The Great Gatsby Chapter 1-5 Summaries

In Chapter 1, the narrator introduces himself as Nick Carraway and talks about himself and his father. He describes himself as tolerant but fails to realizes his views are very biased and speaks with pity to those who “haven't had the advantages that you've had,” as his father says. Nick comes from a well-known Mid-Western family, and graduated from Yale (as his ancestors have) in 1915. After fighting in World War I, he comes home restless and decides to learn the bond business. His father finances Nick for a year and Nick lives in a house on West Egg. He talks about West and East Egg. West Egg is the less fashionable of the two, and consists of new money. He lives between Gatsby's mansion and another millionaire. East Egg consists of old money people, and that is where his cousin, Daisy, and her husband, Tom Buchanan, live. Tom was one of Nick's classmates at Yale who played football professionally and came from a wealthy family. The Buchanans invite Nick over for dinner, and Nick meets Daisy's friend, Jordan Baker. She is a professional golfer and seems to be bored of being wealthy. At dinner, Tom talks about the book, “The Rise of the Colored Empires”, and readers learn that Tom is pro-white dominance. Dinner is interrupted by a phone call for Tom, and Jordan tells Nick that it's a phone call from Tom's lover in New York. Daisy and Nick catch up in private out on the veranda. After dinner, everyone chats in a crimson room and when Jordan heads to sleep, Daisy jokes that Jordan and Nick should marry each other. Soon, Nick heads home and sees Gatsby on his dock reaching out his hand across the Sound. Chapter 2 begins with a description of the valley of ashes which is located between West Egg and New York. The area is a barren wasteland and a large billboard with Doctor T.J. Eckleburg's eyes decay in the valley. Tom takes Nick to the valley of ashes so he can meet Tom's mistress. They arrive at George Wilson's garage on the edge of the valley