Summary
Preoccupied by his love for Daisy, Gatsby calls off his
parties, which were primarily a means to lure Daisy. He also fires
his servants to prevent gossip and replaces them with shady individuals
connected to Meyer Wolfshiem.
On the hottest day of the summer, Nick takes the train to East
Egg for lunch at the house of Tom and Daisy. He finds Gatsby and
Jordan Baker there as well. When the nurse brings in Daisy’s baby
girl, Gatsby is stunned and can hardly believe that the child is
real. For her part, Daisy seems almost uninterested in her child.
During the awkward afternoon, Gatsby and Daisy cannot hide their
love for one another. Complaining of her boredom, Daisy asks Gatsby
if he wants to go into the city. Gatsby stares at her passionately,
and Tom becomes certain of their feelings for each other.
Itching for a confrontation, Tom seizes upon Daisy’s suggestion that
they should all go to New York together. Nick rides with Jordan and
Tom in Gatsby’s car, and Gatsby and Daisy ride together in Tom’s
car. Stopping for gas at Wilson’s garage, Nick, Tom, and Jordan
learn that Wilson has discovered his wife’s infidelity—though not
the identity of her lover—and plans to move her to the West. Under
the brooding eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, Nick perceives that
Tom and Wilson are in the same position.
In the oppressive New York City heat, the group decides
to take a suite at the Plaza Hotel. Tom initiates his planned confrontation with
Gatsby by mocking his habit of calling people “old sport.” He accuses
Gatsby of lying about having attended Oxford. Gatsby responds that
he did attend Oxford—for five months, in an army program following
the war. Tom asks Gatsby about his intentions for Daisy, and Gatsby
replies that Daisy loves him, not Tom. Tom claims that he and Daisy
have a history that Gatsby could not possibly understand. He then
accuses Gatsby of running a bootlegging operation. Daisy, in love
with Gatsby earlier in the afternoon, feels herself moving closer
and closer to Tom as she observes the quarrel. Realizing he has
bested Gatsby, Tom sends Daisy back to Long Island with Gatsby to
prove Gatsby’s inability to hurt him. As the row quiets down, Nick
realizes that it is his thirtieth birthday.
Driving back to Long Island, Nick, Tom, and Jordan discover
a frightening scene on the border of the valley of ashes. Someone
has been fatally hit by an automobile. Michaelis, a Greek man who
runs the restaurant next to Wilson’s garage, tells them that Myrtle
was the victim—a car coming from New York City struck her, paused, then
sped away. Nick realizes that Myrtle must have been hit by Gatsby
and Daisy, driving back from the city in Gatsby’s big yellow automobile.
Tom thinks that Wilson will remember the yellow car from that afternoon.
He also assumes that Gatsby was the driver.
Back at Tom’s house, Nick waits outside and finds Gatsby
hiding in the bushes. Gatsby says that he has been waiting there
in order to make sure that Tom did not hurt Daisy. He tells Nick
that Daisy was driving when the car struck Myrtle, but that he himself
will take the blame. Still worried about Daisy, Gatsby sends Nick
to check on her. Nick finds Tom and Daisy eating cold fried chicken
and talking. They have reconciled their differences, and Nick leaves
Gatsby standing alone in the moonlight.
