The Great Gatsby Pgs. 49-59

                 This section of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby provides the reader with a great deal of insight into the character of Jordan Baker and her relationships with other characters. Since the first time her character was introduced at the Buchanan’s house, I was confused by her mannerisms and personality, and in addition to that, Fitzgerald now reveals that she is a compulsive liar. Furthermore, the fact that Mr. Gatsby requested to speak with Jordan privately is incredibly mysterious. Taking all of this limited knowledge into consideration, I am finding it very difficult to analyze Jordan Baker. On one hand, I find Miss Baker to be someone that Nick should not confide in so freely; after all, the fact that she lies uncontrollably is a tremendous sign of untrustworthiness, and I’m afraid that it might also be indicative of problems or conflicts to come in the novel. On the other hand, the fact that Jay Gatsby, who seems so far to be a kindhearted and genuine man, apparently trusts her seems to speak highly in her favor. In all honesty though, how in the world are we really supposed to know what happened when Gatsby and Jordan spoke for an entire hour? How well do they know one another, and what could they have spoken of that was described by Jordan as “the most amazing thing” (Fitzgerald, 52)? I suppose the fact that Gatsby had been confiding in Jordan does not necessarily indicate that the reader can assume Jordan is someone to be trusted. Because of this, I am now even more interested to see what kind of relationship will develop between Nick Carraway and Jordan. Nick confesses that he had developed a little bit of a crush on her, and then when she admits to Nick that she liked him, he feels for a second as though he were in love. While I wish for Nick to find someone to fall in love with, I am not so sure yet that he should develop such a personal relationship with Jordan. In all honesty, the only thing I do know for fact after reading this section is that everything is as mysterious as ever.

                A possible theme that I feel Fitzgerald emphasized a great deal in this section of The Great Gatsby was loneliness, which is embodied by both Gatsby and Nick. While Fitzgerald may have previously hinted at Gatsby’s loneliness when Nick saw him standing on his lawn one night trembling and outstretching his arms toward the water, this chapter truly introduces the extent of Gatsby’s loneliness at his own party. After all, a majority of the guests at Gatsby’s party do not even know him, and he speaks to very few of them; additionally, Nick notices that Gatsby seems to be swallowed in the utter emptiness and isolation of his massive home as everyone departs and leaves him entirely alone. Nick also begins to describe his own utter loneliness upon arriving in New York and knowing only a handful of people. He remarks, “At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others—poor young clerks who loitered in front of windows waiting until it was time for a solitary restaurant dinner…” (Fitzgerald, 56-57). Because Fitzgerald seems to emphasize loneliness so much in this chapter and has developed such strong feelings of loneliness in two of the novel’s major characters, I have a feeling that loneliness will ultimately be a major theme of The Great Gatsby and be the motivation behind many of the characters’ actions.