Detailed Notes on Chapter 4

Guests at Gatsby’s House

•On Sunday morning, guests returned to Gatsby’s house and drank his cocktails while making uninformed accusations, including calling him a bootlegger.

•Gatsby kept an old time-table with the names of his guests during the summer of 1922, including the Chester Beckers, the Leeches, and Doctor Webster Civet, among others.

•Guests from East Egg included the Ismays, the Chrysties, and the Hornbeams, along with the Willie Voltaires and the Blackbucks, who kept to themselves.

•Guests from farther out on the Island included the Cheadles, the O.R.P. Schraeders, and the Stonewall Jackson Abrams of Georgia, as well as the 

Fishguards and the Ripley Snells.

•Guests from West Egg included the Poles, the Mulreadys, and Cecil Roebuck and Schoen, along with Gulick the state senator and Newton Orchid, who controlled Films Par Excellence.

•Other guests included the Catlips, the Bembergs, and G. Earl Muldoon, as well as Ed Legros and James B. “Rot-Gut” Ferret, who came to gamble.

The Guests of Gatsby’s Party

•Klipspringer was a regular attendee and earned the nickname “the boarder.”

•Other theatrical guests included Gus Waize, Horace O’donavan, Lester Meyer, George Duckweed, and Francis Bull.

•The Chromes, Backhyssons, Dennickers, Russel Betty, Corrigans, Kellehers, Dewars, Scullys, S.W. Belcher, and the Smirkes were also present.

•Divorced young Quinns, Henry L. Palmetto, who committed suicide, and Benny McClenahan with his rotating group of identical-looking female companions were there as well.

•Faustina O’brien, the Baedeker girls, young Brewer, Mr. Albrucksburger and Miss Haag, his fiancee, Ardita Fitz-Peters, Mr. P. Jewett, and Miss Claudia Hip with her chauffeur, and a prince nicknamed Duke were among the guests.

•Gatsby invited Nick Carraway, who rode up to his house in Gatsby’s car.

•Gatsby showed off his car to Nick and invited him to lunch.

•Gatsby’s restless, spontaneous movements contrasted with his polite manners.

A Strange Ride with Gatsby

•The narrator describes Gatsby’s car as a monstrosity, with various luggage stacked up and numerous windshields that reflect sunlight.

•The narrator had met Gatsby several times and found him unimpressive but learned that he owned an elaborate road-house

•During the ride, Gatsby began asking the narrator about his opinion of him, and interrupted him to talk about his past.

•Gatsby said he was from the Middle West, but was educated at Oxford due to a family tradition. The narrator suspects he’s lying since Gatsby seemed bothered when he mentioned it.

•Gatsby claimed he inherited wealth after his entire family passed away, and spent time traveling in Europe to forget something sad that had happened to him.

•Gatsby mentions the war at the end of the extract.

The Military Achievements and Personal Background of Jay Gatsby

•Jay Gatsby enlisted as a first lieutenant during World War I and proved to be a skilled leader during his time in the Argonne Forest.

•Gatsby was promoted to the rank of major and received honors from every Allied government, including a medal from Montenegro.

•Gatsby shared a photograph of his Oxford days with the narrator, proving his past and confirming his wealth and influence.

•Gatsby revealed that he often finds himself among strangers because he tries to forget a sad event in his past.

•Gatsby requested a meeting with the narrator to discuss a matter concerning Miss Baker, though it was unclear what the matter was.

A Journey to the City with Gatsby

•Gatsby is correct with pristine manners as we approach the city, passing by Port Roosevelt

•We observe the dark, old saloons lining a cobbled slum originating from the early nineteen-hundreds.

•We race through Long Island City with a police chase behind Gatsby’s car, which he manages to evade with a white card.

•Gatsby shares a story about a favor he did for the commissioner and receives a Christmas card yearly.

•Crossing the Queensboro Bridge, we view the city for the first time in its full glory.

•A dead man’s funeral procession with friends in tow passes us by while we cross Blackwell’s Island.

•Lunch with Gatsby occurs with a meeting with his friend, Mr. Wolfsheim, a small flat-nosed Jew.

Meeting with Gatsby and Mr. Wolfsheim at a Restaurant

•Mr. Wolfsheim recalls the night Rosy Rosenthal was shot at the old Metropole, which is full of memories of friends and faces gone forever.

•Rosenthal was warned by a waiter to go outside where he was shot thrice in the belly.

•Four of Rosenthal’s murderers were electrocuted.

•Mr. Wolfsheim offers a business proposition to Gatsby, thinking he is someone else.

•Mr. Wolfsheim forgets sentimentality towards the old Metropole and eats ferociously.

•Gatsby apologizes for making the protagonist angry during their car ride.

A conversation about Gatsby with Wolfsheim

•The protagonist is hesitant towards mysteries and wants Gatsby to be straightforward with him.

•Gatsby reassures the protagonist that Miss Baker is trustworthy.

•Wolfsheim talks about Gatsby’s qualifications and praises his gentlemanly traits.

•Wolfsheim shows his cufflinks made from human molars.

•Wolfsheim leaves abruptly and mentions his age.

•Gatsby reveals that Wolfsheim is a gambler who fixed the World’s Series in 1919, shocking the protagonist.

The Great Gatsby – Chapter 4

•The narrator is shocked that one man could manipulate the outcome of the World Series and escape prosecution.

•The narrator insists on paying for lunch and leaves Gatsby with Tom Buchanan, but when he turns back, Gatsby is no longer there.

•Jordan Baker recounts a memory from 1917 of Daisy in a white roadster with a lieutenant, which flatters the narrator that Daisy wanted to speak with her.
The First Encounter with Jay Gatsby

•The narrator is asked by a woman, Daisy, if she can send a message to the Red Cross about her absence that day.

•While talking to Daisy, the narrator notices an officer, Jay Gatsby, looking at her in a romantic way, leaving a significant impression on her.

•The narrator does not see Gatsby for over four years, even after meeting him on Long Island, she does not recognize him.

•In the meantime, Daisy’s wild reputation spreads with stories of her wanting to say goodbye to a soldier going overseas and being prevented by her family, leading to a temporary fallout with them.

•After her debut, Daisy is engaged to a man from New Orleans and later marries Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man from Chicago, with great pomp and circumstance.

•On the day of her own wedding, Daisy is drunk and gives away her expensive pearl necklace while crying and refusing to let go of a letter.

Daisy’s Life before Meeting Gatsby

•Daisy nonchalantly destroys her pearl necklace in Chapter 1.

•Daisy marries Tom Buchanan without any second thoughts and journeys with him to South Seas.

•Daisy seems obsessed with Tom in Santa Barbara even after he leaves the room for a minute.

•Tom has an accident with another woman who has a broken arm and gains attention in the paper.

•Daisy goes to France for a year and settles down in Chicago with Tom.

•Daisy has a “perfect reputation” for not drinking in Chicago.

•Daisy shows an interest in Gatsby when Nick mentions him.

Gatsby’s Desire for Daisy

•The girls singing and the hot twilight create a scene.

•The narrator believes it was a coincidence that Gatsby bought a house across the bay from Daisy, but it was not coincidental.

•Gatsby bought the mansion to be near Daisy.

•Gatsby wanted to know if the narrator would invite Daisy to his house and then allow Gatsby to come over.

•The narrator wonders why Gatsby did not ask Jordan to arrange a meeting.

•Gatsby wants Daisy to see his house, which is next door to the narrator’s house.

•Gatsby did not want to do anything out of the way to meet Daisy.

•The narrator invites Jordan to dinner.

•Jordan mentions that Daisy should have something in her life.

The narrator draws a girl closer to him in The Great Gatsby.

•The narrator is with someone who is not supposed to know about Gatsby.

•Gatsby does not want the girl to know about something.

•They pass dark trees and onto a block with delicate pale light.

•The narrator does not have a girl like Gatsby or Tom Buchanan.

•He draws the girl closer to him and tightens his arms.

•The girl smiles with a wan, scornful mouth.

•He draws her even closer, this time to his face.