The Great Gatsby — Study Guide (Chapter 5: Gatsby and Daisy Reunite)
1) What Happens (Quick Plot Snapshot)
- Nick arranges tea at his cottage so Gatsby can see Daisy again—without Tom. - Gatsby is intensely nervous, tries to control every detail (grass cut, flowers delivered, house prepared). - Daisy arrives in the rain; Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion begins awkwardly and painfully, then shifts into tenderness and renewed intimacy. - Gatsby brings Nick and Daisy to tour his mansion, displaying wealth and possessions—especially his shirts, which make Daisy cry. - Gatsby points out Daisy’s green light across the bay and realizes its meaning has changed now that Daisy is physically present. - The chapter ends with Gatsby and Daisy emotionally absorbed in each other as Nick exits.
2) Themes / Big Ideas (Connected to the Novel’s Major Themes)
A. The Power—and Danger—of Idealization
- Gatsby has “dreamed” Daisy for five years, building an internal fantasy larger than reality. - The reunion shows the risk: Daisy cannot fully match the perfected idea Gatsby has constructed. - Big idea: Dreams can animate life, but they can also distort it—setting people up for disappointment.
B. Time, Memory, and the Desire to Repeat the Past
- Gatsby’s exactness (“Five years next November”) suggests he has been living for a single moment of return. - The nearly-fallen clock symbolizes time becoming unstable or “stuck” in the presence of the past. - Big idea: Gatsby treats time as something wealth and willpower can overcome.
C. Wealth as Performance (Status as a Language)
- Gatsby uses the mansion, parties, and possessions as proof of worthiness—especially to Daisy. - Daisy responds emotionally to the shirts: the spectacle of wealth becomes a substitute for lost years and lost possibilities. - Big idea: In this world, objects and displays often stand in for love, security, and identity.
D. The Green Light: Desire vs. Attainment
- The green light once represented distance, longing, and hope. - When Daisy is finally near, the “colossal significance” drains away. - Big idea: The pursuit often feels more meaningful than the possession; goals can lose magic once achieved.
E. Nick as Witness: Seeing Through the Illusion (and Still Feeling Its Pull)
- Nick observes Gatsby’s emotional intensity and recognizes the “colossal vitality” of his illusion. - He is both skeptical of Gatsby’s methods and moved by Gatsby’s longing. - Big idea: Nick’s narration balances critique of Gatsby’s world with fascination and empathy.
3) Vocabulary (from the excerpt)
| Word | Part of Speech | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| peninsula | noun | a piece of land almost surrounded by water |
| shrubbery | noun | bushes or small plants grown together |
| rout | noun | a noisy, disorderly crowd or party |
| suppressed | adjective | held back; restrained |
| reluctance | noun | unwillingness; hesitation |
| ragged | adjective | uneven; rough; not neat |
| confidential | adjective | meant to be kept secret; private |
| tactlessly | adverb | without sensitivity or good judgment |
| “gonnegtion” (connection) | noun (dialect spelling) | an underworld/criminal association; shady ties |
| innumerable | adjective | too many to count |
| receptacles | noun | containers; vessels that hold things |
| reproachfully | adverb | in a way that shows disappointment or disapproval |
| scrutinized | verb | examined closely and carefully |
| bleared | adjective | blurred; dim; obscured (often by moisture or fatigue) |
| harrowed | adjective | distressed; shaken; troubled |
| dignified | adjective | calm, serious, and respectable |
| defunct | adjective | no longer functioning; “dead” |
| distraught | adjective | deeply upset; agitated |
| counterfeit (of ease) | noun/adjective | fake; an imitation meant to pass as real |
| demoniac | adjective | wildly disruptive; devilish; frenzied |
| feudal | adjective | resembling a medieval lord-and-vassal system; aristocratic/old-world |
| silhouette | noun | a dark outline against a lighter background |
| swathed | verb/adjective | wrapped or covered completely |
| dishevelled | adjective | messy; untidy |
| revalued | verb | judged again; reassessed the value of something |
| Chartreuse | noun | a strong green or yellow liqueur |
| corrugated | adjective | ridged or wrinkled in waves |
| colossal | adjective | enormous; gigantic |
| vestige | noun | a trace or small remaining part |
| exultation | noun | triumphant joy; intense happiness |
| fluctuating | adjective | shifting; changing repeatedly |
| remote(ly) | adjective/adverb | distant; detached; removed |
4) Quotes to Look For (Key Lines + Why They Matter)
“Your place looks like the World’s Fair.”
- Gatsby’s house as spectacle: wealth staged like an exhibition.
“I want to get the grass cut.”
- Gatsby’s need to control the setting—and to “trim” reality into perfection.
Gatsby “pale as death… glaring tragically.”
- Love framed as crisis and performance; Gatsby’s romantic intensity verges on the theatrical.
The clock moment: Gatsby leans on it and nearly knocks it over.
- Time, the past, and Gatsby’s attempt to “hold” history in place.
“Five years next November.”
- Gatsby has preserved the past with obsessive precision.
“He literally glowed.”
- Nick depicts Gatsby’s joy as almost supernatural—revealing the depth of his longing.
The mansion tour descriptions (period rooms, “Merton College Library”).
- Gatsby’s identity as curated and purchased; old-world prestige imitated through décor.
Daisy crying over the shirts: “They’re such beautiful shirts… it makes me sad…”
- Wealth triggers grief: lost time, lost youth, and the emotional cost of class divisions.
“You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock.”
- The symbol of hope and pursuit, now pulled into the open.
“Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever.”
- The dream changes once it’s reached; desire is altered by fulfillment.
- “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man can store up in his ghostly heart.”
- Nick’s central insight: Gatsby’s inner dream-world is stronger than reality.
- “They had forgotten me… possessed by intense life.”
- Nick’s witness role; Gatsby and Daisy retreat into a private illusion.
5) Study Prompts (Optional, for Review)
- How does the rain function emotionally in the reunion scene? What changes when the sun comes out?
- What does Daisy’s reaction to Gatsby’s shirts suggest about her values—or her regrets?
- Why is the green light less meaningful once Gatsby is with Daisy? What does that imply about Gatsby’s goal?
- In what ways does Gatsby seem both powerful (wealth, preparation) and fragile (nerves, dependence on Daisy’s approval)?