In addition, the symbol of the car in Chapter 4 also helps present Gatsby to the reader. Gatsby is the proud owner of a ‘rich cream color, bright with nickel’ Rolls-Royce. It advertises his status in society and how well he has achieved the American Dream. The cream colour of the car, along with the bright nickel connotes a calm, sophisticated albeit opulent atmosphere that Gatsby so incessantly wishes to be associated with his name. Upon arrival, the car ‘gave out a burst of melody from its three-noted horn’. The car represents the materialism and excessive obsession with wealth that was so infused in the culture at that time. It gives the reader the impression that Gatsby has surrounded himself with all kinds of mammon to project an ostentatious image of himself to the world; the three-noted horn represents Gatsby’s eagerness to be seen or heard. Nick, referring to the car, mentions that ‘everyone had seen it’. The use of the language ‘everyone’ implies that Gatsby’s name has spread and imbued itself into the grapevine of New York and Long Island. From this statement the reader understands that if everyone knows about his car, they must also know about his wealth and power; it highlights how recognized Gatsby is in his society. This is imperative to Gatsby as his sole purpose is to captivate Daisy’s attention, showing the extent that Gatsby is willing to go for her. Along with this, Nick describes Gatsby’s manner of sitting on his car as ‘peculiarly American’ that comes with the ‘absence of lifting work’ and ‘with the formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games’. Nick also mentions how these qualities are ‘continually breaking through his punctilious manner in the shape of restlessness’ or in the form of a ‘tapping foot’ and ‘opening and closing of a hand’; Gatsby’s constant deceits affect him on a physical level. Use of the words ‘breaking through’ suggests that the real Gatsby has been ensconced by a layer of someone else. Like shattering through the ice on top of a frozen lake, Gatsby’s true personality is continuously struggling to divulge itself. This tells the reader that there are two sides to Gatsby, a dual personality: his true side which he wants to hide from the public, and the side of him he wants portrayed to the world. However he isn’t always able to hide his true side.
Along with this, through chapter 3 and 4, there is a significant change in Gatsby’s method of diction. When Nick first encounters Gatsby in chapter 3, he describes his manner of speaking as having an ‘elaborate formality of speech [that] just missed being absurd’. The fact that he addresses everyone as ‘sport’ suggests that he feels the need to constantly appear sociable to the world; he ensures that a conversation with him is remembered. He feels the need to be accepted into the society as he wasn’t born into wealth and uses familiar terms like ‘sport’ to form a more personal connection with his audience. This exemplifies Gatsby as a punctilious, formal man in the readers mind. However, as the novel progresses in Chapter 4, Nick describes a distinct alteration in the way Gatsby speaks and presents himself. Nick mentions that he had found to his disappointment that Gatsby ‘had little to say’. He also states: ‘So my first impression, that he [Gatsby] was a person of some undefined consequence, had gradually faded and he had become simply the proprietor of an elaborate road-house next door’. This statement is one of the first contradictions of any previous image of Gatsby that is etched in the reader’s mind; thus leaving their image of Gatsby in a befuddled state. Use of the words ‘simple proprietor of an elaborate road-house’ give the impression of Gatsby as nothing more than a simple object who can be used for his riches. The fact that Nick is disappointed after he finds that the image he had built up about Gatsby was merely a visage links with the theme of the American Dream and how expectations aren’t always fulfilled.
Additionally, Gatsby’s elaborate story about his past and the proof he produces to substantiate his story have an effect on how the reader understands Gatsby. Nick calls Gatsby’s story comical and ‘threadbare’ and the reader is forced to agree with him because the story does seem quite incredulous. Use of the word ‘threadbare’ suggests that Gatsby’s story has no foundation and Nick and the reader’s impression of Gatsby is about to break, literally like a ‘worn’ and ‘threadbare’ string. However when Gatsby presents evidence of a medal that, according to Nick, ‘had an authentic look’, the reader is obligated to believe that there is more to Gatsby than meets the eye. Nick uses the term ‘character’ to describe Gatsby, highlighting his role as an almost fictional being.
Furthermore, the introduction of the character Meyer Wolfsheim is Nick’s first experience with a possibly nefarious side of Gatsby past. It serves to increase the readers doubt about Gatsby’s moral values. He is described as ‘a small, flat-nosed Jew’ with a ‘large head’ and ‘tiny eyes in the half-darkness.’ His portrayal immediately generates mistrust and suspicion within the reader; we can’t fully distinguish him (‘tiny eyes in the half-darkness’) so he remains an equivocal character in the novel. When Gatsby casually mentions Wolfsheim is ‘the man who fixed the World Series’, both Nick and the reader are dumbfounded. Here the readers realize that Wofsheim engages in criminal activity. Suddenly the rumours about Gatsby being a bootlegger seem even more believable. Along with this, Wolfsheim also proudly wears cufflinks made from human molars; they show an excellent contrasting mix of cultures. The ‘cuff buttons’ represent the elegant and gentleman-like part of Wolfsheim, while the fact that they are made of human molars represent the barbaric methods through which Wolfsheim has achieved this elegant state. Gatsby’s association with this enthralling man divulges what methods Gatsby might have exploited to accrue his fortune.
Moreover, near the end of chapter 4, the writer contrasts previous images of Gatsby by now presenting him as a lovesick romantic. This is seen in Jordan’s description of the young Gatsby as looking at Daisy in a manner ‘that every young girl wants to be looked at sometimes’. Over tea, Jordan tells Nick about Gatsby’s past and his love for Daisy. It is clear from Jordan’s description that the young Jay Gatsby was the ideal man: a brave and handsome soldier, going off to fight in war. Jordan mentions that Gatsby bought his house ‘so that Daisy would be just across the bay’. For Gatsby, Daisy is the sole source of hope and yearning in his life. It is for her that he has acquired a colossal mansion and a fancy car and it is for her that he throws all his excessive, extravagant parties. She is his ‘green light at the end of the dock’. The connotation of the colour green represents the hope Gatsby has for his future; the fact that the green light is at the end of the dock also portrays how although Gatsby can see the hopes and dreams he is striving for in plain sight, he may not necessarily be able to reach them. Gatsby’s aim to attract the love of his life is noble and pure, but the crooked methods he employs to achieve this are repulsive to Nick and the reader. This causes an internal dilemma; at this point in the novel, the reader’s emotions towards Gatsby constantly fluctuate between approbation and revulsion. They are forced to question his essence and character.
In conclusion, chapter 4 serves to show a wide variety of perspective of Gatsby to the reader. It shows an insight into Gatsby’s past and his true self. His request from Nick, to invite Daisy over so that they can meet, is so innocent and pure that the reader has no choice but to sympathise with him. Everything Gatsby has done in his life has been for Daisy; he has completely reinvented himself from a noble soldier to a millionaire businessman to win her love. Essentially, Gatsby has given up his ethics and principles for the love of his life.
Ali Malik
10 Oasis
