The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The second part of Ch 1 is much more interesting for we learn about Tom and Daisy's disastrous marriage. For one, Daisy is a massive flirt, she hits on Nick right in front of Tom (also Nick and Daisy are related...). She also enjoys pushing Tom's buttons, which Tom detests. This may be the reason for Tom's secret mistress, which most of West Egg, but not Daisy, seems to know about. The reader is also introduced (yay, more descriptions) to Jordan Baker, a somewhat careless girl who is a professional golfer. It's hard to tell with Nick, since he seemingly has no emotions, but I think he is taking a liking to Jordan, but we shall see. Daisy and Tom ask Nick about his engagement, which took Nick by surprise. What had happened was the Nick had a female friend, but he was too poor to marry. However, gossip morphed it into a failed engagement. This section foreshadows the power of Gossip in New York, and demonstrates how it will be a main driving force throughout the novel. The chapter ends with Nick recounting the evening. It turns out the man is quite observant, already figuring out the doomed marriage of Tom and Daisy. He knew they had a child, but thought "that the thing for Daisy to do was to rush out of the house, child in arms--but apparently there were no such intentions in her head" (Fitzgerald 20). Once home, Nick gets he first, ominous glimpse of Gatsby; but that's all he could get, a momentary glimpse.
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