Gatsby pages 11-26

My class and I started reading a well-known book, The Great Gatsby if you wanted to know, and here are my thoughts so far.

Vocabulary Learned
Divan = sofa
Claret = a type of wine
Imperceptibly: so slight it's almost unnoticeable
Incredulously: almost as if not believable
Wan: pale
Languidly: so relax almost to the point of too relaxed
Unobtrusively: not to be mean, doing it because you have no care
Rotogravure: early additions of photographs
Peremptorily: before the action
Extemporizing: speaking off the top of your head


What happened during dinner?

• During dinner Daisy was being self-absorbent (well, she was like that the whole time) but she was being very distracted and changing subjects too much (never in the moment, either in the past or future)
• Daisy and Ms. Baker kept talking over each other and talking at the same time because they weren't paying attention to everyone else and didn't care
• Tom began showing his ignorance and discussing how he believes that if other races aren't put in their place, the white race will be submerged by them
• Tom happened to get a call during dinner (Ms. Baker later reveals that it's from a woman)

What's Tom's problem?

• Tom has a woman in New York, even though he has Daisy and his daughter
• Ms. Baker says that everyone knows about Tom's other woman

Are these people happy?

• The people are not happy, they just appear like they're content and their life is sufficient (but it really isn't)
• The mood towards the end of the chapter is gloomy
• "In its deep gloom we sat down side by side on a wicker settee." (page 21)