The Great Gatsby Dialectical Journal Chapter 1

1. The most crucial point in Chapter 1 is the call Tom receives from his lover. After Nick, Jordan, Tom, and Daisy spent a well mannered night together, the phone rings and Tom rushes to it. When Daisy follows behind it’s revealed it’s a mistress from New York. This is a crucial point as it reveals the falseness in Tom and Daisy’s relationship. Although it initially looked as if all was fine, a larger theme of disingenuousness is behind their relationship.
2. Nick initially describes himself as non judgmental. He believes the act of judgment based on one's moral principles, cause you to misinterpret others. He believes this in spite of ‘“his own moral standards”, which he believes to be prestigious as well.
3. Nick describes Tom Buchanan's as arrogant and aggressive. Not only in his appearance does represent this (aggressively leaning, beady eyes, riding clothes), but his demeanor does as well. His voice is described as pretentious and he is considered to be unlikable “ there were men at New Haven who had hated his guts.”

4.

Jordan Baker is a friend of Daisy’s. Daisy met her through golfing although, Jordans attitudes and demeanor don't support this story. She is clearly annoyed and bored by the situation, which only intoxicates Nick. Jordan has an attitude of nonchalance about her, she is seemingly untouched by the dramatic nature of the night.
5. When Nick first sees Gatsby he observes him outside on his lawn at night. Gatsby is outside with his arms stretched towards the pitch black water. Although, when Nick looks to see what he is reaching towards, he cannot see

anything.
6. The way Nick describes Tom reveals a lot about his true feelings towards him. Nick feels Tom is pretentious, seixist, and controlling, the way Tom acts and treats others annoys Nick. Nick describes Tom as having “Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward” (Chapter 1). As this quote shows, Nick finds this to be true both physically and mentally.