Gatsby, FS. Fitzgerald, 1925 p.62-63
This passage is an excerpt from Fitzgerald's famous novel The Great Gatsby, written in 1925. The novel is a first-person narrative in which Nick Carraway, Gatsby's neighbor, relates the meeting he arranged between two former lovers, namely Gatsby and Daisy. The scene we are about to present is the result of a complicated arrangement in which Nick plays a relatively passive role. Throughout the passage, the conflicting emotions that overwhelm Gatsby and Daisy well emphasize that their feelings for each other are not neutral.
The extract can be divided into three parts. The first part, from line 1 to 15, can be entitled "waiting for Daisy". The second part, from line 16 to 46 is the description of Gatsby’s exquisite house. The last part, from line 47 to the end, can be called the display of wealth.
At the beginning of the passage the action is located at Nick's place. The first part starts with the narrator's inner thoughts on the state of his towels. They're probably dirty since he is ashamed at the idea Daisy could use them. Indeed, she ­has just gone upstairs. From this comment, we understand that Nick has a more modest house than Gatsby. It creates a gap between the two men and emphasized by the distant relationship they have. The two men represent 2 different worlds. On the one hand Gatsby is the rich and corrupted host and on the other hand, Nick is the modest and honest guest.
While Daisy is in the bathroom, Nick and Gatsby engage in a conversation which is triggered by the view they have on Gatsby's magnificent mansion. The conversation focuses on Gatsby's fortune. But Nick and the readers do not learn much; indeed the source of his fortune remains veiled in mystery. Before, he told Nick that he had inherited his money and now he tells him that it took him three years to build his fabulous manor. Even though he immediately explains that he went bankrupt during the war and he rebuilt his fortune from scratch, the