Hello and welcome to "Read it and (Don't) Weep," the podcast that will help you breeze through your high school literature classes. Are you tired of struggling to understand the themes and characters in classic works of literature? Do you wish you could just read the condensed version and be done with it? Well, I’ve got you covered! I am your host, Jackey Taggart, and I taught high school English for almost 20 years. 

Join me each episode as I dive into the world of high school literature and break down the essential elements of each work. From Shakespeare to Steinbeck, I'll cover it all. My goal is to give you valuable insights and analysis on some of the most popular high school literary texts, as well as tips and tricks for acing your tests and essays.  Let’s start reading!

One of the things I love about Fitzgerald’s writing style in The Great Gatsby is how he captures the essence and the feel of the Roaring Twenties.  In Chapter 1, readers get to experience the posh and sophisticated style of an upper-class dinner party – formal, classy, elegant.  Then in Chapter 2, readers get to experience the tacky, drunken brawl at Tom and Myrtle’s apartment in the city.  In keeping with this “party theme,” Chapter 3 lets readers experience the most lavish and extravagant party yet.  This party takes place at Gatsby’s house.  If you have not yet read chapters 1 and 2, I suggest you read those first and listen to those episodes before continuing to Chapter 3. 

Now, I want to pause for a moment to ask if anyone else finds it odd that the title of the book is The Great Gatsby, which leads readers to believe that whoever this Gatsby person is, they are the main character in the novel. But here we are in Chapter 3, 40 to 50 pages into a novel that is only about 200 pages depending on the version you are reading, and the main character has not yet made an appearance!  At this point, Gatsby is still a mystery, an enigma. We have heard rumors about him and had a passing hint that Daisy Buchannan knows or knew someone named Gatsby, but that is it! Why is that?

Well, I think Fitzgerald did this to add to Gatsby’s characterization.  Up until this point, Fitzgerald has only used indirect characterization techniques to show the reader about Gatsby. Indirect characterization is when the details of a character are not specifically stated.  Fitzgerald gives the reader hints about Gatsby.  Readers know that Gatsby is a man only through the use of masculine pronouns.  We don’t even know Gatsby’s first name yet! We have also only heard rumors about him which may or may not be true.  We don’t know yet because we haven’t met the man.  The only brief encounter we have had with Gatsby was at the end of Chapter 1 when Nick sees him on his dock reaching out towards the mysterious green light.  These details (or lack of details considering how you want to look at them) add to the alure of Gatsby’s character – who is he?  Well, wait no more!  We will finally get to meet this mysterious Gatsby in Chapter 3, but for now, let’s get back to the party. 

Chapter 3 opens with Nick describing the endless parties that happen at Gatsby’s house throughout the summer, with the crates of fruit brought in on Fridays that leave as empty shells on Mondays. A full orchestra plays music, while revelers eat, drink, and enjoy all of Gatsby’s luxuries.  Even though Gatsby’s party is much larger and grander than either party we have had thus far, it is not much classier than Tom and Myrtle’s party as everyone gets drunk and acts foolishly.  

Unlike the previous two parties, no one is invited to Gatsby’s parties.  Well, no one except Nick.  He is the only one to ever receive an invitation to one of Gatsby’s parties, signed personally by Jay Gatsby.  A ha!  We have a first name!  But Nick learns soon after arriving at the party that no one really knows their host nor has even met him personally.  They just come to his home, indulge in his luxuries, and leave without ever making Gatsby’s acquaintance. Very odd indeed!

So, we, as readers, get some clear impressions about Gatsby from the description of his party. Notably, Gatsby caters to his guests’ needs.  There is lots of food, music, and fun.  The one lady explains how Gatsby replaced her dress when she ruined it last time she came to one of his parties.

Conversely, there are no sincere interactions between people.  They meet and float away from each other. Nobody cares about the host (Gatsby) as very few have actually met him.  

Soon after arriving, Nick finds a familiar face, Jordan Baker!  Now Jordan seems to know lots of the partygoers, so readers get to meet people as Nick leads Jordan around the gardens.  During these conversations readers learn three new rumors about Gatsby.  One young lady comments that Gatsby “doesn’t want any trouble from anyone.” And that is why he replaced her friend’s gown when she tore it at a previous party.  Another young lady says confidently that “somebody told me they thought he killed a man once.” Yikes! That might be cause for concern!  Lastly, we hear that Gatsby “was a German spy during the war.”  

These are all romantic speculations.  Fitzgerald writes, “It was testimony to the romantic speculations he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that it was necessary to whisper about in this world.” Remember back in chapter 1, I mentioned the idea of romance within the novel.  It does not refer to love in this concept, but an idealistic image.  No one really knows who this Gatsby man is, so they make up rumors – all lies.  However, Gatsby inspires these rumors because he does not participate in his own parties.  He isolates himself and lets people spread rumors about him, adding to the mystery that surrounds him. 

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When Jordan tires of the monotonous conversations, she and Nick head off to the library in hopes of meeting their host, but they encounter a drunk, middle-aged man wearing glasses that make his eyes look like an owl (which is why he will forever more be referred to as ‘owl-eyed man”) in the library. 

Now, the owl-eyed man is not a major character in the novel, but he is symbolic.  He is excited to tell Nick and Jordan that all the books in Gatsby’s library are real and states, “Gatsby “knew when to stop too - didn’t cut the pages.” Now, why is this important?  Well, let’s break it down.  First, glasses are a traditional symbol for vision – being able to see things others cannot, similar to the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg we were introduced to in Chapter 2 in the valley of ashes. Second, “didn’t cut the pages.”  In our digital world, it may no longer be common knowledge that when books were first published, the pages of the book need to be cut or trimmed so they are not connected.  If a book does not have the pages cut, it is impossible to read, so Gatsby has this whole library of books, but they have never been read.  This further emphasizes that Gatsby’s possessions – his house, his books, his wealth, are all just for show.  

Nick continues to chat with other partygoers and strikes up a conversation with a young man about their shared military experiences during World War I. The man invites him to go out on his boat the next day, and this is when Nick is thoroughly embarrassed to learn his is talking with GATSBY!  Finally! The man, the legend, in the flesh! But no sooner are we introduced to him, then he is called off on business – “Chicago was calling him.” So close! We almost got to know something about him.  

It is important to note here that Gatsby refers to Nick as “old sport.”  This would be like saying “Dude!” or “Bro!” but it is considered more sophisticated, formal, upper-class. It is a term of familiarity, but it is also impersonal.  This might be a good time to reflect on this phrase. If you are keeping a reading journal, jot down a few ideas of why Gatsby might use the phrase “old sport”?

After Gatsby leaves, Nick is confused and confronts Jordan. Who is this man? Are the rumors true? He is just too good to be true. Nick thinks to himself that “young men didn’t just drift cooly out of nowhere and buy a palace on the Long Island Sound.”  Where did he come from?

Jordan brushes it off with comment that she really doesn’t care where he came from.  “he gives large parties…and I like large parties. They are so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”

Well, that doesn’t seem right?  Does it? If there are more people, it should be less private, right?  Not necessarily.  This is a paradox.  A paradox is a rhetorical device where an author combines ideas that sound like they should be false but are actually true.  Think about it. In Chapter 1, when the phone rang and Tom and Daisy were fighting, both Jordan and Nick were uncomfortably aware of the situation.  Conversely, anything can happen at one of Gatsby’s parties and very few people would know about it.  Thus, Jordan is correct that large parties can be more intimate. 

It is at this point that Gatsby’s butler interrupts them as Gatsby has requested to speak to Miss Baker privately.  When she returns, she shocked because she has “just heard the most amazing thing.” But we are not told what this most amazing thing is.  We will need to wait until later in the novel to learn this important piece of information.  Curse you Fitzgerald!!!  Making us wait for this information. 

At this point, Jordan leaves and the party collapses into total disarray. The owl-eyed man drives his car into a ditch, having no idea how it happened (Short public service announcement – never drive drunk. You could end up in a ditch or worse.)

The party is over and you should notice another shift in tone and perspective.  Nick comments that the events of chapters 1-3 took place over the course of several weeks, but these were only some of his adventures since coming east. He also had work and dinners at “the club” (reminding us that he too, is upper class), and hanging out with Gatsby.  But he does meet up with Jordan again later in the summer.  At first, he likes being with her; however, as he gets to know her better, he learns that she is “incurably dishonest”: she lies about leaving the top down on a car she borrowed (and then it rained!), and she lies about cheating in a golf match when she moved her ball during a tournament. Sadly, Nick decides to ignore these incidents as he likes her and the attention he receives by just being with her.  Even our unbiased narrator has character flaws! We also learn that Jordan is careless and feel that others should look out for her (as she hates careless people).  What a hypocrite!  Keep these details in mind as you continue your reading (remember, Jordan is a foil to Daisy). Nonetheless, by the end of the chapter, Nick knows he needs to break off his relationship with Jordan, but he is not quite sure how to do this. Reflective of Chapter 1, Nick makes comments about his own character – He is one of the few honesty people he has ever known. This brings us back to his comments at the beginning of the novel about reserving judgment on others – everyone around him seems to be dishonest, but he is still trying to reserve judgment on them – reinforcing his position as the unbiased narrator despite his character flaws. 

Whew!  That’s a lot to take in! But we made it through three chapters and three completely different parties.  What are your thoughts on each of them?  If you are keeping a reading journal, jot down some ideas about each party – how are they similar? How are they different? What do we learn about our characters during these parties?  What is Jordan’s big secret? What is going to happen next?

Thanks for listening to this episode of Read it and (Don’t) Weep. Be sure to subscribe to the show so you will be notified when new episodes are released. If you liked today’s show, please leave a review so others can discover my show.  If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, drop me an email at readitanddontweep@gmail.com, or reach out to me on social media. I would love to hear from you. The links are in the show notes.  

Thank you for listening.  I am Jackey Taggart and remember to read it and don’t weep. 

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