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What happens in Chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby?
One hot afternoon, Tom realizes that Gatsby and Daisy have feelings for one another and decides that the group should drive into the city. While at the Plaza Hotel, Tom becomes confrontational toward Gatsby, accusing him of lying and bootlegging, until eventually Tom forces Gatsby to drive Daisy home. On their way back to Long Island, Tom and Nick learn that Myrtle has been killed in a hit-and-run, which at first leads Nick to believe that it was Gatsby behind the wheel, until Nick approaches Gatsby and learns that Daisy was the one driving the car.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Chapter 7. (3-minute read)
Is Gatsby a bootlegger?
Most of The Great Gatsby takes place in the summer of 1922, two years after Prohibition, the ban on the sale of alcohol, took effect. But demand for alcohol remained, however, making millionaires out of bootleggers and an underground culture of revelry springing up. Chapter 7 confirms the rumors that Gatsby has made is fortune by breaking this law (in association with Meyer Wolfsheim) when he responds to Tom’s allegation that he is a bootlegger with the comment, “What about it?”
Read the answer to “How does Gatsby make his money?” (30-second read)
How are cars important in The Great Gatsby?
Throughout The Great Gatsby expensive cars serve as symbols of success and status. However, at the same time automobiles continually showcase characters’ bad behavior, such as incidents of reckless and drunken driving, as well as death and destruction, especially Myrtle’s being run over by Gatsby’s Rolls-Royce in Chapter 7.
Read a short essay about the role of the Automobile in The Great Gatsby. (2-minute read)
