During this chapter, Tom asks Nick to come along with him to meet his mistress Myrtle Wilson. The two ride over to the Wilson apartment and after making small talk with George Wilson, Myrtle and Tom secretly agree to meet at Catherine's house.
Myrtle tells George that she is going to visit her sister in New York. The three
adults meet each other outside of the Wilson apartment and Myrtle rides in a separate
car of the train than Nick and Tom. This is just to be safe so that people in
the community will not start to "talk."
After arriving in New York, Myrtle spots a dog vendor and Tom buys her the puppy of her choice. After getting to Catherine's apartment, Nick meets Mr. and Mrs. McKee. They talk about the type of business Chester McKee is involved with (artistic photography.) The party begins to drink and eventually a state of awkward drunkenness has fallen over the crowd. They spoke of marriage and marrying the wrong people for the wrong reasons. Then the plot gets cloudy and it seems as though the narrator passes out due to major consumption of alcohol.
When he awakes, he witnesses Myrtle childishly chanting Daisy's name in front of Tom's face. Tom retaliates by breaking her nose with one swipe of an open hand. A couple people help Myrtle stop the bleeding. However this incident does not seem important to the characters.
Tom is Nick's cousin Daisy's husband. He is a wealthy man living with his wife in a beautiful house in East Egg, Long Island. Tom can also be considered a friend of Nick's. He is a very selfish man.
Myrtle is Tom's mistress
George is Myrtle's unsuspecting, naive husband. He owns his own body repair shop.
Myrtle's sister with whom she is rather close. Catherine's home often serves as a meeting place for Tom and Myrtle.
a young man trying to make a living in the 1920s as an artistic photographer, something not yet highly valued or accepted in society. This character seems to have been modeled after the popular photographer Alfred Stieglitz of the 1920s.
Chester's proud wife who never misses an opportunity to boast about her husband's talents. She also takes pride in the fact that she is a major subject for Chester's photos.
Doctor T. J. Eckleburg - This is an abandoned billboard left over from some oculist's business. It is described as having gigantic blue eyes that look out over the valley of ashes from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles. This billboard is a symbol of God. The people of the 1920s abandoned religion much as Doctor T. J. Eckleburg abandoned his billboard. The eyes on the billboard represent God's eyes and how he is so far away from the busy people of the 1920s, looking down on them from a distance. The people of the 1920s kept a large distance from themselves and religion.
Dog - The dog that Tom buys for Myrtle is a symbol of his attitude toward her. On the surface it may seem as though he is actually in love with Myrtle but in actuality one could argue that Tom looks at Myrtle merely as a dog. She is something of his that he expects to obey his commands and fulfill his expectations. When she misbehaves he reserves the right to punish her as is the case when she taunts him by chanting his wife's name. Tom disciplines Myrtle by hitting her on the nose, much as one trains a dog to obey.
Motifs throughout this chapter include consumption of alcohol and the drunken party atmosphere of the 1920s.
The setting is mostly New York inside the home of Catherine. When the author describes T. J. Eckleburg, the setting is described as the "Valley of Ashes" which is presumed to be in Long Island.
"'Is it a boy or a girl'? she asked delicately. 'That dog? That dog's a boy.' 'It's a bitch,' said Tom decisively" (32).
This quotation shows the contrasting personalities of Myrtle and Tom. Myrtle is sensitive and is vulnerable to the sweet faces of the puppies in the basket that the vendor holds. Tom on the other hand, could not care less for the dogs. He has a colder heart and a short string of patience. As Myrtle warmly inquires of the vendor about the sex of the young puppy she is holding, Tom coldly interrupts with a smart-alecky remark that he subtly directs to both the puppy Myrtle holds and her. Tom looks at Myrtle in the same light as he looks at the dog.
"...I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands. 'Beauty and the Beast...Loneliness...Old Grocery Horse...Brook'n Bridge...' Then I was lying half asleep in the cold lower level of the Pennsylvania Station, staring at the morning "Tribune" and waiting for the four o'clock train" (42).
This is significant because the train of thought of the narrator is confused and disconnected much like that of a drunken man. The 1920s was a decade of wild parties and constant drunkenness which this quotation illustrates rather well.
"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life" (40).
This quotation represents the indecisiveness of the 1920s. So many new things were happening and going on during this time... there was definitely a variety of life. The fast-paced wild party atmosphere was both appealing and enticing yet exhausting at the same time. Many people lived shallow, empty lives while hiding behind "hotsy-totsy" rich sounding names. It was without a doubt an era of crossing over from a traditional, conservative past.
Thematic elements in this chapter include punishment, secrecy, drunkenness, and distinction of social class. Tom punishes Myrtle. Both Myrtle and Tom are careful to hide their affair from George and Daisy. A thick layer of drunkenness lingers over the atmosphere of the gathering at Catherine's apartment. The distinction between Tom and Myrtle's social classes is discovered.
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