The Great Gatsby- Chapter 7

Location
- It begins at Gatsby's house
- Tom and Jordan stop off at the petrol station in the 'Valley of ashes'
- New York at the Plaza hotel
- Drive past the petrol station on the way back
- Daisy and Tom's house

Themes
The themes in this chapter are  affairs from both Daisy and Tom with Gatsby and Myrtle and control from both Daisy and Tom.
         - Both Tom and Daisy have affairs in this book. Tom has the first affair with Myrtle and it seems to be a very public affair as everyone knows about it so we know that Daisy knows about it yet she doesn't really say anything to Tom about it and there is no divorce. This shows the lack of respect that Tom has for Daisy and maybe that he doesn't love her because he doesn't try to hide it from her. Daisy then goes on to have an affair with Gatsby, it's untold whether it's out of spite or if she actually loves Gatsby but it's evident that Gatsby loves her. She doesn't make this affair as public as Tom does and so he is unaware of the affair until Gatsby tells him because he thinks that Daisy will leave Tom for him. Throughout the chapter it becomes aware that Daisy never really intended on leaving Tom so when the situation that she has to choose is forced upon her, she doesn't know which way to go.
          - Again, both Daisy and Tom have control in this chapter. Even though the book is set in the 1920's when woman were more liberated, she doesn't seem to have much freedom as Tom seems to have control over her. On the other hand, Daisy has complete control over Gatsby because she is the only one that he wants and she knows that so she almost uses this to her advantage and she knows that he will do anything that she wants him to do.

Characters
- In the beginning, Daisy seems to come across as quite a strong character who is liberated and free. It seems as if she can do what she wants as she was very popular in San Francisco and it looks as if she had a life before Tom. It's repeatedly shown throughout the book though that this is not the case because when it comes to leaving Tom for Gatsby, she can't really seem to do it because she never really expected that Gatsby would actually ask her to do that and she would ever have to make that decision. Nick says 'Her eyes fell on Jordan and me with a sort of appeal, as though she realised at last what she was doing- and as though she had never, all along, intended doing anything at all.' It is found out at the end of the chapter that in fact, she was the one driving the car and had killed Myrtle instead of being, who we thought it was, Gatsby. If Tom knew this, then he would have thought that there had been an agenda and it was done on purpose because Daisy had found out about the affair which isn't actually true.
-Nick, who is the narrator, observes this scene without giving too much judgement on it. He seems to be more of a bystander. In fact, he seems to be so wrapped up in other people's lives that he forgets that it's his birthday until after Daisy and Gatsby have left. It's like it suddenly comes to him and he remembers that he is thirty. This seems to be a bit of a milestone because on the same day that Nick turns thirty and is moving on in his life, is the same day that Gatsby is trying to relive the past, almost gets it and then loses everything. More than most chapters, Nick seems to be a listener and observer and doesn't really have any input. 
- Gatsby's true colours really come out in this chapter as being quite weak. Throughout the novel he surrounds himself with people, the big parties and his amount of friends but it always seems that he's lonely and watching in on the parties that he throws. He seems to be quite a lonely character. It's ironic because he buys an ostentatious car to draw Daisy's attention when in actual fact, it's the attention that the car draws that causes Daisy and Gatsby to be unable to be together. He first comes across quite strong because he stands up to Tom but he still hides behind the motif of 'old sport' which Tom picks up on and asks about to almost downgrade him. He thinks that he's basically whisking Daisy off her feat and helping her by getting her out of a loveless marriage when in actual fact, he's asked her to choose which is a harder decision than he anticipated. He takes the blame of killing Myrtle to save Daisy because if anyone found out who it was that killed her, he would take the blame for her. Later on, Nick finds him hiding outside Daisy's house, watching her to see if she is okay, even after Tom is back to look after it. It seems pretty apparent that Daisy has chosen Tom as 'there was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture.' It seems as if once again, he is on the outside looking in and 'watching over nothing.'
- Tom already knows that Daisy knows Gatsby and he feels slightly threatened. It comes to light after Gatsby tells him that Daisy is leaving him that he has been looking in to how Gatsby actually made all of his money and tells everyone that it's done through illegal means. It explains how he's actually really selfish because he allowed someone to go to prison and didn't really seem to mind. It shows that he has different morals compared to Gatsby even though it seems that he has double standards when it comes to affairs. He doesn't really see a problem with it if he's the one that is cheating and in fact, he doesn't even really seem to hide it but when it's Daisy cheating, he's allowed to get angry and controlling. This could be a reflection of the time and how woman have less freedom than men. This is the first time that we see Tom actually showing any emotions and he seems quite vulnerable when Nick says 'there was a husky tenderness in his tone...'Daisy?'' This is the first time that we can connect with Tom's character and actually feel sorry for him. When he comes across dead Myrtle, this is the second time that the reader can truly connect with his character. Instead of acting macho, we see his emotional side. Nick describes that when they see Myrtle, he 'heard a low husky sob, and saw that the tears were overflowing down his face.' This leads us to believe that he actually cared about Myrtle and shows his vulnerability. 
- Jordan who because Nick puts his trust in her, we do too. She seems to be the most down to earth person out of them until Nick says 'Jordan's fingers, powdered white over their tan..' explains that she's also trying to create the façade that she is pure and good which earlier on in the book, know not to be true because there was a scandal that she had cheated in a golf tournament.  
- Myrtle has been locked up in the house by her husband and Tom comes by in Gatsby's car with Jordan Baker who she takes to be Tom's wife and becomes very jealous. She notices the colour of the  car which later leads to her death. When Gatsby takes his own car back with Daisy driving, Myrtle runs out in front of it thinking that it is Tom and Daisy doesn't have much time to react and ends up hitting Myrtle and killing her. Myrtle obviously ran out because she wanted help to get away from her husband who wanted to take her away.

Narrative Elements
Foreshadowing
- Just before Tom and Nick see what has happened to Myrtle, Nick says 'So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight foreshadowing the death of Myrtle.
Length
- The length of the chapter is the main chapter and holds all the key points. If you read the chapter alone, you would understand the whole story. The length of the chapter can also be symbolic to how long it took Gatsby to get to that moment where he nearly had Daisy.
Repetition
- The idea that Gatsby has killed someone is repeated when Nick says 'He looked...as if he had 'killed a man.'' This makes us almost scared of Gatsby's character.
Perspective
- For a brief period, when Myrtle is seen to be dead from Tom, the perspective changes from Nick to someone called Michaelis. It's almost as if he has read what the man said and it relaying it to the reader.
Imagery
- The imagery of Myrtle's death is used to shock the reader. The way that it doesn't just say that she was killed but that 'her left breast was swinging loose like a flap.. The mouth was wide open and ripped a little at the corners.' It describes her being ripped open when the car hit her. It described in such a detailed way so that the reader can see it.