Gatsby Chapter 9 Journal

Summary: Two years has passed, and Nick is remembering what happened when Gatsby died: how the young boys viewed Gatsby's pool as some marvel; how most of the reports were untrue; when Michaelis' testimony came out, and when Catherine lied; and how Wilson was simply deemed deranged. Nick feels as if he is the only one on Gatsby's side. He recalls calling Daisy, and being told that her and Tom had left on a trip that afternoon. Nick then tried calling Wolfsheim, but couldn't get ahold of him either. Nick was haunted by Gatsby's lifeless body, and needed to find someone for Gatsby. He gets the Butler to send out a letter to Wolfsheim, but Wolfsheim replies saying he has important business and can't attend the funeral. Nick then received a phone call from Chicago, thinking it must be Daisy, but turned out to be one of Gatsby and Wolfsheim's business associates. Gatby's father then arrived., crying. Nick showed him to a guest room, and Mr. Gatz is surprised and proud of his son and all the things he had accomplished. That night, Klipspringer called up and said he couldn't go to the funeral because of a picnic, but wanted his tennis shoes back. Nick hung up on him. Nick goes to New York to find Wolfsheim at "The Swastika Holding Company". The secretary refuses Nick, but as soon as he mentions Gatsby, she allows him to see Wolfsheim. Wolfsheim tells him about how he and Gatsby met and how he got Gatsby into the business. Nick then invites him to his funeral, but Wolfsheim says he doesn't deal with funerals and think about people after they're dead anymore. Nick returns home and Gatsby's father is filled with pride over his son. He shows Nick a photograph of the house sent to him by Gatsby. Mr. Gatz is very sentimental. He brings out an old childhood book of Gatsby's, "Hopalong Cassidy", and flips it open to the back, where Gatsby had written out a daily schedule. It included his daily routine, involving exercise, work, and a lot of studying, as well as his goals, like bathing more often, saving money, not smoking, being better to his parents, and reading more. The funeral was that afternoon, in the rain, but nobody attended except some servants, the minister, Nick, and Gatsby's dad. No one had even sent anything. Owl Eyes arrives to the funeral late. Nick then remembers events that occurred even farther back in time: arriving home from prep school, and then from college, and the good ol' days back in Chicago and the Middle West. He remembers the snow, the street lights, and the sleigh bells. Nick thinks about the East and how perhaps people from the West simply are unable to adapt to it. He remembers moving to West Egg, and then decides to move back West. Before leaving however, he meets up with Jordan. They talk for a bit, and Jordan mentions she is engaged to another man, which Nick doesn't believe. Then as Nick is getting up to leave, she tells him that nevertheless, he did "throw her over". Jordan brings up the conversation she and Nick had about bad drivers. She says that she had met a bad driver, and thought that Nick was more honest and straighforward than he actually was. Nick says he is too old to lie to himself, and then "angry, and half in love with her", he left. That October, Nick sees Tom on the street. Tom goes up to greet him, but Nick doesn't think much of Tom anymore. He asks Tom what he said to Wilson, and Tom says that he told him who owned the car. He says that Gatsby ran over Myrtle, and makes a comment about the dog biscuits. Nick then realizes that in Tom's mind, what he did was entirely justifiable, and that he and Daisy were just careless people, who destroy things, and then just retreat back into their money and carelessness. Nick shakes hands with Tom and then goes back to Gatsby's house. He remembers the parties, and can still hear them in his mind. On his last night, Nick walks down to the beach one last time and remembers the past, and thinks about the future. The book ends with the line, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back carelessly into the past.".

Motifs: the green light, bad drivers/car wrecks/carelessness, time.

Symbols: The dog biscuits symbolize Myrtle. The green light symbolizes death and hope, specifically those of dreams. Owl Eyes symbolizes the eyes of God.

Allusions: The 1919 World Series incident.