Chapter 8 Summary and Analysis
In the wake of Myrtle’s murder, Nick is unable to sleep. Near dawn, he hears Gatsby pull up in a taxi and goes over to speak with him. After fumbling around, turning on lights and looking for cigarettes, the two sit smoking in the drawing-room, discussing what to do next. Nick suggests Gatsby get out of town, just for a week, just until the fuss dies down, but Gatsby won’t hear of it. He has to stay until Daisy makes a decision. Nick doesn’t have the heart to tell him that she already has, and that she didn’t pick him.
It’s during this conversation that Gatsby tells Nick about Dan Cody and his past. Nick told this story earlier to allay the reader’s concerns about Gatsby’s very shady business dealings, but Gatsby tells it to Nick now to bring him into his confidence and to finally, after years and years, make another friend. Gatsby also tells Nick about meeting Daisy in Louisville while he was still a young officer and about seducing her one night. “I can’t describe to you how surprised I was to find out I loved her,” he says, and explains how the rest of his life became centered around Daisy. While in the war, they wrote letters back and forth, and when he did well and came out of the fighting with the rank of a major, he tried his best to get back to her. Then, while Gatsby was still at Oxford, she met Tom and married him. This was a terrible blow. Gatsby returned to Louisville while she was still on her honeymoon in France, and then, finding himself broke and out of work, he went about trying to find his way back to her. This process took him years.
At dawn, a servant comes in to tell Gatsby he’s going to drain the swimming pool soon. It’s the end of summer, and there won’t be any more parties at the estate. Still, Gatsby doesn’t want to drain the pool just yet. He hasn’t used it and decides now that he wants to. Nick leaves him to his swim and heads into the City, promising to call at noon. He’s useless at work, incapable of concentrating, so when Jordan calls him up to say that she’s left Daisy’s and is heading out to Southampton, it doesn’t take much for them to snap at each other and end the affair once and for all. Nick tries calling Gatsby after that, to no answer. It’s just noon.
Fitzgerald again breaks from the chronological narrative in order to relate how George Wilson, grieving for Myrtle, gradually picked himself up and began searching for her killer. First he had to calm down, and that took several hours, just sitting on his couch and rocking back and forth while he cried. His neighbor, Michaelis, who’d witnessed the accident and ran the coffee shop next to Wilson’s garage, sat with him and tried to comfort him, asking him if he went to church and wanted to talk to someone. George, who didn’t attend church regularly, didn’t have one to turn to, but he did believe in God. He’d even told Myrtle once, “You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!” He’d been looking out the window at the time, staring out at the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, the oculist whose huge billboard stands over the Valley of Ashes. This equation of God and the Doctor’s eyes makes Michaelis uncomfortable, so the two men part. That’s when Wilson begins looking for Myrtle’s killer.
He starts out on foot. He walks from Port Roosevelt to Gad’s Hill, stopping briefly to buy a cup of coffee and a sandwich. His movements at this point are easy for the police to retrace, after, because he’s walking along the side of the road, looking like a crazy person. Then he falls off the map for three hours until he reappears at half-past two in West Egg, where he goes from door to door, looking for Gatsby’s house. It’s the chauffeur who hears the shots. Gatsby was swimming in the pool at the time and doesn’t appear to have had a chance to defend himself. When Nick gets back from work, the butler, the chauffeur, and the gardener help him haul the body out of the pool. Only then do they find Wilson’s body. Evidently he’d shot himself.
Symbols
Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s Eyes. Wilson cements the idea that the Doctor’s eyes are a symbol of God in this chapter by staring out the window at them and telling Myrtle, “You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!” It would seem, given Myrtle’s death, that God hasn’t turned his back on the Valley of Ashes, as earlier chapters suggest, but in reality Wilson is just a madman tricked by grief into believing that the eyes staring back at him are God’s, and that this in some way justifies the revenge he’s about to exact. If God has indeed abandoned humanity, then it follows that George Wilson’s decision to shoot Gatsby is a result of his realization that God will not punish his wife’s murderer. That’s why he has to do it himself.
Flowers. With Gatsby’s death, the floral symbolism suddenly takes on an insidious new layer, with roses in particular being described as “grotesque” in the moments before Gatsby’s death. Traditionally, roses have been associated with love and romance, their vibrant red colors symbolizing passion and desire. Here, the rose becomes grotesque precisely for those associations, because real love, as Gatsby realizes, isn’t possible in this novel and has only led to heartbreak and inevitably to death. Thus, the rose Gatsby sees becomes a mockery of love, and all flowers are figured as vehicles of desolation and decay.
Themes
Death. It becomes clear in this chapter that Fitzgerald has been telling us the story of Gatsby’s death all along and that he has been preparing us for it through the use of symbolism, imagery, and foreshadowing. This theme of death, for instance, has been woven throughout the novel, and it appears for the last time when Wilson materializes beside Gatsby’s pool. He’s described as one of the poor ghosts “breathing dreams like air” and as an “ashen, fantastic figure” intent on destroying Gatsby’s dreams. Wilson thus becomes a personification of Death itself that sucks the life out of Gatsby and his beautiful dream of the world.
Dreams and the American Dream. Near the end of the chapter, Nick relates how, in the hours before the murder, Gatsby must’ve given up on Daisy and finally admitted to himself that she was never going to call him. “I have an idea that Gatsby himself didn’t believe [it, the phone call] would come, and perhaps he no longer cared,” Nick says. If so, that would mean Gatsby had given up on his dreams, not just of winning Daisy back but also of being as rich, successful, and happy as he’d always wanted to be. In this way, Gatsby’s dream becomes tied up with the American Dream, and both die in this chapter even before Wilson pulls the trigger.
Expert Q&A
What does the "grotesque rose" symbolize in chapter 8 of "The Great Gatsby"?
"He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass."
How can we interpret this quote from chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby when the murder is discovered?
There was a faint, barely perceptible movement of water at the fresh flow from one end urged its way toward the drain at the other. With little ripples that were hardly the shadows of waves, the laden mattress moved irregularly down the pool. A small gust of wind that accidental course with its accidental burden. The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing like the leg of transit, a thin red circle in the water.
It was after we started with Gatsby toward the house that the gardener saw Wilson's body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete.
The quote from Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby that describes the discovery of the murder can be interpreted in two ways. Firstly, the serene imagery suggests that Gatsby's tragic death has also brought him peace, freeing him from his unattainable quest to win back Daisy Buchanan and recreate the past. Secondly, the term "holocaust" is used to emphasize the magnitude of the tragedy, not only of Gatsby's unjust murder, but also of the death of the American Dream he embodied.
Fitzgerald's use and connotation of the word "holocaust" in the final sentence of The Great Gatsby's chapter 8
In the final sentence of chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the word "holocaust" to signify a massive, destructive event. This connotation underscores the devastating culmination of the characters' actions and the tragic ending, reflecting the loss and ruin that have transpired.
In chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby, why does Fitzgerald describe Daisy's hair as "dark" when her daughter, said to resemble her, has "yellowy" hair?
On the last afternoon before he went abroad he sat with Daisy in his arms for a long, silent time. It was a cold fall day with fire in the room and her cheeks flushed. Now and then she moved and he changed his arm a little and once he kissed her dark shining hair.
Fitzgerald's description of Daisy's hair as "dark" in chapter 8 might be due to the dim lighting from the fire or a natural darkening over time. Though there is no definitive answer, it is suggested that her hair is dark blond. The primary focus is on Daisy's captivating voice rather than her hair color, highlighting its lesser significance.
What does Gatsby mean when he says "it was just personal" in chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby?
"'Of course she might have loved him, just for a minute, when they were first married—and loved me more even then, do you see?'
Suddenly he came out with a curious remark:
"In any case,' he said, 'it was just personal."
What could you make of that, except to suspect some intensity in his conception of the affair that couldn’t be measured?
When Gatsby says "it was just personal" in chapter 8, he means that Daisy married Tom for personal gain, convenience, and social status rather than love. This phrase is a reversal of the idiom "to take something personally," which traditionally softens difficult comments. Gatsby's remark suggests that Daisy's marriage lacked genuine emotional connection and was driven by practical benefits.
In Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby, how has Gatsby's house changed?
In Chapter 8, Gatsby's house has become empty and abandoned, contrasting sharply with its previous lively and grand state. Once filled with guests and music, it is now musty, dusty, and silent, symbolizing the end of Gatsby's dreams and ambitions. The vast, deserted house reflects the emptiness of Gatsby's life after taking the blame for Myrtle Wilson's death.
How does Fitzgerald create a melancholic mood in chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby? How does Dr. T. J. Eckleburg affect Mr. Wilson?
Fitzgerald creates a melancholic mood in chapter 8 through auditory imagery like the lonely foghorn and the wailing saxophone, and by describing Gatsby's once-lively home as dark and empty. Word choices such as "dejection" and "wanly" enhance this mood. Dr. T. J. Eckleburg's eyes affect Mr. Wilson by making him believe they are the eyes of God, leading to his mental unraveling.
What's ironic about Gatsby's first swim of the summer in The Great Gatsby Chapter 8?
It's ironic that Gatsby's first swim of the summer in chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby is also his last. Although he had not used the pool all summer, he decides to swim just as the gardener plans to drain it. This situational irony leads to Gatsby's visibility, allowing Wilson to find and kill him, making the pool—a symbol of his wealth and excess—the site of his death.
Why is the music depicted as sad in chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby?
The music in Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby is depicted as sad because it reflects Daisy's internal struggle and the broader theme of lost dreams. It symbolizes Gatsby's absence and the pressure Daisy feels to choose between love and societal expectations. The "Beale Street Blues" underscores the melancholy of unfulfilled desires and nostalgia, as Daisy dances in contrast to the impoverished origins of the blues, highlighting the disparity between her world and the one Gatsby longs for.
Where can other examples of rhetorical questions be found beyond the one in chapter 8?
Rhetorical questions in The Great Gatsby underscore themes of illusion and superficiality. In Chapter 1, Daisy uses rhetorical questions when meeting her daughter and when Nick mentions Gatsby. In Chapter 3, a bystander questions "Owl Eyes" about a car crash with "Do you want to commit suicide?" In Chapter 5, Daisy coyly asks, "Who is 'Tom'?" In Chapter 7, she questions, "How could I love him?" These questions often highlight character emotions and dramatic irony.
Why does Fitzgerald detail Gatsby and Daisy's initial love affair in Chapter 8?
Fitzgerald chooses to present a detailed description of Jay Gatsby and Daisy's initial love affair in chapter 8 in order to build suspense, contribute to the mystery surrounding Gatsby's character, and drive the plot of the story. By withholding this important information, Fitzgerald piques the reader's interest as they anticipate discovering the source of Gatsby's inspiring dream.
What is the meaning of "air of breathless intensity" and "hint of bedrooms" in this excerpt from Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby?
But what gave it an air of breathless intensity was that Daisy lived there—it was as casual a thing to her as his tent out at camp was to him. There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities taking place through its corridors and of romances that were not musty and laid away already in lavender but fresh and breathing and redolent of this year’s shining motor cars and of dances whose flowers were scarcely withered.
The "air of breathless intensity" refers to the captivating allure and excitement that Daisy's presence brings to her home, making it seem both magical and irresistible to Gatsby. The "hint of bedrooms" suggests the luxurious and mysterious nature of the upstairs rooms, symbolizing romantic and erotic possibilities. Together, these phrases convey Gatsby's fascination with Daisy's world, highlighting the intoxicating blend of wealth, romance, and mystery that captivates him.
The purpose of the interruption at the start of chapter 8 in The Great Gatsby
The interruption at the start of chapter 8 in The Great Gatsby serves to heighten the tension and foreshadow the tragic events that follow. It momentarily shifts the focus away from Gatsby's narrative, creating a sense of unease and anticipation in the reader.
Does "rag of a suit" in chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby refer to "from rags to riches"?
The phrase "rag of a suit" in Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby may not directly reference "from rags to riches," but rather suggests irony and disillusionment. Gatsby's pink suit, once a symbol of his romantic dreams and aspirations, becomes a "rag" as his dreams crumble. This reflects a reversal from "riches to rags," highlighting the collapse of Gatsby's incorruptible dream due to Daisy's retreat into materialism and the resulting tragedies.
In chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby, what actions does Jordan take after the accident? How is Gatsby's body discovered?
After the accident, Jordan leaves Daisy and moves to Hempstead, signaling the end of her relationship with Nick. Gatsby's body is discovered by Nick, the chauffeur, the butler, and the gardener, floating in the pool. The staff, accustomed to ignoring disturbances due to their mob ties, did not investigate the gunshot that killed Gatsby, assuming it was routine.
```In chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby, what does the simile about Daisy suggest?
The simile in Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby suggests that Daisy embodies wealth and privilege, akin to "silver," highlighting her detachment from the struggles of the poor. This imagery underscores the class divide of 1920s America, with the affluent living "safe and proud" while others endure "hot struggles." The simile reflects Fitzgerald's critique of the era's social disparities, portraying Daisy as insulated by her wealth from the harsh realities faced by the less fortunate.
How does the paragraph in chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby extend the paradox of Nick's feelings on Gatsby?
Nick's paradoxical feelings about Gatsby in Chapter 8 highlight a conflict between his professed values and his actions. Despite claiming to scorn everything Gatsby represents, Nick continues to support him, even after the hit-and-run incident involving Daisy. This paradox extends as Nick simultaneously denounces and sympathizes with Gatsby, suggesting that Nick's true values might prioritize human connections over moral judgments, revealing a potential inconsistency in his character.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.
