CHAPTER 1-2

1. CHAPTER 1-2 BY: RYAN B, DAVID G, MICHAEL, CONNOR B, TORY H, MARIANA S

2. SETTING • Where: • Hometown: Middle West (which we know is in St. Paul, Minnesota) • Current Home: A beaten cardboard bungalow at the tip of the West Egg on Long Island Sound. This is where Nick moved to when he came “East”. • Home of the Tom Buchanans: A red and white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay at East Egg. Nick spent a day here catching up with his old friends. • Home of Tom’s mistress, Myrtle: The valley of ashes, halfway between Long Island and New York. This is where Nick and Tom pick Myrtle up on their way to New York. • Tom’s Apartment: Morningside apartments, New York. While Tom and Nick are with Myrtle they go to Tom’s apartment. • When: Spring of 1922 • He wrote this book after he returned to the Middle West from West Egg.

3. CHARACTERS FROM CHAPTER 1

4. Nick Carraway- Main character, new boy from the West, and returning war veteran. • Tom Buchanans- Nick’s college “friend,” cheating on his wife, and former football star. • Daisy Buchanans- Tom’s wife and Nick’s cousin twice remove. Hates the fact that she has become intellectual, but hopes for a more foolish future for her daughter. • Miss Baker- Daisy’s friend and golden girl of the East egg. • Mr. Gatsby- Nick’s neighbor and mysterious millionaire.

5. CHARACTERS FROM CHAPTER 2

6. Mrs. Wilson (Myrtle)- The wife of George Wilson. Has an affair with Tom. Is fairly friendly towards Nick. Wants more than George provides for her which is why she has the affair with Tom. • George Wilson- Husband of Myrtle Wilson. Owns and lives above a car repair shop in New York City. Is totally unsuspecting of Tom and Myrtles relationship. Very friendly towards Tom because he doesn’t know about the relationship.

7. Catherine- The sister of Myrtle Wilson. Meets Nick at the party in the apartment in New York. Not a major character. Has bright red hair. • Mr. and Mrs. McKee- A couple who lives downstairs in the apartment in which the party is thrown in. Give Nick mixed emotions. Mrs. McKee is pale and feminine and Mr. McKee is shrill.

8. SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 1 • The book is written in the 1920s, about a young man, Nick, who has moved East to work in bonds. He lives on the West Egg side of Long Island, next to a huge mansion belonging to Mr. Gatsby. His cousin Daisy lived with her husband, Tom Buchanan, on the East Egg side. They are very rich, have a huge house as well, and he gets along well with them. The Buchanans invite him for dinner, where he meets their other guest, Miss Baker. During dinner they gossip about candles, the butler, Gatsby, civilization, etc., until Mr. Buchanan is called away to get a phone call. Mrs. Buchanan follows him, and Miss Baker tries to listen to the conversation. When Nick doesn’t understand what she is doing, she explains that it is Tom’s mistress calling. Tom and Daisy return, but everyone is tense now and the guests soon leave. As Nick returns home, he sees his neighbor Gatsby, out staring at the stars.

9. SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 2 • The commuter train between West Egg and New York makes several stops, one of them is in a valey of ashes. Once, in a Sunday afternoon, Nick took the train with Tom, who forced him from the car at this point, and announced that he would meet his mistress. • Doctor T. J. Eckeleburg keeps his big blue eyes on everything that goes on on the valey. He accompanied Tom and Nick to Mr. Wilson's garage, where Nick got to know Myrtle, Tom's girl. • Through discret whispers, Tom let Mrs. Wilson know that he wanted her to come to the city with him. The three of them, Nick, Tom and the lady, took the train and ended up at New York. • Mrs. Wilson reveals her excentric and demanding personality as soon as she gets to the city. She bought a puppie, and they head to her apartment.

10. SUMMARY CONTINUED… • Tom forced Nick to spend that summer afternoon with him and Myrtle at her place. She sounded excited about the idea, so she invited the McKees (a neighboohr couple that lived downstairs) and her sister, Catherine, to come over. • People started getting to the apartment, and after a few drinks, they had conversations about some sensitive topics. • At this point, Mr. Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson started a discussion about whether she could or not refer to his wife's name. He ended up breaking her nose and the party came to an end. • Nick took the elevator with Mr. McKee and ended up taking the 4a.m. train.

11. IMPORTANT QUOTES - “Don’t believe everything you hear, Nick,” he advised me.” - David Giordano -”I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon; so everything that happened has a dim, hazy cast over it, although until after eight o’clock the apartment was full of cheerful sun.” (29) - Ryan Buschmann -“This isn’t just an epigram-life is much more successfully looked at from a single window, after all.” (4) Ryan Buschmann “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.”(1)- David Giordano “All right...I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool-that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” (17) - Tory Ho “Myrtle considered. I married him because I thought he was a gentleman, she said finally. I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe.” (34) - Tory Ho “I told her I had stopped off in Chicago for a day on my way East, and how a dozen people had sent their love through me.” (9)- Connor Bock “‘You mean to say you don’t know?’ said Miss Baker, honestly surprised. ‘I thought everybody knew.’‘I don’t’” (15)- Connor Bock -”Something in his leisurely movements and his secure position of his feet upon the lawn suggested that it was Mr. Gatsby himself, come out to determine what share was his of our local heavens.” (20)-Michael Grieg -”’We’re getting off,” he insisted. “I want you to meet my girl.”’ (24) -Michael Grieg