Reflection for Chapter 7

 Chapter seven is one of the pivotal chapters of the novel. It shows Gatsby and Tom’s personalities in a new sort of way and shows the desperate life of Daisy.  The chapter starts by the reader learning about the changes Gatsby has made around his house. He changes all the servants and workers in his house with shady individuals which are all brothers and sisters that used to run a small hotel that have connections with Meyer Wolfshiem. We later learn that Gatsby does this in order to avoid any future gossip about him and Daisy since Daisy comes in to his house very often.

This chapter then continues with Nick going to Daisy and Tom’s house for lunch. He also sees Jordan Baker and Gatsby there as he goes inside the house. During their afternoon all together, Daisy and Gatsby fail to hide the love they have for each other, kissing one another when Tom leaves the room and so on. After lunch they decide to go to New York after Daisy’s idea. Daisy and Gatsby go in one car and Nick, Tom and Jordan take the other car together. When they arrive in New York, Tom starts trying to make Gatsby look bad in front of everyone and especially Daisy.  He accuses him of running a bootlegging operation. He also makes it look like Gatsby is lying by telling everyone that he actually did not attend Oxford. Daisy seems very uninterested. As the discussion for Daisy between Gatsby and Tom heats up, Daisy feels that she is strongly attached to Tom and less to Gatsby. Clearly knowing that Daisy is still in love with him and chose Gatsby over him, Tom lets Daisy and Gatsby drive together back to New York.      
                                                                                                                      
On the way back to Long Island, from Plaza hotel, Jordan, Nick and Tom are terrified to discover that someone has been run over by a car near the border of the Valley of Ashes. They are unfortunate to discover that it is actually Myrtle, Tom’s mistress that has been run over by the car. We learn the details of the incident from Michaelis, a Greek man who runs the restaurant right next to Wilson’s garage. We also learn from him that it was a yellow car that ran over Myrtle. Tom is terrified to learn about what has happened, and knows instantly that it was Gatsby’s car. Tom thinks that Wilson will remember the yellow car from that afternoon. He also assumes that it was Gatsby who was driving the car. Driving back to their house after learning the awful news, Nick realizes that it was his birthday. After coming back to East Egg, Nick asks Gatsby about the incident but before he can say anything Nick understands from Gatsby’s countenance that Daisy was the one driving the car. The gentleman he is, Gatsby tells Nick that he will take all the blame and charge.                                                    
 
This chapter shows the reader the true face of Daisy, a typical woman of her era. She cannot give up her position next to Tom in the society so she refuses to be with Gatsby, the man she actually loves. This chapter can also show us that she is too desperate and needs constant care by a man, in her case Tom. She is unable to have a “position” in the society without Tom and she is well aware of this fact. This chapter also shows us that Gatsby is actually living his dream, but the dream is crushed by the sudden change in Daisy’s character. I think it’s a good thing to live in a dream but Gatsby I think has taken it too far than it should have gone. Basing your dreams on just one person is not a good idea because you can never know what might happen to that person.