The Great Gatsby

1 Chapter1 Inmyyoungerandmorevulnerableyearsmyfathe rgavemesomeadvicethatI vebeenturningoverinmymindeversince. Wheneveryoufeellikecriticizinganyone, hetoldme, justrememberthatallthepeopleinthisworldh aven thadthead-vantages that you ve had. Hedidn tsayanymore,butwe vealwaysbeenunusuallycommunicativeinares ervedway, ,I min-clinedtoreservealljudgments, ,andsoitcameaboutthatincollegeIwasunjust lyaccusedofbeingapolitician,becauseIwasp rivytothesecretgriefsofwild, frequentlyIhavefeignedsleep,preoccupatio n,orahostilelev-itywhenIrealizedbysomeun mistakablesignthatanintimaterevelationwa squiveringonthehorizon;fortheintimaterev el-ationsofyoungmen,oratleastthetermsinw hichtheyex-pressthem, ,asmyfathersnobbishlysuggested,andIsnobb ishlyrepeat,asenseofthefundamentaldecenc iesisparcelledoutunequallyat ,afterboastingthiswayofmytolerance, ,butafteracertainpointIdon tcarewhatit.

2 ,themanwhogiveshisnametothisbook,wasexem ptfrommyreaction Gatsby , ,thentherewassomethinggor-geousabouthim, someheightenedsensitivitytothepromisesof life, creativetem-perament. itwasanextraordinarygiftforhope, Gatsbyturnedoutallrightattheend;itiswhat preyedonGatsby,whatfouldustfloatedinthew akeofhisdreamsthattemporar-ilyclosedoutm yinterestintheabortivesorrowsandshort-wi nded elations of , ,andwehaveatraditionthatwe redescen-dedfromtheDukesofBuccleuch,butt heactualfounderofmylinewasmygrandfather sbrother,whocamehereinfifty-one,sentasub stitutetotheCivilWar,andstartedthewholes alehardware business that my father carries on ,butI msupposedtolooklikehim withspecialreferencetotheratherhard-boil edpaintingthathangsinfather sofficeIgraduatedfromNewHavenin1915,just aquarterofacenturyaftermyfather, ,theMiddleWestnowseemedliketheraggededge oftheuniverse , ,andfinallysaid, Why ye es, withverygrave, ,andaftervariousdelaysIcameEast,permanen tly,Ithought,inthespring of.

3 Butitwasawarmseason,andIhadjustleftacoun tryofwidelawnsandfriendlytrees,sowhenayo ungmanattheofficesuggestedthatwetakeahou setogetherinacommutingtown, ,aweather-beatencard-boardbungalowateigh tyamonth,butatthelastminutethefirmordere dhimtoWashington, atleastIhadhimforafewdaysuntilheranaway andanoldDodgeandaFinnishwoman,whomademyb edandcookedbreakfastandmutteredFinnishwi sdomtoherself over the electric ,more recently arrived than I, stopped me on the road. How do you get to West Egg village? he asked ,apathfinder, on me the freedom of the ,justasthingsgrowinfastmovies,Ihadthatfa miliarconvictionthatlifewasbeginningover againwiththe ,foronething, ,andtheystoodonmyshelfinredandgoldlikene wmoneyfromthemint, oneyearIwroteaseriesofverysolemnandobvio useditorialsforthe YaleNews.

4 AndnowIwasgoingtobringbackallsuchthingsi ntomylifeandbe-comeagainthatmostlimitedo fallspecialists,the well-roun-dedman. Thisisn tjustanepigram lifeismuchmoresuc-cessfully looked at from a single window, after andwherethereare,amongothernaturalcurios -ities, ,identicalincontourand6separatedonlybyac ourtesybay,jutoutintothemostdomest-icate dbodyofsaltwaterintheWesternhemisphere, liketheeggintheColumbusstory,theyareboth crushedflatatthecontactend in every particular except shape and ,the well,thelessfashionableofthetwo, ,onlyfiftyyardsfromtheSound, itwasafactualimitationofsomeHoteldeVille inNormandy,withatowerononeside,spankingn ewunderathinbeardofrawivy,andamarbleswim mingpool, ,rather,asIdidn , ,butitwasasmalleyesore,andithadbeenoverl ooked,soIhadaviewofthewater,apartialview ofmyneighbor slawn.

5 Andtheconsolingproximityofmillionaires all for eighty dollars a , ,andI two days with them in ,amongvariousphysicalaccomplishments,had beenoneofthemostpowerfulendsthateverplay edfootballatNewHaven anationalfigureinaway, evenincollegehisfreedomwithmoneywasamatt erforreproach butnowhe dleftChicagoandcomeEastinafashionthatrat hertookyourbreathaway:forinstance,he wealthy enough to do , ,saidDaisyoverthetele-phone,butIdidn tbelieveit IhadnosightintoDaisy sheart,butIfeltthatTomwoulddriftonforeve rseeking,alittlewistfully,forthedramatic turbulenceofsomeirrecoverablefootball ,acheerfulred-and-whiteGeorgianColonialm ansion, ,jumpingoversun-dialsandbrickwalksandbur ninggardens ,glowingnowwithreflectedgoldandwideopent othewarmwindyafternoon,andTomBuchananinr idingclothes was standing with his legs apart on the front heseemedtofillthoseglisteningbootsuntilh estrainedthetoplacing, a body capable of enormous leverage a cruel ,agruffhuskytenor, ,eventowardpeopleheliked andtherewere men at New Haven who had hated his guts.

6 Now,don tthinkmyopiniononthesemattersisfinal, heseemedtosay, justbecauseI mstrongerandmoreofamanthanyouare. Wewereinthesameseniorsociety,andwhilewew ereneverintimateIalwayshadtheimpressiont hathe8approvedofmeandwantedmetolikehimwi thsomeharsh,defiant wistfulness of his talked for a few minutes on the sunny porch. I vegotaniceplacehere, hesaid, ,hemovedabroadflathandalongthefrontvista ,includinginitssweepasunkenItaliangarden ,ahalfacreofdeep,pungentroses,andasnub-n osedmotor-boat that bumped the tide offshore. ItbelongedtoDemaine,theoilman. Heturnedmearoundagain, politely and abruptly. We ll go inside. Wewalkedthroughahighhallwayintoabrightro sy-coloredspace, ,blewcurtainsinatoneendandouttheotherlik epaleflags,twistingthemupto-wardthefrost edwedding-cakeoftheceiling,andthenripple doverthewine-coloredrug,makingashadowoni taswinddoeson the , ,andthecurtainsandtherugsandthetwoyoungw omenballoonedslowly to the ,completelymotionless,andwithherchinrais edalittle, indeed,Iwasalmostsurprisedintomurmuringa napologyforhavingdis-turbed her by coming ,Daisy,madeanattempttorise sheleanedslightlyforwardwithaconscientio usexpression thenshe9laughed,anabsurd,charminglittlel augh,andIlaughedtooand came forward into the room.

7 I mp-paralyzedwithhappiness. Shelaughedagain,asifshesaidsomethingvery witty,andheldmyhandforamoment,lookingupi ntomyface, (I vehearditsaidthatDaisy smurmurwasonlytomakepeopleleantowardher; anirrelevantcriticismthatmadeit no less charming.)Atanyrate,MissBaker slipsfluttered,shenoddedatmeal-mostimper ceptibly,andthenquicklytippedherheadback again draws a stunned tribute from ,whobegantoaskmequestionsinherlow, , ,brighteyesandabrightpassion-atemouth,bu ttherewasanexcitementinhervoicethatmenwh ohadcaredforherfounddifficulttoforget:as ingingcom-pulsion,awhispered Listen, apromisethatshehaddonegay,excitingthings justawhilesinceandthatthereweregay,excit ing things hovering in the next ,andhowadozenpeoplehadsenttheirlovethrou ghme. Do they miss me?

8 She cried ecstatically. ,andthere saper-sistent wail all night along the north shore. Howgorgeous!Let sgoback, ! Thensheadded irrelevantly: You ought to see the baby. I d like to. She tyoueverseenher? Never. Well, you ought to see her. She s 10 TomBuchanan,whohadbeenhoveringrestlessly abouttheroom, stopped and rested his hand on my shoulder. What you doing, Nick? I m a bond man. Who with? I told him. Never heard of them, he remarked annoyed me. Youwill, Iansweredshortly. YouwillifyoustayintheEast. Oh,I llstayintheEast,don tyouworry, hesaid,glancingatDaisyandthenbackatme,as ifhewerealertforsomethingmore. I d be a God damned fool to live anywhere else. AtthispointMissBakersaid: Absolutely! withsuchsud-dennessthatIstarted ,forsheyawnedandwithaseriesofrapid,deftm ove-ments stood up into the room.

9 I mstiff, shecomplained, I vebeenlyingonthatsofaforas long as I can remember. Don tlookatme, Daisyretorted, I vebeentryingtogetyou to New York all afternoon. No,thanks, saidMissBakertothefourcocktailsjustinfro m the pantry, I m absolutely in training. Her host looked at her incredulously. Youare! Hetookdownhisdrinkasifitwereadropinthebo ttomofaglass. Howyouevergetanythingdoneisbeyondme. IlookedatMissBaker,wonderingwhatitwasshe gotdone. ,small-breastedgirl,withanerectcarriage, ,charming, ,orapictureofher,somewhere before. YouliveinWestEgg, sheremarkedcontemptuously. Iknow somebody there. I don t know a single You must know Gatsby . 11 Gatsby ? demanded Daisy. What Gatsby ? BeforeIcouldreplythathewasmyneighbordinn erwasan-nounced;wedginghistensearmimpera tivelyundermine,TomBuchanancompelledmefr omtheroomasthoughheweremoving a checker to another ,languidly,theirhandssetlightlyontheirhi ps,thetwoyoungwomenprecededusoutontoaros y-coloredporch,opentowardthesunset,where fourcandlesflickeredonthetable in the diminished wind.

10 WhyCANDLES? objectedDaisy, Intwoweeksit llbethelongestdayintheyear. Shelookedatusallradiantly. Doyoualwayswatchforthelongestdayoftheyea randthenmissit?Ialwayswatch for the longest day in the year and then miss it. Weoughttoplansomething, yawnedMissBaker,sittingdown at the table as if she were getting into bed. Allright, saidDaisy. What llweplan? Sheturnedtomehelplessly: What do people plan? BeforeIcouldanswerhereyesfastenedwithana wedex-pression on her little finger. Look! she complained; I hurt it. We all looked the knuckle was black and blue. Youdidit,Tom, shesaidaccusingly. Iknowyoudidn tmeanto, swhatIgetformarryingabruteofaman,agreat, big,hulkingphysicalspecimenofa Ihatethatwordhulking, objectedTomcrossly, eveninkidding.