Notes

Chapter 2
Summary
-Nick an Tom meet Tom's mistress at a garage halfway between New York and West Egg
-The 3 head to New York and shortly after arriving the mistress, Myrtle, buys a puppy
-The 3 go to Myrtle's sister's apartment, and are later joined by Catherine, Myrtle's sister, and her friends Mr and Mrs McKee
-What follows is the most uncomfortable get together of possibly all time
-We find out Mr. McKee is a photographer
-Catherine states to Nick that Myrtle and Tom hate their marriages, but unbeknownst to her, Tom is lying about not being able to get a divorce because his wife Daisy is catholic, as she is not catholic

Character Revelation/Development
Main Characters: Nick, Tom, Myrtle, George
-We learn that Myrtle is a bit batty and hates her husband. She tries to come off as a woman of high class by often changing outfits
-We learn that Nick has only been drunk twice, one of those times being the day this chapter takes place
-Tom proves himself to be an aggressive and terrible man. He shows this through his hitting Myrtle, breaking her nose

Setting
-The main setting in this chapter is Catherine's apartment. It is on the top floor of its building and consists of a small living room, small dining room, small bedroom, and a bath
-The living room is far too crowded and to get around one must practically stumble over things to get anywhere
-The only picture is a fairly awful enlarged photograph

Thematic Statemants
Cheating is a double edged sword-Tom though not effected by either edge of the metaphorical blade, is lying to his wife and mistress. He is breaking his marriage vows (thus the edge cutting Daisy), but he very clearly holds Daisy in hire standing than Myrtle, giving her false hope about running off with him (the edge cutting her)
Some will do anything to be rich-Myrtle puts up with Tom's bad attitude and abuse (him even breaking her nose), just because he buys her things and being with him makes her feel rich like him
To some, money is everything-Myrtle claims she married George Wilson because he was a gentleman but the relationship quickly started going down hill, especially after she found out he had borrowed his wedding suit, causing further resentment in her

Imagery/Figurative Language
"Occasionally, a line of gray car crawls along an invisible track." This passage uses grey to symbolize a sad slowness, and is personification, giving cars the animal action of crawling
"This is a valley of ashes, a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens." This is a simile, as it uses "like" to describe the ashes as wheat
"The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic-their retinas are one yard high." This is descriptive imagery that is used to emphasize how large the eyes are

Other Types of Literary Devices Used
"It's really his wife that's keeping them apart. She's a catholic, and they don't believe in divorce." This is an example of irony, as Nick knows that Daisy is in fact not a catholic, but Catherine thinks she is

Evocative Vocabulary
Disdain: The feeling that something or someone is unworthy of one's consideration or respect-This is Myrtle's outlook on almost everyone in a nutshell. She believes to be of higher importance
Unexpected: Not expected or regarded as not likely to happen-Many things in this chapter are unexpected, such as Myrtle being hit and Catherine thinking that Daisy is catholic
Difference: A point in which people or things are not the same. Nick is a fairly lax person who tends to go with the flow, whereas Tom is abrasive and commanding. Daisy is rich, pretty and a fairly positive person, but Myrtle is non of those things

I do not really relate to any passages, but I do love dogs

Important Quotations
"'My dear,' she cried, 'I'm going to give you this dress as soon as I'm through with it.'" Myrtle thinks herself to be far above others, and thus thinks someone would be interested in receiving a dress that she claims to be old (Page 36)
"Some time towards midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face, discussing in impassioned voices whether Mrs. Wilson had the right to say Daisy's name." Tom clearly thinks of Daisy much higher than he does of Myrtle, and even hits her over just mentioning his wife. This may cause much misery for Myrtle
"... I was down there at a party about a month ago. A man named Gatsby's." This is not the first time a Gatsby party has been mentioned, and hints to a party in the future

Questions
Why do you think Tom lies about Daisy being a catholic?
Why do you think Tom cheats on Daisy when he clearly sees her as more important than Myrtle?
Do you think Myrtle actually believes Tom cares about her more than he does about Daisy? Why?