The Great Gatsby Chapters 1 and 2

The Great Gatsby begins with the narrator Nick Carraway describing himself and his extraordinary self-awareness. His immediate confessions offer insight into the character yet doubt in his honesty. Nick has moved from the West Coast to the West Egg region off of Long Island merely a few days ago, and all he knows there is his cousin Daisy in East Egg, and small tidbits regarding his next door neighbor Gatsby. The last half of this chapter sees Nick eating dinner with Daisy, her husband Tom, and Daisy's friend Jordan Baker. The dinner proves to be odd as Tom's manner ranges from brutish to oddly depressed and philosophical. Things really heat up when Tom's "girl in the city" calls and interrupts the odd meal. Though this is a critical aspect to the dinner, we also learn a lot about Daisy. She has a youthful, naive joy about her even though she tells Nick she is cynical and unhappy. Immediately we are introduced to the conflict in Daisy's character, her inner and outer selves. Nick describes her as utterly charismatic and sweet, but what else does she have in store for us? Chapter two regards Tom's mistress and an informal get-together in the city. The circumstances seem quite odd, as Mrs. Wilson and Tom embrace their adultery openly and wish to share it with Nick. Nick tags along in a trip to the city where Mrs. Wilson buys a puppy. She asks for a police dog specifically but doesn't get one. A puppy is a seemingly odd, spontaneous purchase for a married woman. At the apartment we meet Myrtle's (Mrs. Wilson's) sister Catherine, and Mr and Mrs McKee- all weird, self-centered characters that seem to compete for attention even at the detriment to their manners and impressions on others. The night ends with Tom breaking Myrtle's nose with an angry slap after she repeatedly says his wife’s name, once again reminding us of his boyish brutishness. Why does he get upset when his marriage is miserable? Nick leaves bewildered and drunk, leading us to question the validity of the evening’s retelling and the night’s aftermath.