F. Scott Fitzgerald
Author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Genre
Novel
Setting
East America, The Roaring Twenties
Focus
Chapter 7 Confrontation Scene
"The confrontation scene in Chapter 7 represents the pivotal turning point of the novel — the moment Gatsby's carefully constructed illusion begins its irreversible collapse."
Introduction
Context
The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald during the period dubbed "The Roaring Twenties". It is set in East America where wealth, organised crime and corruption were in abundance.
The confrontation scene in Chapter 7 represents the pivotal turning point of the novel — the moment Gatsby's carefully constructed illusion begins its irreversible collapse.
Key Details
Title
The Great Gatsby
Author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Genre
Novel
The essay traces the arc from Gatsby's sustained illusion, through the pivotal confrontation, to the irreversible collapse of the American Dream as embodied in one man's singular obsession.
Point One: Before the Turning Point — Gatsby's Illusion
Fitzgerald uses the symbol of the green light to symbolise the American Dream, which parallels Gatsby's own singular dream of Daisy.
'He stretched his arms toward the dark water in a curious way . . . and distinguished nothing except a single green light.'
The Green Light as Hope
The green light symbolises hope to Gatsby — prior to his reunion with Daisy it is all he has to cling on to and preserve. His physical reaching for the light emphasises his intense yearning for her glamorous, old money life.
The Façade of Jay Gatsby
This reveals, for the first time, the motivation behind the façade — the illusionary Jay Gatsby — which he has put all his effort into creating and upholding. He places huge value and worth on objects he associates with Daisy and his pursuit of her.
Delusion of the American Dream
He is under the delusion that the American Dream is a reality; the light becomes like a religious icon, a symbol of hope for a new life with Daisy. To the reader, however, the green light comes to symbolise his naivety in thinking that the past can be repeated.
Point Two: Tom's Accusation
The beginning of Chapter 7 immediately establishes high tension and conflict — the hot weather symbolises this tension. Having recognised the affair between Gatsby and Daisy, Tom accuses Gatsby of not being an Oxford man in order to undermine him.
"Mr Gatsby, I understand you're an Oxford man."… "Then Tom's voice incredulous and insulting: 'you must have gone there about the time Biloxi went to New Haven.'"
Tom's Strategy
Tom is trying to reveal that Gatsby is not "old money" — this reveals the theme of the shallow nature of the elite.
When the affair is admitted, Tom seems far more concerned about the fact that Gatsby is "Mr Nobody from Nowhere" — Fitzgerald revealing the theme of the shallow nature of the upper classes.
Turning Point for Gatsby
The illusion he has built up starts to come crashing down — Daisy realises he is not 'old money'. Tom's accusation is not merely personal; it is a structural assault on the entire fiction of Jay Gatsby, exposing the impossibility of transcending class in the world Fitzgerald depicts.
Point Three: Daisy's Reaction
Gatsby expects Daisy to defend him or to confess her love, but when she sits in silence Gatsby says:
"Your wife doesn't love you,' said Gatsby. 'She's never loved you. She loves me!"
Daisy's Hesitation
"She hesitated. 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. But it was done now. It was too late."
The Fatal Admission
Tom reminds her of the good times they had together, forcing her to admit: "I did love him once – but I loved you too." This admission destroys Gatsby's fantasy and shatters his illusion that he can 'repeat the past' — he loses any power he had as Tom gains confidence.
The Illusion Collapses
Gatsby panics when he sees the effect of Tom's bootlegger accusation on Daisy — Nick sees a different side to him: "He looked…as if he had 'killed a man'." It is the illusion of 'Jay Gatsby' that has in this moment come crashing down. Tom has broken his illusion — he has 'shattered like glass against Tom's hard malice' — link to theme: corruption of the American Dream.
Point Four: After the Turning Point — The Dream Dissolves
Nothing Gatsby does will change Daisy's mind — she had never intended to leave Tom.
"she was drawing further and further into herself…only the dead dream fought on"
Daisy Withdraws
She is Gatsby's American Dream — her withdrawal indicates it is over for him. She asks to go home, signalling that Gatsby's hopes are finished; she has chosen Tom (status and money).
Tom's Confidence Returns
Tom insists she drive in Gatsby's car — he knows the danger has passed and Daisy has made her choice: "I think he realises that his presumptuous little flirtation is over."
Driving Toward Death
The final line of this section highlights what a turning point this scene has been: "So we drove on toward death through the cooling night" — Myrtle's death? Gatsby's death? The death of Gatsby's dreams?
Link to theme: the corrupt nature of the American Dream; the shallow nature of the elite.
Point Five: After — Gatsby's Illusion Persists
Gatsby sacrifices himself. The image of a pitiable Gatsby keeping watch outside Daisy's house while she and Tom sit comfortably within is an indelible image that allows the reader to look past Gatsby's criminality and functions as a moving metaphor for his love.
The Parallel with Chapter 1
Nick's parting from Gatsby at the end of Chapter 7 parallels his first sighting of Gatsby at the end of Chapter 1 — in both cases, Gatsby stands alone in the moonlight pining for Daisy.
In the earlier instance, he stretches his arms toward the green light, optimistic about the future. Now, he has made it past the green light, onto the lawn of Daisy's house — but his dream is gone forever.
Instead of looking at the green light with hope, he is looking at an emptiness — "watching over nothing" — because his dream is over.
Refusal to Accept
Even after the confrontation with Tom, Gatsby is unable to accept that his dream is dead — he continues to insist that Daisy will call him.
Both his downfall in Chapter 7 and his death in Chapter 8 result from his stark refusal to accept what he cannot control: the passage of time.
Point Six: Impact of the Turning Point
As Gatsby achieves his dream (Daisy) he is inevitably one step closer to losing it. The symbol is safer than reality.
"what a grotesque thing a rose is." — Nick suggests that roses aren't inherently beautiful; people only view them that way because they choose to. Daisy is "grotesque" in the same way: Gatsby has invested her with beauty and meaning by making her the object of his dream.
The Illusion of Daisy
Had Gatsby not imbued her with such value, Daisy would be simply an idle, bored, rich young woman with no particular moral strength or loyalty. His whole world is built on the fragile basis of an unachievable dream.
Class Cannot Be Bought
Daisy will never leave Tom — the reality is that Tom and Daisy are part of the social elite, and even with all Gatsby's money he cannot buy education and a past. Gatsby is not in love with the 'real' Daisy, but the memory of Daisy from 5 years ago.
Careless People
"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."
The American Dream Corrupted
Gatsby's failure suggests it may be impossible for one to disown one's past so completely — link to corruption of the American Dream.
Conclusion
"…tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further … And one fine morning – So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
"Gatsby believed in the green light…" — Nick pictures the green land of America as the green light shining from Daisy's dock. He believes Gatsby had failed to realise that his dreams had already ended; his goals had become hollow and empty. The return to paradise is an ideal, not a reality.
Gatsby as Symbol of America
Gatsby is a symbol for America in the 1920s. The American Dream has, in the pursuit of happiness, degenerated into a quest for mere wealth. Just as the American Dream itself has degenerated into the crass pursuit of material wealth, Gatsby too strives only for wealth once he has fallen in love with Daisy.
The Cost of a Single Dream
It is significant that Gatsby is not murdered for his criminal connections, but rather for his unswerving devotion to Daisy — it blinds him to all else, even to his own safety. Gatsby thus "[pays] a high price for living too long with a single dream."
The Incoherent Failure
"…I went over and looked at that huge incoherent failure of a house once more." — like a sign of material success, but like its owner, it is flawed. Gatsby's great mistake was in loving Daisy — he thus chose an inferior object upon which to focus his almost mystical capacity for dreaming.
Turning Point in The Great Gatsby