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What happens in Chapter 3 of The Great Gatsby?
Nick attends a party at Gatsby’s mansion where he runs into Jordan. The two overhear numerous rumors and fantastic stories concerning Gatsby, such as him having graduated from Oxford and once having killed a man in cold blood. Later, Nick meets Gatsby and remarks that Gatsby does not drink and prefers to separate himself from the festivities. After, Nick explains that there is more to his life than attending parties, and he proclaims that although Jordan is dishonest, he is still attracted to her.
Read our one-paragraph Summary & Analysis of Chapter 3. (3-minute read)
What main characters are introduced in Chapter 3 of The Great Gatsby?
Although he was briefly introduced at the end of Chapter 1 and much discussed by others in Chapter 2, it isn’t until Chapter 3 that we finally get to see what all the fuss is about, as the novel’s protagonist, Jay Gatsby, fully engages with the narrator, Nick, and others at a wild party Gatsby hosts at his East Egg mansion. The chapter introduces one other character of interest, the half-drunk party guest who Nick dubs “Owl Eyes.” As this name suggests, Owl Eyes is a rich source of perception, wisdom, and symbolism in the novel.
Read our in-depth Character Analysis of Jay Gatsby. (2-minute read)
Read our in-depth Character Analysis of “Owl Eyes.” (1-minute read)
What do “the Jazz Age” and the “Roaring Twenties” have to do with The Great Gatsby?
The two phrases are both descriptions of the culturally turbulent 1920s, which saw a great amassing of wealth by some and lawlessness and disorder brought upon by the prohibition against the sale of alcohol as the United States tried to recover from the impact of the first World War while heading towards the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Great Gatsby is the quintessential novel of this tumultuous point in time.
Read a brief essay about The Great Gatsby and the Jazz Age. (3-minute read)
How does Nick first meet Gatsby?
This is one of the 17 frequently asked questions about the novel that is answered within the SparkNotes Q&A feature for The Great Gatsby.
Read the answer to “How does Nick Carraway first meet Jay Gatsby?” (30-second read)
What is the most famous quote in Chapter 3 of The Great Gatsby?
“He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced...”
This is the start of Nick’s observations about Gatsby’s charisma that he makes after the two have interacted for the first time. With these words, Nick is reacting to innate aspects of Gatsby’s being and presence that make him a remarkable person—and not to the claims about who he is, which Nick correctly senses are not truthful.
Read Nick’s complete quote from Chapter 3 and a full explanation of it. (1-minute read)
Read our complete explanations of 12 other important quotes from Chapter 3. (2-minute read)
