The Great Gatsby

My Father’s Advice

Nick Carraway remembers a lesson about judging people, the summer he moved to West Egg, and the one man who was exempt from his tolerance: Gatsby.

The Two Eggs

Nick describes the twin peninsulas of West Egg and East Egg, then drives over to dinner with his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom, a former football star with a cruel body.

Paralysed with Happiness

Inside the Buchanans’ house, Nick finds his cousin Daisy and a stranger lying on a vast couch, as if the afternoon had left them there. Daisy wants news of Chicago, Tom wants to know what Nick does for a living, and just before dinner a name from West Egg comes up.

The Longest Day of the Year

At dinner Daisy snaps out the candles, Tom talks darkly about a book he has read, and Daisy has a story about the butler. Nick cannot tell how much of it is a joke, and something is going on just below the surface of the talk.

A Beautiful Little Fool

Jordan Baker leans toward the next room to listen, and tells Nick what everyone else already seems to know. Afterwards Daisy takes him out onto the dark porch and tells him what she said on the day her daughter was born.

Across the Dark Water

The evening winds up. Jordan goes to bed to rest for a golf tournament, Daisy plays matchmaker, and Tom is uneasy about what Nick has been told. Then Nick drives home to West Egg, where the night is not quite over.

The Valley of Ashes

On the road to New York, Tom insists that Nick meet his girl: Myrtle Wilson, the wife of a garage owner in a grey valley of ashes, watched over by a pair of enormous painted eyes.

A Dog for Myrtle

In New York Myrtle buys a puppy from a man on the street, Tom won’t let Nick go home, and the three of them climb to a small apartment full of furniture too big for it.

The Party on 158th Street

The McKees come up, Myrtle’s sister Catherine sits down beside Nick, and the talk turns to Gatsby, to Tom’s wife, and to the man Myrtle married.

Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!

Myrtle tells Nick how she met Tom on a train. Later, she shouts Daisy’s name at him, and Tom answers with one short movement of his hand.

Music from My Neighbour’s House

All summer, Gatsby’s house fills with music, lights and strangers. Then a chauffeur brings Nick a formal invitation: he is the only guest who has actually been invited.

Somebody Told Me

Nick finds Jordan Baker at the party, and two girls in yellow share the rumours: Gatsby was a German spy, Gatsby killed a man. In the library, a man with owl-eyed glasses has a discovery about the books.

I’m Gatsby

A man at Nick’s table says they served in the same division in the war, and offers him a ride in his hydroplane. Nick asks about their host, and the man smiles.

The Most Amazing Thing

Gatsby’s butler asks Jordan to speak with him alone. At two in the morning she comes out with a secret she has promised to keep, and Gatsby says good night with that smile.

The Wheel

Outside Gatsby’s gates, a new car lies in the ditch without one wheel, and Owl Eyes insists he wasn’t driving it.

A Rotten Driver

Nick works, eats alone and walks through New York at night, and he starts seeing Jordan Baker. She is careless, she tells lies, and she says other people will keep out of her way.

The Names on the Timetable

Nick lists the people who came to Gatsby’s house that summer, from East Egg, West Egg and New York. Then one morning Gatsby’s magnificent car stops at his door.

God’s Truth

On the drive to the city Gatsby tells Nick the story of his life: a rich family, Oxford, the capitals of Europe and a medal from Montenegro. He even has proof.

Mr. Wolfshiem

Nick meets Gatsby for lunch in a cellar on Forty-second Street, where a small man with a large nose remembers the old Metropole. His cufflinks are very unusual.

Daisy Fay

Gatsby vanishes when Nick introduces him to Tom. That afternoon, at the Plaza, Jordan tells Nick about Daisy in Louisville in 1917, a young officer, and the night before her wedding.

Across the Bay

Jordan finishes her story: Gatsby bought his house to be across the bay from Daisy. Now he has a small favour to ask Nick.

The Grass

At two in the morning Gatsby’s house is lit from tower to cellar, and he is waiting for Nick’s answer. The day of the tea arrives, with rain, flowers and a very nervous host.

Five Years Next November

Daisy arrives for tea in the rain, and Gatsby is nowhere to be found. Then there is a knock at the front door.