The Great Gatsby: Chapter Nine

Final chapter of ‘The Great Gatsby’: Nick’s acceptance, the funeral, seeing key characters once more: Jordan Baker, Tom, Daisy...

Narrative perspectives/ voices:
This chapter goes through the stages of grief over Gatsby, resulting in acceptance or potentially stubbornness at the end of the chapter, quite misleading from the use of the phrase: ‘as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world’- which could be taken as either a willing or unwillingness to accept the truth from different perspectives.
Time Period:
Stages of grief are reflected also in different timings; starting with quite a reminiscent stage: ‘after two years, I remember the rest of that day, and that night and the next day’

It then becomes rather vague, with basic out-of-character time periods used; like ‘that afternoon’, becoming more unclear as different stories of Gatsby’s death enter Nick’s mind, also evident in phrases where Nick puts things off; these unclear, unorganised behaviours are unlike Nick, so must be interpreted as grief or the process of acceptance: ‘set the key for the newspaper reports next morning...’

Once this process gradually comes to a close, Nick becomes more like himself again; using formalities concerning the funeral: ‘five o’clock procession’. However, this draws to a close as it sinks in that Nick does not have much of the ability he did to carry on without Gatsby, so decides to re-visit places that are reminders of Gatsby, and changes his character accordingly- becoming a lot more vague and dismissive: ‘Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left’ ‘I spent my Saturday nights in New York because those gleaming, dazzling parties of his were with me so vividly...’

Setting:
The first setting is at Gatsby’s house – Nick is told to be here, preparing for the funeral: it ‘was still empty’ and Nick seems very distant from his usual over-caring self: ‘noone knows the woman’s name, and noone cares.’ ‘but I didn’t investigate’

The next setting is at the funeral, which takes place in the cemetery, where the only antendees are Mr Gatsz, Nick, ‘four or five’ servants, the postman ‘from West Egg’ and the owl-eyed man.

Finally, Nick states: ‘I decided to come back home’, and chooses to leave the past behind him, after conversing with Jordan Baker. The last place he visits before leaving is Gatsby’s house; ‘on the last night, with my trunk packed and my car sold to the grocer, I went over and looked at that huge incoherent failure of a house once more. On the white steps an obscene word, scrawled by some boy with a piece of brick, stood out clearly in the moonlight, and I erased it, drawing my shoe raspingly along the stone, Then I wandered down to the beach and sprawled out on the sand.’

Narrative Techniques, Elements and Themes:
Poetic prose; ‘borne back ceaselessly into the past’ ‘Gatsby’s house was still empty (when I left)’

Descriptive detail; ‘I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors’ eyes- a fresh, green breast of the new world.’

Sensual description; ‘the hair in his nostrils quivered slightly, and as he shook his head his eyes filled with tears’

Use of dramatic dialogue; ‘‘Nevertheless you did throw me over,’ said Jordan suddenly.’

Surreal description; ‘and as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in the vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us, It eluded us then, but that’s no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further...And one fine morning –

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.’

Time references; ‘after two years, I remember the rest of that day, and that night and the next day’ ‘that afternoon’ ‘set the key for the newspaper reports next morning...’ ‘five o’clock procession’ ‘I spent my Saturday nights in New York...’

Use of names; ‘noone knows the woman’s name, and no one cares.’ ‘the owl-eyed man’ ‘the old man’ ‘Slage’ ‘Mr Gatz’ ‘Jimmy’ ‘James J Hill’ ‘Tom and Daisy’

Language of altercation; ‘‘Nevertheless you did throw me over,’ said Jordan suddenly.’...’I’m thirty,’ I said. ‘I’m too old to lie to myself and call it honour.’ Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away.’’ ‘we’re getting sickantired of it’

Use of ellipses; ‘tomorrow we will run faster, stretch our arms out further... and one fine morning--’ ‘and let other people clean up the mess they had made....’ [Tom and Daisy: ‘careless people’]

Colours; ‘yellow cars on the Chicago’ ‘he had come a long way to this blue lawn’ ‘first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock’ ‘Gatsby believed in the green light’ ‘where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night’ ‘blue smoke of brittle leaves’

Themes; living in the past, reference to it:’ So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.’ Lack of names: ‘noone knows the woman’s name, and no one cares.’ Motif- yellopw cars: ‘yellow cars of the Chicago’ Setting of Gatsby’s house: ‘I went over and looked at that incoherent failure of a house once more’