The Great Gatsby Chapter 8

Chapter 8 in The Great Gatsby was very somber, to say the least. The chapter opened with Nick "half-sick between grotesque reality and savage, frightening dreams" (Fitzgerald 147). Nick heard Gatsby's taxi and immediately got dressed to meet him for his arrival. Gatsby informs Nick that nothing happened at Daisy's house and that at "about four o'clock she came to the window and stood there for a minute and then turned out the light" (147). Nick tries to warn Gatsby that officials will trace his yellow car in correlation to Myrtle's death; however, Gatsby says he'll never consider leaving Daisy behind. Gatsby changes the conversation to reflect on his past with Daisy in Louisville in 1917. Gatsby had lied to Daisy about his past. Nick narrates, "However glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby, he was at present a penniless young man without a past, and at any moment the invisible cloak of his uniform might slip from his shoulders" (149). It can be inferred that Daisy fell in love with Gatsby based on the lies he told; Gatsby wanted Daisy to think "that he was fully able to take care of her" (149). After he was sent off to war, it was inevitable that Daisy would marry a man other than Gatsby. Nick hurries off to work but complements Gatsby before he leaves by saying "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together" (154). This was the first, and last, compliment Nick would give him. At the end of the chapter, the point of view is shifted towards a focus on George Wilson. It is believed that Wilson spent "time going from garage to garage thereabout, inquiring for a yellow car" (160). Eventually, Wilson finds Gatsby in his pool and shoots him; Gatsby dies instantly. Perhaps Gatsby should have listened to Nick about taking his yellow car out of town.