The Meaning Behind Chapter Six of the Great Gatsby

Summary: Chapter Six begins when a reporter arrives at Gatsby's front door in order to interview him. The rumors regarding Gatsby have spread far and wide, to the point that some even believe Gatsby actually inhabits lives in a giant boat, which travels up and down the coast at will. Following the introduction, Nick reveals many truths about Gatsby, including his real background and the source of his money. Next, Nick visits Gatsby's house, having not seen him for several weeks, and discovers that Tom and Mr. Sloane, as well as his wife are currently there. Several days later, on a Saturday, Nick once again attends one of Gatsby's party, however, neither he nor many of the other guests enjoy themselves. After the party, Nick and Gatsby have a conversation regarding Daisy and whether or not the past can be recreated. The chapter ends with Nick walking amongst debris back to his home.

Chapter Quote: "'Can't repeat the past?' he cried incredulously. 'Why of course you can!'" The quote selected here, taken from page 111 of the text reveals much in terms of the novel. Mainly, the novel centers around Gatsby's ideas of the past and repeating them. However, interestingly enough, Gatsby quickly ran from his past when he had the chance. Throughout the course of The Great Gatsby the reader can see many attempts on the part of Gatsby to recapture certain elements of his past and create scenes from earlier portions of his life. There is very important evidence of this in Chapter Five, when Gatsby clumsily knocks down the clock in Nick's kitchen. The scene from that chapter clearly represents the attempts on the part of Gatsby to stop the passage of time and go back. However, the idea that he may not be able to recreate his past or have back what he gave up five years ago is a source of depression and sadness to Gatsby. Also significant in this quote is the idea that Gatsby may be leading an unrealistic life, based upon a reality that may soon come crashing down around him.

Character Role: Perhaps the best character to focus on for Chapter Six is Gatsby himself. Through Gatsby's quote, "'I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before,' he said, nodding determinedly. 'She'll see.'," one can see his determination in changing things back to the way they were before he left for war and made his millions of dollars. Earlier in the chapter though, the reader becomes aware that Gatsby quickly jettisoned both his original last name and the life he was born into. Despite all of that, it seems that he has some regrets as to what he would like to do with his life. Therein lies an excellent opportunity to analyze some of Gatsby's positive and negative qualities. While he does appear to be a very giving person, he also has his negative qualities, and, perhaps his worst quality can be conceived as being his deceitful nature. Throughout the nature, Gatsby lies many, many times, both to the people around him and to himself. When Nick mentions that, "The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself," the reader can get a good impression that Gatsby is not the person he seems to be, but only a reflection of the person of whom he has created himself to be.

Also significant is Gatsby's role in the novel. While he is sometimes overshadowed by the other characters, Gatsby takes his place next to Nick as one of the novel's main and most significant characters. Interestingly enough, the center of action within the novel is not Nick, the narrator, but Gatsby. It is perhaps due to the enigmatic nature of Gatsby that he is the focus of the novel. His life and the conflicts, both mental and physical, which fill it are very interesting. The reader can also see that Gatsby plays the role of a lover to Daisy and as something similar of an older brother to Nick. In many ways though, Gatsby also seems larger than life, as his moods and feelings are reflected through the weather, and he also has many life-size symbols, such as the color green, and the mansion which represent him entirely. It is even possible that Gatsby may take on another role before the end of the novel.

Symbolism: As much as the other chapters in the novel, Chapter Six contains many important symbols and meanings. Perhaps the symbolism that is best reflected within this chapter is that of the East Egg versus West Egg mentality. Such attitudes were also seen earlier in the novel, especially during Chapter One. However, upon careful reading, one can infer that the conflict between the "old" class of the wealthy, and the "new" class is one of great importance. In fact, it will even come about later in the novel that the class conflict is one of the reasons that Gatsby and Daisy cannot be together. The culture clash between East and West is also reflected at many other times during the novel. It is even possible that much more of this conflict will be made later.