Analysis
Chapter 7 brings the conflict between Tom and Gatsby
into the open, and their confrontation over Daisy brings to the
surface troubling aspects of both characters. Throughout the previous
chapters, hints have been accumulating about Gatsby’s criminal activity. Research
into the matter confirms Tom’s suspicions, and he wields his knowledge
of Gatsby’s illegal activities in front of everyone to disgrace
him. Likewise, Tom’s sexism and hypocrisy become clearer and more
obtrusive during the course of the confrontation. He has no moral
qualms about his own extramarital affairs, but when faced with his
wife’s infidelity, he assumes the position of outraged victim.
The importance of time and the past manifests itself in
the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom. Gatsby’s obsession with recovering
a blissful past compels him to order Daisy to tell Tom that she
has never loved him. Gatsby needs to know that she has always loved
him, that she has always been emotionally loyal to him. Similarly,
pleading with Daisy, Tom invokes their intimate personal history
to remind her that she has had feelings for him; by controlling
the past, Tom eradicates Gatsby’s vision of the future. That Tom
feels secure enough to send Daisy back to East Egg with Gatsby confirms
Nick’s observation that Gatsby’s dream is dead.
Gatsby’s decision to take the blame for Daisy demonstrates
the deep love he still feels for her and illustrates the basic nobility
that defines his character. Disregarding her almost capricious lack
of concern for him, Gatsby sacrifices himself for Daisy. The image
of a pitiable Gatsby keeping watch outside her house while she and
Tom sit comfortably within is an indelible image that both allows
the reader to look past Gatsby’s criminality and functions as a
moving metaphor for the love Gatsby feels toward Daisy. Nick’s parting from
Gatsby at the end of this chapter parallels his first sighting of Gatsby
at the end of Chapter 1. In both cases, Gatsby stands alone in the
moonlight pining for Daisy. In the earlier instance, he stretches his
arms out toward the green light across the water, optimistic about
the future. In this instance, he has made it past the green light, onto
the lawn of Daisy’s house, but his dream is gone forever.
