The Great Gatsby
Notice & Note Chapter 7
Contrasts & Contradictions
"Daisy's leaving you."
"Nonsense."
"I am, though," she said with a visible effort.
"She's not leaving me!" Tom's words suddenly leaned down over Gatsby.
Page 133, Daisy confesses with the help of Gatsby that she is going to leave Tom and that she has never loved him.
Daisy and Tom were sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table... He was talking intently across the table at her, and in his earnestness his hand had fallen upon and covered her own.
But on page 145, it seemed as if the troubling couple have reconciled once again. It does not seem common amongst their social class for a called divorce on the topic of cheating. Tom is in distress that his mistress has recently died and Daisy is just a confused fool.
Words of the wiser
Tom tell George Wilson, after Myrtle's death, that he has to get himself together. Even though, recently, George has found out that Myrtle has been having an affair and had locked her in her room. Which is almost a mirror image to Tom, whose mistress has died, Myrtle, and whose wife is slipping away as well...
This quote from Tom may be a foreshadow in future chapters.
Aha Moment
"Ah," she cried, "you look so cool."
Their eyes met, and they stared together at each other alone in space. With an effort she glanced down at the table...
She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw.
Before this, we recall Daisy explaining how she had thought Gatsby was so cool. Which in Daisy-talk, means that she loves Gatsby. And Tom, her loving husband which is so ironic, speaks Daisy-talk. Meaning, he has found out that Daisy is declaring her love for Gatsby. Which sets a series of events off in one chapter.
The
Great
Gatsby
Again & Again
"No, old sport."
"I've got something to tell you, old sport-"
"You can suit yourself about that, old sport."
Jay Gatsby uses the phrase "old sport" repeatedly to name the fellas in the book such as Nick and Tom. In previous chapters we find out that Jay is a former Oxford student. Which seems a bit sketchy to Tom, even Nick and few others because military and education did not seem to fit well in Jay's past. It occurs to readers that Jay is just "attempting" to pass himself off as a "former Oxford student."
Memory Moment
Tom makes an ironic statement while bringing up that he also cheats on Daisy with anything that walks. It gives readers to think about Myrtle. Also, in the previous pages we see that Myrtle is watching, with overflowing emotions, when Tom stops by her husband's car shop for gas. Connections.
Tough Questions
Page 113, Nick Carraway, questions out of curiosity as to why Gatsby is not having a party on a Saturday night. Soon, we find out that Gatsby does not need to throw lavish parties to fill his empty void of not having Daisy, because as it turns out, he is having Daisy every afternoon.