One night, Klipspringer calls up and Nick invites him to Gatsby’s funeral. Blowing him off, Klipspringer tells Nick of his new social arrangements and instead of accepting the invite, he merely asks Nick if he’s seen his tennis shoes. The only people that end up attending the funeral are Nick, Owl Eyes, a few servants, and Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, visiting all the way from Minnesota. Nick decides he wants to move to the Midwest and breaks up with Jordan, who informs his of her engagement to another man. Chapter 8 ends as Nick realizes how immoral Tom and Daisy are. Finally, he returns to Gatsby’s mansion for his last goodbye and lays on the lawn looking at the stars, thinking about the American Dream.

Character:

a) Henry C. Gatz

Most Defining Quote:

b) “It was a photograph of the house, cracked in the corners and dirty with many hands. He pointed out every detail to me eagerly. ‘Look there!’ and then sought admiration from my eyes. He had shown it so often that I think it was more real to him now than the house itself.” (Nick 172)

Characteristics:

c) Henry Gatz, Gatsby’s father, is a ‘solemn old man, very helpless and dismayed, bundled up in a long cheap ulster against the warm September day. His eyes leaked continuously with excitement.” (Nick 167)

Role in the Book:

d) Although Henry, Gatsby’s father, only comes up in the last chapter, he is a significant addition to the cast of this book because he gives us insight to who Gatsby was as a child and how he’s changed as he’s gotten older. Henry seems to be stuck on the allusion of who is son is instead of grasping the man Gatsby really became.

Quote:

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (Nick 179)

This quote is the most important quote from the whole book. It clearly exposes a regular routine in Tom and Daisy’s life; a routine of doing terrible things to the people around them, then packing up and moving to a new place to do the same. This quote is also significant because it shows the way Nick feels about Daisy. Instead of admiring her like he does throughout the beginning of the book, he notices who she really is and exposes her true personality.