Watch, too, this clip from the 1974 version of the novel (or you can simply go to the 10 minute mark). I think it's pretty much as major a failure as it can be as an adaptation of perhaps a nearly unfilmable book (we'll see how the new one works out). But it gets this moment right: Gatsby (Robert Redford), again, flinging those shirts, and Daisy (Mia Farrow) burying her face in one and sobbing about its beauty.
Isabella said this was one of her favorite moments in the novel—as it is for me as well. And like the Valley of the Ashes it begs for interpretation. Look at this moment in your book, page 92 (97 in my edition), that begins with "Recovering himself in a minute, he opened for us two hulking patent cabinets which held his massed suits..." and finishes with Daisy sobbing, "'They're such beautiful shirts...It makes me sad because I've never seen such—such beautiful shirts before.'"
This is one of those head scratching moments in the book: why is Gatsby flinging his shirts ("piled like bricks in stacks a dozen high") all over his room, and why is Daisy so visibly moved by them? Is it really because she's never seen "such beautiful shirts before"?
So—tell us, why is Gatsby flinging and why is Daisy crying? Go ahead and quote three times from the book in your response. As always, feel free to respond to others in the class. Write a couple hundred words—take 15 minutes or so to write.
Tomorrow we will talk about this great romantic couple, Gatsby and Daisy. See you then.
In this chapter, Gatsby and Daisy are dumbstruck when they see each other. The night before the meeting at Nick's house, Gatsby is as suave as ever, casually offering to go to Coney Island at 2:00 in the morning or taking a midnight swim. But during the meeting, Gatsby is taken speechless that the girl of his dreams is right before his eyes, after "Five years next November", behaving incredibly different from what we expect of "The Great Gatsby", and more "like a little boy", in Nick's words. Daisy acts synonymous to Gatsby, initially joking to Nick but then sputtering awkward phrases such as "I certainly am awfully glad to see you again", on par with "I'm p-paralyzed with happiness". These two people were out of each others lives for so long that for Gatsby, it's a dream come true, but for Daisy, it is a feeling that someone has been longing for her all these years (since Tom has cheated on her since they married), and she becomes flustered by it. This culminates in the shirt scene, where Gatsby throw his shirts at her, wanting to show her the wealth that has taken only "three years to earn", through hard work as opposed to Tom who has inherited it, and Daisy is happy that there is such a good and wealthy man, who is also obsessed with her, that she cries tears of joy.
ReplyDeleteGatsby has passed through three states of shock upon seeing daisy after five years. This third phase, to me, is when he returns to his more lavish roots, and is trying to impress Daisy with the vastness of his clothing selection. using phrases such as, "piled like bricks in stacks a dozen high" is Nick/Fitzgerald trying to allude to the sheer size of the collection and variety of different colors. The entire scene is meant to be very overwhelming as he literally throws his material wealth at Daisy to impress her. He doesn't even pick them out himself. "'I've got a man in England who buys me clothes'".
ReplyDeleteDaisy crying on the other hand, is a more peculiar reaction. My theory plays off of our previous encounters with Daisy and her personality. She tries so hard to be a stereotypical shallow rich person, calling her baby a fool and being reduced to boredom by her mansion. But when she sees all of Gatsby's shirts, she goes back to her earlier years when she knew Gatsby as a war lieutenant. Jordan baker recites her memory of Daisy and Jay's encounter, "She was sitting in [the car] with a lieutenant I had never seen before. They were so engrossed in each other that she didn't see me until I was five feet away." This was the Gatsby Daisy knew. the love struck war man, not the rich one who throws his shirts at her. Not the man who reminds her of Tom, and this brings her to tears.
There are definitely many ways to interpret this passage, and I thought of two that really struck home with me. Nick said that as Gatsby threw the shirts, they "lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many colored disarray." To me, this signified Gatsby becoming a new person as he reconnected with Daisy. He broke out of his mysterious, proper image and "lost his folds." The reader could easily see the abrupt change in Gatsby's attitude; he became kind, youthful, and full of energy. Another, more obvious interpretation would be that Gatsby and Daisy are simply relishing the immense amount of money they have. Gatsby's tone is quite pompous when he says, "I've got a man in England who buys me clothes and sends a selection over at the beginning of each season." It is totally over-indulgent that he has someone buy clothes for him, but also it is in a whole other country. Daisy teary reaction, "they are such beautiful shirts!" best fits with this explanation. I could possibly understand her crying over a pair of women's clothes that she may want, but i don't quite understand why this gets her so emotional. Maybe she just had an emotional afternoon, who knows. What do you guys think?
ReplyDeleteThese shirts go from being "piled like bricks," very orderly and confined, to shirts that "one by one lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray." This is almost a representation of Gatsby himself. At the beginning of the chapter he is very straight edged and quiet. After a few hours with Daisy he has opened up and seems happier. Daisy is not talking about the shirts when she starts to cry. The shirt she cries on brings her closer to Gatsby and adds to her sadness of the way her life turned out. She is sad that she wasted so much time with Tom and she was happy when she was with Gatsby. Her cries are surrounded by the comfort of Gatsby's scent and she buries her face so much that "her voice muffled in the the thick folds." These shirts bring joy to Gatsby but they bring sorrow of Gatsby. Gatsby is just happy for the moment while Daisy feels sorrow for all of these moments that she has lost.
ReplyDeleteGatsby is flinging these shirts around so violently because, as I think Sam said in second period today, he’s “peacocking” to impress Daisy. Granted, this is a very strange and rather ridiculous way to impress a girl you haven’t seen in five years, but it is Daisy, who may be the most superficial character in the book so far. However this act of completely destroying the order of his closet is a small way (for Gatsby) to say to Daisy that he’ll do anything for her. Also the description of his closet just shows purely how well dressed he is, or at least how many goddamn clothes he has. “…he opened for us two hulking patent cabinets which held his massed suits and dressing gowns and ties, and his shirts piled like bricks in stacks a dozen high. ‘I’ve got a man in England who buys me clothes. He sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall.’” Also, the fact that he doesn’t even buy his clothes in the country he lives in adds an exotic, rich allure to him for Daisy. I mean to me, he’s so ecstatic to be reunited with Daisy that he almost goes insane for a moment, just throwing around literally any object or rich fact he can to impress Daisy. And I think that Daisy is just so overwhelmed by being reunited with her long lost love and she is just set off when she is able to hold in her hand a shirt that he may have worn and to be so physically close to him after five incredibly long years apart and the shirt in her hand just breaks her into tears.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't understand why Gatsby threw his shirts and why Daisy is sobbing over them. I don't understand the significance. But I like it when Gatsby says, "I've got a man in England who buys me clothes. He sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall." That quote just shows how rich and luxurious Gatsby is, and then he throws them around his room like money. "While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher." Gatsby kept showing off his nice fancy clothes, and for some reason Daisy "bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stomily." I really don't understand why Daisy started crying. It makes no sense to me.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see Gatsby's change from the night to the following day. It was amusing to see Gatsby so nervous and impatient,"Nobody's coming to tea. It's too late". It is also interesting who both of them stare at each other and Gatsby says such a stupid yet sentimental statement,"We've met before". However, after Nick's weird departure, both Gatsby and Daisy relax and become more like themselves, or more accurately, how Nick think they are. Daisy returned to being his 'showy' self as before seeking acceptance and jealousy(?) from others others. This is shown how he takes out his shirts and "began throwing them one by one before us". He likes to show off his stuff but I think that he needs approval, like he doesn't believe it himself. Daisy went back to her whispering self, but the way she just broke down is intriguing. I don't think that she broke down because of the shirts in particular, but because she had never experience something as beautiful. She wants to believe that such wonderful night was real and that it can occur one more time. I think that Gatsby throwing his shirts to both of them was an image of him showing them who he is and what he has to offer. I feel that the fact that it was clothing,very intimate belongings, was showing both of them, not just Daisy, that he wants to have a future with them.
ReplyDeleteEarly in this chapter, right after Daisy arrives at Nick’s house, Gatsby is embarrassed and follows Nick into the kitchen and Nick tells Gatsby that he is “acting like a little boy.” He and Daisy are acting very awkwardly and shyly around each other, almost like two teenagers who do not know how to show their feelings towards one another. I think the reunion of Daisy and Gatsby takes them back to when they were young and carelessly in love, which in Daisy’s case was when she was actually a teenager. I think Gatsby throwing the shirts and Daisy crying is them going back to the time in their lives when they could be goofy and did not have to composed members of high society. They knew each other before either got to these places in their lives, so they see each others true selves, the person in them unaffected by the wealth and, in regards to Daisy, the person not being controlled by Tom. We have not seen Daisy get this emotional about anything, and I think she holds her feelings in, but here, she is engulfed with different emotions that she has a part of her life before Tom back and I think in a way its freeing to her. For Gatsby, we know that he has been trying to get Daisy’s attention forever, even buying his house just so for the hope he could catch a glimpse of Daisy across the bay. He is with his love Daisy now, and I think because of that he just lets go his polite ways and decides to act ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other people who say that Gatsby is flaunting his wealth for Daisy. He knows that she comes from wealth, and that she married a wealthy man. This is his way of proving to her that he is wealthy too. We’ve had instances of characters commenting on their own wealth to Nick ( “You ought to see the baby.” , “I’ve got a nice place here.” , “It’s pretty, isn’t it old sport!”, “My house looks well, doesn’t it? See how the whole front of it catches the light?”). However, in this instance, Gatsby isn’t asking Daisy’s opinion. He’s not asking if she would like to see his amazing shirts. He just tells her, “I’ve got a man in England who buys me my clothes,” and then he literally starts throwing them at her. “He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us…” As they walk through the house, he can tell she’s impressed. This means that his plan is working. She is attracted to the wealth just like he thought she would be. He watches her looking at all of his things. Nick says, “… I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.” By the end he just gets so excited by the whole thing, he just can’t contain himself. He throws his wealth at her instead of waiting for her to discover it. I’m not too sure why she starts crying. Maybe she’s just too overwhelmed with how perfectly rich Gatsby is. She’s been wanting to see him for years, and now that she has, she sees that he’s not just a great guy; he has fancy shirts from England.
ReplyDeleteGatsby finally achieves what he has been dreaming for five long years,"He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity." and bursts forth with happiness. It is Gatsby's moment to be "P-paralyzed with happiness." Gatsby flings his shirts in joy and to show off the wealth he has acquired just to impress Daisy. Daisy is very impressed. With the emotions of seeing Gatsby again "Daisy's face was smeared with tears" and the rich shirts and being together with him in his house pushes Daisy into tears "Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily." These two make a beautiful and sincere couple unlike when we see Daisy and Tom together.
ReplyDeleteI think this whole scene really highlights just how emotionally unstable Gatsby and Daisy are. I think because Gatsby hasn't ever really had much to freak out about, his reaction starts much earlier in the scene when he shows up "pale, and there were dark signs of sleeplessness beneath his eyes" and how he keeps looking outside the window "as if a series of invisible but alarming happenings we taking place outside". Gatsby is on edge and jittery, he doesn't know how to deal with the sudden rush of emotions. Daisy on the other hand, has dealt with emotional suppression in the past and knows how to hold herself a little better like when she "was sitting, frightened but graceful, on the edge of a stiff chair". She just seems to be veteran in this game of discomfort and Gatsby is the rookie and isn't fond of it. When we get to the shirt flinging, I think that's when Gatsby starts to go a little crazy and unwind a little too much. To me it seems like he's trying to come off cool and relaxed but he's really on the border of being a total basket case. He starts flinging, showing off, trying to entertain in an empty house with a small group. It might be a stretch and totally wrong but, maybe by being in Gatsby's house, seeing everything and thinking about how it all could have been hers, she sees the bright future that she missed out on. She sees a bright and beautiful and glorious and happy future that doesn't belong to her anymore and it upsets her because she isn't happy with what she has now. She really let's go and the weight of her unhappiness comes crashing down, and sends her over the edge.
ReplyDeleteThis is great! Graham writes about G.&D. as "a beautifully sincere couple," while Tanja writes about their emotional instability. Perhaps these two perspectives can coexist—in fact, they very much can. At the same time, what Graham and Tanja point out is a schizophrenia at the heart of this "relationship." Or maybe, more simply and less loaded than schizophrenia, is the heavy, great, overwhelming emotions that have come out; and how, perhaps, this does make them "a beautiful and sincere couple." Especially when seen in the light of Daisy and Tom, Tom and Myrtle, and even Nick and the "incurably dishonest" Jordan with her brittleness and cynicism (and she's just 21).
DeleteI'm not entirely sure what this scene means. My best guess is that it's another expression of their superficiality, but this time we see more of a reason behind it. We now know more about the relationship of Daisy and Gatsby. It's been a long time since they've seen each other, "five years next November. . . The automatic quality of Gatsby's answer set us all back at least another minute." Clearly there's a history there. Something happened between them that made Gatsby, or both, hold on to whatever it is they had together. I really noticed Gatsby's insecurities during this chapter. He is terribly afraid when Nick leaves him alone with Daisy. Nick says, "I made an excuse at the first possible moment, and got to my feet. 'Where are you going?' demanded Gatsby in immediate alarm." Gatsby is so overwhelmed by the feelings he gets from seeing Daisy and can't even bare the thought of having to entertain her all by himself. He clearly holds Daisy and what they had up on a pedestal.
ReplyDeleteWhen he decides he wants to show Daisy his house, my theory is that he feels so incompetent emotionally that he feels the need to show off his lavish belongings. His superficiality comes from his insecurities of himself and possibly with Daisy. If he can offer her everything she wants, what does it matter if he can't express himself perfectly? Or at all?
Nick narrates, "After his embarrassment and his unreasoning joy he was consumed with wonder at her presence. He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity. Now, in the reaction, he was running down like an overwound clock."Gatsby realizes in that moment that he expected much more of his reunion with Daisy than he got. She doesn't leap into his arms like he might have hoped. This is why he decides to throw the shirts up. He decides to compensate for his now hopeless dream by flashing his never-ending wealth. Daisy's tears over the shirts are possibly her tears for Gatsby. This man who may be the only man that truly loved her is suddenly right in front of her but she's unavailable. She's not technically allowed to love him. She can act superficial like she's crying because she's "never seen such-such beautiful shirts before," but really it's because she doesn't know how to express herself and ask for what she wants.
I think that Gatsby throws the shirts for a couple of reasons. The first in my opinion is that the fancy shirts no longer serve the same significance to Gatsby that they did before he was Daisy again. Nick says: "Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real", which I think means Gatsby is so overwhelmed with happiness that he is in a daze, and throwing the shirts is just an expression of his gaiety. I also agree with what Jenny and a few others said about it bringing them back to when they were young and in love. Gatsby is very nervous about the whole situation. When Nick says that Daisy is embarrassed too, Gatsby can't believe it: "'She's embarrassed?' he repeated incredulously". I think after they start to let loose a little, Gatsby just gets excited and wants to have fun with her like they maybe used to. I think that in a way this is the same reason that Daisy cries. She is sad that she couldn't have been with Gatsby the whole time, while he got each a every shirt: '"It makes me sad because I've never seen such-such beautiful shirts before'". She feels that she has lost so much time with Gatsby that she wishes she hadn't.
ReplyDeleteLike other people are saying, Gatsby is definitely flaunting his wealth. And he's doing this for Daisy. He saved for (he says) three years to buy THAT house, where he was right across the bay from her. Flinging his shirts about, showing off his house and “a toilet set of pure dull gold,” (quite impractical), I would like to use what Sam said, and say that Gatsby is “peacocking” for Daisy. I feel that he wants to show that he is as wealthy as Tom. I feel like Gatsby is flinging these shirts because usually, he is very composed and orderly, like his shirts, “piled like bricks stacked a dozen high.” But around Daisy (save the beginning, when he was a nervous wreck, “acting like a little boy,”) he is more himself. Also, I feel like Daisy was crying not because she hadn’t seen shirts like that before, but because they were Gatsby’s shirts, and she was lamenting the time she had wasted with Tom instead of spent with Gatsby. I also feel like she was crying a little bit in celebration of seeing Gatsby again.
ReplyDeleteThe scene where Gatsby is showing Nick and Daisy (but mostly Daisy) his home and all of his nice things is a significant one in which it shows us the way Daisy and Gatsby feel about each other, and the scene where Gatsby is flinging his shirts and Daisy cries over them is extremely telling as well. It is so very obvious that Gatsby is madly in love with Daisy. He becomes a totally different person when she first shows up, acting like a scared, frail little child. He becomes shy and introverted. He’s just plain nervous. “Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes.” Then Gatsby overcomes the fear and embarrassment and becomes absolutely fixated with Daisy. They go back to Gatsby’s house, where Gatsby shows Daisy his closet and all of his shirts. “He took out a pile and began throwing them, one by one, before shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel.” The reason Gatsby is throwing his shirts is to flaunt his wealth to Daisy, to show her all of the things he has. Gatsby has been looking for Daisy for five years. He has bought a mansion just to be near her. He throws lavish parties with the hope she’ll show up. He buys and drives a big honking car with the hopes that one day she might notice him passing by. He obviously wants Daisy, and he wants her to know that he has made it, that he is wealthy as all get out and can provide for her anything she would ever want. That is the reason he shows her his whole house and all of his things, and, finally, his shirts. When Gatsby shows Daisy his shirts, she starts to cry. “’They’re such beautiful shirts’ she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. ‘It makes me so sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful shirts before.’” It is quite clear that she is not sad because of the beautiful shirts. It is the beauty of everything Gatsby that makes her so sad. It is Gatsby’s house, his lavish possessions, and Jay Gatsby himself that are so beautiful to her. It is the lifestyle of living with Gatsby and all that goes with that that are so beautiful to her. It is the way that Gatsby treats her and has always treated her that is so beautiful to her. Her tears over his “shirts” are tears of longing. I think that at this moment she is finally coming to fully realize her mistake in marrying Tom and the life she is leading now. She is not happy with her life now, and while it may be a stretch I think she wants a life with Jay Gatsby. She wants something more than what she has now, and Jay Gatsby can provide it for her. And yet, she is still married to Tom, she still has a child and a life with Tom as opposed to Gatsby, and so she cries out of longing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Cam said about his 3 stages of shock after seeing Daisy again. A great quote is from Nick about Gatsby: "He had been full of the idea [of Daisy] for so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconcievable intensity." After all of his waiting, longing, and incredibly desperate planning Gatsby "was running down like an overwound clock." I think this is a great explanation of what is happening in the shirt scene. Gatsby is now litterally throwing his possessions at Daisy,showing her every last bit of wealth that he has accumulated just for her. It's icing on the cake. He's been building up to this moment after showing her every aspect of his house-- he wants her to see everything.
ReplyDeleteDaisy's reaction is evidence of her breaking point as well. After all these years of longing for Gatsby, he's now throwing everything at her in full force (litterally). Daisy is simply overwhelmed, whether be in joy or in despair. I think Cam made a great connection of Tom and Gatsby. It is definitely possible that Daisy is distraught at seeing Gatsby becoming Tom.
I would have to agree with Erin. I have absolutely no idea what is going on here. After thinking over the scene the only idea I could come up with on the significance of the scene is to stress the absolute ridiculous nature of Gatsby and Daisy's reunion. The entire chapter was pretty lost on me. Why Nick decided to stand in the rain for thirty minutes rather than finding somewhere in the house out of the way to sit. Why Gatsby was being so dramatic about the entire affair. And of course, why Gatsby decided to throw his clothing at Daisy, and why Daisy chose to cry into his shirts. All of it just seems so over the top and full of drama that, while I understood it had a place in the story, the significance of any of the individual scenes is a mystery to me. The sudden change in Gatsby's behavior from asking, "'Is everything alright?'" in a panic with "Dark sign's of sleeplessness under his eyes to Nick's description, "He literally glowed; without a word or gesture of exultation a new well being radiated from him," only served to further my confusion. And yet the strangest thing of all to me was when Daisy claimed, "It makes me sad because I've never seen such - such beautiful shirts before." As I have already said a multitude of times, I am confused.
ReplyDeleteI think that when Gatsby flings the shirts he is symbolically throwing himself and his riches at her, hoping for some kind of acceptance and possibly a feeling of affection in return. This is the first chapter where we see Gatsby as a human, and not a surreal being or idol. He is nervous and awkward when he meets Daisy, and foolishly parades his belongings in hope of rekindling there relationship. “I’ve got a man in England”, Gatsby is trying to show Daisy how much power he has and the full extent of her riches if she were to choose to love Gatsby. “I’ve never seen such-such beautiful shirts before”. Daisy isn’t crying over the beauty of the shirts, she is crying because she is in a horrible situation of choosing loyalty over happiness. Tom has shown Daisy how little he cares, and Daisy is very aware of that. Daisy would clearly rather be with Gatsby but her loyalty to Tom keeps her from running off with Jay. Gatsby clearly is in love with Daisy and Daisy has just come to the conclusion that she’s in love with Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteFrom the beginning of this chapter, we the readers are slowly realizing the reason behind most if not all of Gatsby’s extravagance. In Gatsby’s eyes, everything he does is for Daisy: buying the big house, throwing the ridiculous parties, having the “clown car”, and even living across the bay from Daisy. If there is one fault that I can give Gatsby (although there are probably more), it is that he is an insufferable showoff. Every other word out of his mouth is “have you seen my blah blah blah. It’s beautiful.” Although he might pose this question to Nick, it seems that Gatsby doesn’t actually care what Nick thinks. He only cares about Daisy. Hell, at this point, it seems like Gatsby’s relationship with Nick may well have been founded primarily on the basis of getting to know Daisy. And so this is how the chapter goes: Gatsby showing off in front of Daisy, giving her a taste of the life she could’ve had. I feel like the shirt scene falls within the same vein of ostentatious behavior. Gatsby, believing in the power of superficial qualities, tries to win Daisy over with material possessions. Of course, Daisy being the superficial person she is, cries because she yearns to have such riches. In a way this scene is sort of disgusting, or at least the fact that she is crying is disgusting. The fact that someone would be so emotionally distraught over clothes is terrible. I’m not sure which one Daisy has fallen in love with more, the clothes or Gatsby himself. Either way, I guess it’s safe to say that Gatsby has played his cards well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anna, Gatsby has been looking forward to showing Daisy the vastness of his wealth since day one. The parties, the car, the hydro-plane, it's all for her. He wants to shower Daisy in the richness and splendor of his life. HE wants to give her what Tom give her and more. He says "I've got a man in England who buys me clothes." Not only are the extremely expensive shirts symbols of his wealth, they are a promise of adventure. The mere fact that they come from overseas shows that Gatsby wants to give Daisy the adventure she's been looking for. She gives in from the moment Nick leaves the room to Gatsby's desire. She is filled with all sorts of emotions, Nick says, "Her throat, full of aching, grieving beauty, told only of her unexpected joy." She must be overwhelmed by Gatsby's reappearance, guilty about what this would do to Tom and both daunted and ecstatic at the idea of a new adventure. When Gatsby throws the shirts I pictured it as in the trailer, he is literally showering her in them. Just as he wants to shower her with love, affection and wealth. The shirts are a promise of escape, that's all Daisy wants. When she sees the cloud she says, "'I'd like to just get one of those pink clouds and put you in it a push you around.'" (While being a very odd thing to say) Daisy can't help but think about a life with Gatsby, a life away from the Eggs and Tom, a life Gatsby very much wants to provide.
ReplyDeleteZoe brings up a great quote here: Daisy wanting to push Gatsby around in a cloud—like a baby, almost, in a buggy. Which reinforces even further the idea of Gatsby's childlike nature. "You're acting like a little boy" indeed!
DeleteObviously Gatsby is flaunting his extravagant wealth, an act that he has been hoping to present to Daisy for some time. But why does he choose his shirts, of all items? Gatsby could have chosen spectacular invaluable gems, or his car, or a menagerie of other items, so why does he choose something as simple as his shirts? As we discussed in class today, I believe Gatsby originated from more humble beginnings, and that his money did not in fact come from a wealthy family. Why would Gatsby wish to go into the military if he were a successful business man? It is my thought that when he met Daisy he was nothing but a man with little to his name, and that the military path was the only one available to him, and that by throwing his shirts at her Gatsby is saying that lack of wealth will not keep them apart again, and she proceeds to have an emotional breakdown.
ReplyDeleteGatsby has a patently ostentatious wardrobe, what with its "seasonal" suits and all, and obviously enjoys showing it off to Nick and Daisy. He's finally gotten what he's wanted- Daisy is at his house, she can see how wealthy he is, and I think he pretty much stops caring about how much the shirts cost, how he really shouldn't be throwing them around because his valet will have to rearrange them later, but he's totally engrossed in the fact that Daisy is actually in his house. He has achieved his goal. As for Daisy, she is overcome by the reckless abandon with which Gatsby throws his shirts around, and how different he is from Tom about being careless with his wealth. She's not cooped up in the house in East Egg anymore, forced to sit complacently while Tom buys his portly mistress dogs in New York City. She stops caring, even if just for a moment, about everything that is wrong with her life with Tom, and is totally carried away by the carefree attitude of Gatsby. It's okay to throw the shirts around! Nobody cares! Except maybe for poor old Nick, probably covered in silk by now, his perfectly parted hair in disarray.
ReplyDeleteI think this scene has a few meanings. Like many people have said there is definetly this feeling like Gatsby is and always will be obsessed with Daisy. He has done everything for her, and has become who he is because of her, "He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end." The fact that finally daisy was in his house and with him and he doesn't know what to do, he wants to show her everything that he has worked for for her, and wants to prove himself. When he throws the shirts on the bed, "He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel, which lost their folds as they fell..." He is desperate to show her everythign he can in the time he has. The way she responds, when she says, "they're such beautiful shirts," she is so caught up in the fact that she missed out on such a great man. Everything he does is magical and amazing and perfect. she goes on to sob, "It makes me sad because I 've never seen such..." he regrets her decision to marry Tom and leave Gatsby, and now that she sees what Gatsby has become she deosn't know what to do. In the end I think the reason Daisy was crying, was because she was finally realizing what she had missed out on, and did not know how to deal with it. I think Gatsby in this situation is trying to use all the time he has and not waste any of it, to show Daisy how he has grown and how rich and "amazing" he is.
ReplyDeleteI think that the moment in which Gatsby is throwing his shirts and Daisy is sitting in the middle of the room being surrounded by this sea of colored shirts is an exhausting/liberating moment for the two of them. It’s what they have worked up to during this whole nervous first meeting. Gatsby knows that Daisy is very impressed with his house, but he doesn’t know what is to happen between the two of them now that they have been reunited, and I think the throwing of the shirts is him really trying to convince her that he is the right one for her. Gatsby is trying to prove to her that he has built up to her standards, he isn’t just a soldier anymore, he is filthy rich like her now and is of adequate class to be with her, “I’ve got a man in England who buys me clothes. He sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall.” Gatsby is acting very childish throughout this whole scene, and as Nick point out it’s been, “Almost five years!” Gatsby and Daisy would like to pick up again from where they had left off when she was 18, but they are older now and it’s hard to cope with feelings which were from a teenage experience, because time has passed and situations have changed. After five years of dreaming of Daisy and building her up to be a goddess in his mind, Gatsby is desperate to win her, but does not know how to be forward about it, so he flaunts all his possessions to try and impress her enough.
ReplyDeleteDaisy on the other hand is so surprised and overwhelmed by emotions of happiness, regret, admiration and confusion that I think she is much more reserved and quite than the careless Daisy Gatsby remembers. She is surprised by Gatsby’s wealth and cries, because she is sad to see what she could have had. As much as Daisy might like to leave Tom, I don’t think that a realistic chance of that even flashed through her head, and so she is very sad to see and know that her ideal man/prince charming is someone she has lost the opportunity to be with. Although now of upper class, Gatsby’s conduct still differs from other people. He is very childish and I think that is something that draws Daisy to him. It reminds her of when they were young and carefree and mostly of when she was truly happy and free.
I think their silence and the fact that they do not talk about their past times together with happy remembrance is also a sign that as much as it was happy it was sad, because it was a time when they could not be together. Bringing it up now that they have re-met is something that they are both nervous about, because Daisy knows that their chance together has been lost and is still not realistic.
Like others have already mentioned, this chapter shows Gatsby's inner child come out. Yet he is still very nervous and wants to forget this whole tea arrangement. "...He got up and informed me, in an uncertain voice, that he was going home. As we keep reading we notice he is a bit clumsy and embarrassed because of Daisy's presence that he almost knocks Nick's defunct clock. Earlier on that same page Gatsby's "head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock, and from this position his distraught Wes stared down at daisy." I think Gatsby is amazed at the fact that after five years he is seeing the love of his life, and all time has stopped for him. Nick takes action and encourages Gatsby to go back and enjoy some time with Daisy. After nick has gotten some sense into Jay, he returns to the normal Gatsby we know with the harming smile and the "old sport " phrase. Later on Daisy finds the shirts and I agree with what others have said. Gatsby is showing off his wealth and fancy exclusive English made shirts that are sent at the " beginning of each season". When I read this scene I was also reminded of wealthy people or rappers who throw there money around in their music videos. But underneath I believe Gatsby is enjoying the fact that Daisy enjoys his brick stacks of shirts. I don't quite understand why she cries but I believe it is because she wonders how life would have been with Gatsby and his wealth. She is reminded of her sad life with Tom, and how hard it has been to live with someone she doesn't love,
ReplyDeleteI think this scene means a lot to both Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby is throwing his shirts around, Daisy is crying, and Nick is just standing saying "What the hell is going on." Gatsby is obviously very nervous about meeting Daisy, the way he looks at the beginning of the chapter compared to the end when he was "literally glowing." Both of them obviously feel very awkward at the beginning, but towards the end their much, much closer then before. Like Andrew, I'm very confused about the individual scenes because they seem so over-dramatic. Gatsby is obviously going literally crazy with happiness, and Daisy is so mental unstable at the moment that shes crying about how beautiful Gatsby's shirts are. It all seems very strange to me. Another part is when Nick comes back into his house after standing in the rain, and he sees Daisy crying and Gatsby smiling. That part just made me go "What?" Also one more thing that bothered me, is how Gatsby is suddenly pestering Nick about this shady, black marketish scheme of his.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that has loved Daisy for a long time and never lost hope of getting her back. Although he seems to be almighty powerful when he commands Mr. Klipspringer,"Don't talk so much,old sport...Play!" Gatsby clearly shows the reader how incredibly weak he is when it comes to Daisy. She may be his only weakness. Daisy, basically childlike herself with her manic pixie dream girl aura, is what has inspired Gatsby to be childlike and carefree as well. Gatsby is doing and showing off all these things that he think Daisy really cares about. Yes, she may clearly admire them but all of these things are materials on the outside of Gatsby's heart. Gatsby hasn't really shown her the reality that his heart and "throat [have been] aching with unexpected" just like hers. Nick is not even blinded anymore he clearly see that, "he hardly knew what he was saying." I think Gatsby is just incredibly overwhelmed much like Nick thinks. Perhaps underneath the surface of the superficial showing off he is really trying to show Daisy how much effort he's put into satisfying her. He may or may not have worked three years to earn it all but he's flinging his shirts as a sign of saying, look how much i want you to love me because I love you. Daisy isn't crying because the shirts are beautiful. I probably would have said something dumb like that too if Nick was still there. [Awkwardly by the way.] Daisy's crying because she personally put meaning into these shirts as the clothes that touches the skin of the man she loves. I think she cries because they may actually be beautiful to her, as opposed to Tom's shirts who she could care less about because not only do they belong to the man who is unfaithful to her but probably come in contact with the unknown mistress as well. Daisy is also overwhelmed because unlike Tom, all of these things have been especially prepared just for her out of love. This is the first time she is experiencing luxury with all it's meaning because she put the meaning into it. These are the rooms, flowers, shirts and rude commands of a man she accepts and loves. Many people probably think that Gatsby and Tom are so incredibly alike but to Daisy it makes all the difference in the world that she feels loved by one and not betrayed by the other.
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