The Great Gatsby
Important Quotes
“...and it occurred to me that there was no such difference between men, in intelligence or race, so profound as the difference between the sick and the poor” (124).
On their way to the Plaza Hotel, Tom, Nick, and Jordan stop by at George’s auto body shop where George tells them he has come to find out that his wife is having an affair and that they’re going to move soon. As he watches this interaction between Tom and George play out, he notes that Wilson and Tom are basically the same, in the same position (both their wives have been unfaithful) and the only difference between them is their class as Tom is wealthy and George is less so. This also connects to an overarching theme of the book of the difference between classes.
Illustration of Gatsby and Tom by Svetlana Marchuk.
Illustration of Gatsby and Daisy by Mads Berg.
“ “I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife.” ” (130)
In this quote, Tom is in the midst of exploding at Gatsby and Daisy for being lovers. This quote further helps to create a more modern culture around the idea that it’s acceptable for men to have known affairs or even a mistress, but once his wife or a woman has an affair it’s horrible. The fact that Tom is talking about just sitting back and letting “Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife” is interesting because that is exactly what Daisy did for however long he had been having an affair with Myrtle.
“But there was Jordan beside me, who, unlike Daisy, was too ever to carry well-forgotten dreams from age to age.” (135)
As Tom, Nick, and Jordan drive back to the Buchanan’s home, Nick notes how unlike Daisy, Jordan’s dreams have changed “from age to age.” This connects to what was said about Gatsby in the introduction of the book. In the introduction Jesmyn Ward writes about how Gatsby has not learned that as one grows and changes, their dreams change as well, she writes that this idea is “a lesson he has closed himself to” (ix). This also connects back to the theme of the American dream as well for while Gatsby’s dream is a failed one, Jordan’s may be intact. Gatsby’s American dream may have failed because he did not change his dream as he grew older, whereas Jordan changed her dream with age.
Illustration of Daisy by Ngan K. Hoang.