The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby Chapter Seven
The communication of this invitation through Gatsby suggests initially
to Nick that ‘Something was up.’ The air of tension is increased by
Fitzgerald’s use of pathetic fallacy: the weather is ‘Hot! . . . Hot! . . .
Hot! . . .’ so that it, like the atmosphere in the chapter, ‘hovered on the
edge of combustion’.
It is almost the last day of summer, appropriately. There is a feeling
that this is the last chance for Gatsby; that the darker days of autumn
and winter are on their way; that things are drawing to a close with the
demise of the summer.
The telephone call received by Tom at luncheon (from Mr. Wilson)
adds to the air of expectancy and tension. It is also the first time the
reader has seen all of the main characters of the play gathered
together, adding to the idea that the climax is due soon. Daisy and
Jordan’s skin is powdered over, suggesting a papering over of cracks,
and the falsity of the situation.
Nick contemplates ‘the scalloped ocean and the abounding blessed
isles’, almost palpably desiring an escape.
Daisy’s public kissing of Gatsby (albeit when Tom is out of the room),
suggests that she is ready to make the relationship public, but her
“clogging” on the fireplace suggests an almost hysterical desperation.
Tom notes the change in the footing of their relationship, as Daisy
exchanges apparently trivial comments that betray their intimacy: ‘You
always look so cool’. His response to this is an attempt to shield Daisy
from Gatsby, by trying to have her travel in his car to New York. He
clearly recognises that ‘She had told him that she loved him.’
Daisy’s “presentation” of her child, Pammy, to Gatsby and the
assembled company has a striking effect upon Gatsby: she is
concrete proof of the marriage (and/or love) between Tom and Daisy,
inescapable evidence that Daisy has shared the last 5 years of her life
with someone else.
Tom agrees to Daisy’s suggestion that they go to town (Manhattan) as
a welcome distraction from the almost surreal scene that appears to
be brewing at the house. As the girls prepare for the outing, Nick
notes ‘the moon hovered already in the Western sky’, suggesting that
time is again running out.
As Tom gets whisky, Fitzgerald has Gatsby explain the irresistible
allure of Daisy’s voice: ‘Her voice is full of money’. This clarifies the
whole moral stance of the characters in the text: drawn to the money
in her siren’s song. Nick thinks of her at this moment as ‘High in a
white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl…’ in a vision that
simultaneously draws together the multiple images of silver, gold and
white that Fitzgerald has used throughout the text to suggest money
and wealth.
The drive to town provides another opportunity for Gatsby and Daisy
to be alone together as Daisy evades Tom’s suggestion that he drive
her ‘in this circus wagon’ – Gatsby’s car. This description clearly
www.wessexpublications.co.uk - 59 -