What Makes Nick Assume Responsibility For The Funeral Arrangements

1. What makes Nick assume responsibility for the funeral arrangements? Specify the things he did. Nick is responsible for the funeral because he is the only decent human being interested in arranging it. When Nick finds out that Gatsby has been killed, he is the only one who goes to see him. As he watches Gatsby’s body, he writes, < it grew upon me that I was responsible, because no one else was interested—interested, I mean, with that intense personal interest to which everyone has some vague right at the end." Nick contacts several people who may have been interested, but only a few attended Gastby’s funeral. He calls Daisy, but her and Tom have already left town, and he also calls Meyer Wolfsheim, but he wants nothing to do with Gatsby. Nick arranged the funeral to start at three o’clock the next day after Gatsby’s father arrived. Beyond "four or five" servants, only Nick, the Lutheran minister, Gatsby's father and Owl Eyes attend. This reveals the "intense personal interest" Nick has in Gatsby and the extent to which he sees him as a human being in a way almost nobody else does, since other people simply see him as a wealthy host who gives grand parties. 2. What version of the tragedy appeared in the newspapers? How would you account for the fact that this version went unchallenged and uncorrected? In the newspapers, Mr.Wilson is described as a < madman= who was < deranged with grief.= According to Nick, the reports given by the press were "a nightmare—grotesque, circumstantial, eager, and untrue." There was no suggestion of the affair that had gone on between Tom and Myrtle, particularly because Catherine did not speak up about it. Few people knew that Daisy Buchanan ran Myrtle Wilson down. George had mistaken that Gatsby was the driver, therefore he murdered Gatsby and then took his own life. Gatsby's death, much like his life, is quickly dismissed and forgotten. 3. How had Gatsby’s father learned of the tragedy? To what extent does the father know his son? Gatsby’s father learned about the tragedy through the newspapers. He doesn’t know and isn’t interested in how Gatsby became wealthy. Henry Gatz is also proud of his son and saves a picture of his house. He fills Nick in on Gatsby's early life, showing him a book where young Gatsby had written a schedule for self-improvement. 4. Discuss the significance of Gatsby’s boyhood program for self-improvement. Henry Gatz fills Nick in on Gatsby's early life, showing him a book where young Gatsby had written a schedule for self-improvement. This program has been formed for improving himself to achieve and reach the goals to achieve the materialistic things in life. Gatsby was always very fond of achieving and possessing materialistic things in his life, fascinated by the accumulation of money. For this he had to improve himself and form a proper program. It focuses on his own improvement which will lead to the development and achievement of these materialistic goals. But the irony is that in the end he gets destroyed by these materialistic dreams only. 5. What is the irony of Gatsby’s funeral? Gatsby is known for hosting extravagant parties, and many people attend. His parties were full of life and people, yet Nick could not get anyone to come to his funeral. This shows how people only used him for entertainment, and now that he is dead, people don’t feel the need to associate themselves with him since they are not getting anything out of it. 6. What is the significance of the scene including Jordan Baker? After Gatsby’s funeral, Nick and Jordan meet for the last time because Nick wants to break things off with Jordan and discuss closure about their relationship. Jordan informs him that she got engaged after they broke up, showing that she never really loved him. It is clear that Jordan has not changed since Gatsby's death and she makes a joke about Nick's comment that a bad driver is safe until she meets another bad driver. By that time, Nick has already decided that Tom and Daisy are < careless people= and < left other people to clean up the mess that they had made.= Jordan’s comment indicates that she is also still a part of that lifestyle that Tom and Daisy belong in. He decides that their lifestyle is not what he wants and soon leaves to return to the Midwest. 7. What moral judgment does Nick make about Tom and Daisy? Discuss. Nick has learned that there is no hope for morality from people like Tom and Daisy. They simply refuse to take ownership of their own actions, avoiding any responsibility and getting away with it because of their status and wealth. Nick states, < They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…= 8. Explain the significance of the last page of the novel in relation to Gatsby’s dream and to the American Dream. In the final page of the novel, Nick strolls down Gatsby’s beach and wonders what it felt like for the first Dutch settlers to discover the continent before them. He realizes Gatsby experienced a similar feeling to this, when he looked out at the green light that was on Daisy’s dock. Nick connects the American Dream and Gatsby’s dream of reuniting with Daisy and winning her heart. Both of these dreams were not impossible to achieve, but were much more dangerous than anyone could have imagined. Nick adds that Gatsby’s dream might’ve been in front of him, but he did not realize that it was already behind him, indicating that Gatsby is like a symbol of an American citizen, striving to achieve their own dreams that have already been lost to the past.