The Great Gatsby Chapter 9 p163-180

The Great Gatsby

Ch 9 p163-180

Summary

The final chapter starts with the setting two years after Gatsby’s death with Nick reminiscing about the days after. Nick remembers the many newspaper reporters storming in and out of Gatsby’s house. According to him the articles were untrue and grotesque. When Michaelis gave a testimony, there were suspicions about Myrtle, but her sister Catherine said nothing. When Nick found Gatsby’s body, he called daisy, but she and Tom left East Egg to an unknown destination. Nick tried to get someone for Gatsby, but he failed. The next day, he sent one of Gatsby’s butlers to New York to deliver a letter to Wolfsheim asking if he could come to Gatsby’s house. The butler came back with a letter from Wolfsheim, showing his sympathy and asking when the funeral would be. The phone rang, and Nick hoped it would be Daisy, but instead it was a random man who didn’t know Gatsby was dead. On another day, Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, sent a telegram saying he was leaving immediately and to postpone the funeral until his arrival. Gatz and Nick entered the house, walking through, having a conversation about Gatsby. At night, Nick gets a call from Klipspringer. Nick says that the funeral would be the next day at 3 o’clock. On the day of the funeral, Nick went to New York to see Wolfsheim, but a Jewish woman said that Wolfsheim was in Chicago. When Nick mentioned Gatsby, Wolfsheim appeared. He took Nick to his office, talking about how he made Gatsby. Wolfsheim also said that he can’t come to the funeral. Back at West Egg, Mr. Gatz walks through the hall of Gatsby’s house. He shows Nick a picture of the house with admiration. Gatz also shows a book Gatsby had as a young boy. It contained a schedule and a list of resolutions. When the funeral started, only a few people were there: Nick, Gatz, and the servants. Owl eyes came as well. Nick then remembers another time when he went back to West Egg, which is where he sees Jordan. They have conversation about Nick being dishonest. Nick doesn’t care because he’s thirty years old. Nick also remembers seeing Tom one day, and he doesn’t shake Tom’s hand until after their conversation. The story ends with Nick commenting on Gatsby and how he never gave up.

Henry C. Gatz

“…a solemn old man, very helpless and dismayed, bundled up in a long cheap ulster against the warm September day.” (167)

Henry C. Gatz is Gatsby’s father who came from a town in Minnesota. From Gatsby’s story in Chapter 6, he probably was a poor farmer and wasn’t liked by Gatsby much. Gatz is one of the few people who attend Gatsby’s funeral. He is also one of the few people who see past Gatsby’s own illusion.

Gatz is one of the few people who know Gatsby as James Gatz. He doesn’t see the illusion called Gatsby. Gatz saw the real Jay Gatsby since he was his father. He knew what Gatsby liked and how he acted, and Gatz knew he had a future because of his riches. He describes Gatsby as “great”.

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (180)

To me, this quote has two meanings. The first one is that Nick’s life is normal now. I feel like he treats his time period with Gatsby like nothing, as if it never happened. His life continues as if he never met Gatsby. The other meaning is that our materialistic nature keeps us going back to square one. We always want certain things, and when we acquire one thing, we want another. We reach what we want, and get it, want another, and from there we get sent back to the beginning.