Summary

• Nick Carraway introduces himself as the narrator and also as the author of The Great Gatsby
• comments on himself that he does not judge other people since he believes that he will misunderstand them if he would hold them up to his personal moral and ethical standards
• he considers himself highly moral and tolerant
• when mentioning the protagonist and hero of the story Gatsby, Nick states that Gatsby actually represents everything he despises
• however, Nick also withholds judgment for Gatsby because of his gorgeous personality
• setting: summer 1922 - Nick just moved to the proximities of New York City in order to work in the bond business
• lives in a small house at West Egg, a part of Long Island where the newly rich reside in comparison to East Egg, where old aristocratic families live
• Nick‘s modest house is close to Gatsby‘s Gothic mansion and also, he highly differentiates from his lavish West Egg neighbours who lack social connections
  
  • graduated at Yale
  • comes from prominent, well-to-do people in the Middle West
  • has connections on East Egg: his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan
• Nick meets Daisy and Tom for dinner at their house
• Tom used to be a member of Nick‘s social club at Yale; he greets Nick in his riding clothes on the porch
• Nick meets Daisy inside, she lounges on a sofa with her friend and competitive golfer Jordan Baker who seems to be bored, both are dressed entirely in white (suggesting purity or, in contrast, a void of something such as intellectualism)
• Tom shares his interest in a book called The Rise of the Colored Empires which displays racist and mainly white-supremacist ideas
• the telephone rings and Tom leaves the room followed by Daisy; Jordan explains to Nick that Tom‘s lover has called from New York City
• they all have a rather awkward dinner and afterwards, Jordan excuses herself because of a golf tournament she has the next day
• Daisy brings up the rumour that Nick is engaged which he denies because he is too poor to marry and because he does not want to be rumoured into marriage
• Nick leaves and both Tom and Daisy suggest that Nick should think about having a romantic relationship with Jordan
• arriving home, Nick sees his neighbour Gatsby for the very first time standing on the lawn and stretching his arms reaching out towards the water
• Nick follows Gatsby‘s gaze towards a green light in the distance that is usually used to mark the end of a dock

Function

• introduction of Nick, the narrator and presumably the author of the novel
  
  • his perceptions and opinions towards the happenings and the characters involved in the storyline are central
  • the writing of the story is Nick‘s way of dealing with what happened
  • very contradictory: he thinks he is tolerant and nonjudgmental, but considers himself superior in that he is morally privileged; Nick despises what Gatsby represents, yet he admires him
  • Nick is challenged by the presence of Gatsby because his customary ways of thinking are twisted around
  • positioned both within and without the later unfolding dramatic situation
  • meaning of the rumour about his engagement: Nick is strong enough to withstand social pressure and thus stands in stark contrast to the people introduced throughout the rest of the story who will, slowly succumb to the power of suggestion
• compelling appearances hide ugly truths in East Egg
  
  • Tom and Daisy‘s marriage is pleasant and pretty on the surface (both are attractive, rich, live in a tasteful mansion)
  • yet, Tom is arrogant, dishonest, racist, and bluntly cheats on his wife
  • Daisy is shallow and wishes her baby daughter to be a fool since that is the best way that women can live
  • Jordan is cynical, bored and lies although she is wealthy and beautiful
  • both women move around in a dreamlike setting which emphasizes their inability to deal with reality
  • the surface glamour camouflages the hollowness of their inner selves
• Gatsby already highly contrasts to the residents of East Egg
  
  • his yearning is visible in his posture when he stands on the lawn stretching his arms towards the shore, he seems to be emotionally surrendering
  • opposite to the sarcastic Buchanans
  • Nick does not know Gatsby or where his wealth came from but still feels more connected with him than with the hollow neighbours
• introduction of one of the motifs in The Great Gatsby: geography
  
  • East Egg and West Egg are separated by a small strip of water and they are both places where rich people reside
  • East Egg symbolizes breeding, taste, aristocracy, and leisure (the Buchanans and their inherited wealth)
  • West Egg is the home of ostentation, garishness, and the flashy manners of newly rich people (Gatsby‘s fancy and huge mansion and his inner motivation behind his self-made fortune)