The Great Gatsby
question
What does Nick want to say?
Megha
(last edited
Jul 01, 2015 09:20PM
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Jul 01, 2015 11:08AM
In Chapter 9, Jordan is disappointed and upset with Nick when he replies with following remark.
“Oh, and do you remember.”—she added——” a conversation we had once about driving a car?”
“Why—not exactly.”
“You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn’t I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride.”
>>>>>>> “I’m thirty,” I said. “I’m five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor.” <<<<<<<< What is he trying to say?
“Oh, and do you remember.”—she added——” a conversation we had once about driving a car?”
“Why—not exactly.”
“You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn’t I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride.”
>>>>>>> “I’m thirty,” I said. “I’m five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor.” <<<<<<<< What is he trying to say?
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This is when he breaks up with her and she makes the comment about driving dangerously, Karen. As for pages, there are different editions and printings of TGG.My first Collier Books edition, 1992 paperback it's page 186. It's chapter IX
I've puzzled too over these remarks as well. He says that following her remarks, alleging he's a bad driver, ie. a careless, destructive personality which is her view of herself. She calls him dishonest. Perhaps she is referring to his latent homosexuality and he is acknowledging it. That's the best I can come up. Or maybe she is simply saying that he has damaged her feelings by breaking up with her and that is the sense in which he is a bad driver. That is the more logical explanation.
There are several instances throughout the book in which the characters use personality terms indiscriminately. Daisy refers to herself as sophisticated. She is not. She has luxurious tastes. The two are not necessarily equated. She also speaks of her hope that her daughter grows up to be an ignorant fool. She is referring to her hope that her daughter marries a philanderer whose bedside adventures remain unknown to her.
There is too much code and euphemism in this novel for me. The characters are not explicit. They seem to have strange stirrings of thought that are not easily put on paper. In the same final discussion with Jordan, Nick writes,¨I saw Jordan Baker and talked over and around what had happened......¨ the word ¨around¨ says it all. He was evasively explanatory as the reasons to the breakup. Most likely she is referring to this when she accuses him of being dishonest,¨I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride.¨
Nick equates pride with honor which is why he answers the way he does.
I've puzzled too over these remarks as well. He says that following her remarks, alleging he's a bad driver, ie. a careless, destructive personality which is her view of herself. She calls him dishonest. Perhaps she is referring to his latent homosexuality and he is acknowledging it. That's the best I can come up. Or maybe she is simply saying that he has damaged her feelings by breaking up with her and that is the sense in which he is a bad driver. That is the more logical explanation.
There are several instances throughout the book in which the characters use personality terms indiscriminately. Daisy refers to herself as sophisticated. She is not. She has luxurious tastes. The two are not necessarily equated. She also speaks of her hope that her daughter grows up to be an ignorant fool. She is referring to her hope that her daughter marries a philanderer whose bedside adventures remain unknown to her.
There is too much code and euphemism in this novel for me. The characters are not explicit. They seem to have strange stirrings of thought that are not easily put on paper. In the same final discussion with Jordan, Nick writes,¨I saw Jordan Baker and talked over and around what had happened......¨ the word ¨around¨ says it all. He was evasively explanatory as the reasons to the breakup. Most likely she is referring to this when she accuses him of being dishonest,¨I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride.¨
Nick equates pride with honor which is why he answers the way he does.
Monty J Heying
Megha, this is an uber-complicated topic which I have analyzed extensively and documented in an essay here on Wattpad and plan on expanding into a boo
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Nick previously had prided himself on his so called honesty: "I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known" p. 58. He now realizes he is a 'bad driver' too, in that he has not been honest and has hurt people.
Upon deep analysis I think it is almost impossible to not get some sort of homosexual content in these passages. I.E. -- if Nick had been honest about his homosexuality, he would never have lead Jordan on and hurt her.
Nick says: “I’m thirty. I’m five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor.”
Meaning -- as a younger man he lied to himself about his homosexuality and called it 'honor'. Much more honorable to pretend hetero that upset people by being homo. Right?
But now he is thirty and he realizes the big facade is not working.
(If you do not buy the homosexuality take, and I know many DO NOT -- the only other way to interpret this is that Nick just does not like women, or he has not found the right one, or... he is confused, or... whatever. But that is quite vague. This is a G.A.N. and perhaps vague stuff is more intriguing, keeps us mystified and keeps us reading. )
Upon deep analysis I think it is almost impossible to not get some sort of homosexual content in these passages. I.E. -- if Nick had been honest about his homosexuality, he would never have lead Jordan on and hurt her.
Nick says: “I’m thirty. I’m five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor.”
Meaning -- as a younger man he lied to himself about his homosexuality and called it 'honor'. Much more honorable to pretend hetero that upset people by being homo. Right?
But now he is thirty and he realizes the big facade is not working.
(If you do not buy the homosexuality take, and I know many DO NOT -- the only other way to interpret this is that Nick just does not like women, or he has not found the right one, or... he is confused, or... whatever. But that is quite vague. This is a G.A.N. and perhaps vague stuff is more intriguing, keeps us mystified and keeps us reading. )
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