Tom realises that Gatsby and Daisy are having a love affair. One hot summer evening, the whole company gathers at the Plaza Hotel. Gatsby and Tom have a showdown over Daisy. The latter confesses that she is not ready to leave her husband. Tom lets Daisy return to East Egg with Gatsby. In the Valley of Ashes, Gatsby’s car hits Myrtle. Gatsby is ready to take the blame, though Daisy was the driver.
Welcome The Great Gatsby Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis page prepared by our editorial team!
📖 The Great Gatsby Chapter 7: Summary
Gatsby entirely concentrates his attention on Daisy now, so he stops throwing parties, which he had to get Daisy back anyways. Also, he lets go of all his servants because he is afraid they would start spreading the gossip about their affair. Shady men related to Wolfsheim replaced the help.
One day, Nick takes a short train trip to East Egg to have lunch with the Buchanans at their place. When he arrives, he finds out that Gatsby and Jordan are also there. It is scorching this day, and it makes the gathering even more uncomfortable. While Tom is talking on the phone to his mistress, Daisy’s daughter, Pammy, runs into the room. She got dressed and groomed because her mother wanted to show her off “absolute little dream.” Though, it doesn’t seem that Daisy pays much attention to her. On the other hand, Gatsby is in shock as he never thought Daisy’s daughter was real.
The afternoon is dull and awkward, and Daisy suggests going out to New York. She does it staring into Gatsby’s eyes, and Gatsby is doing the same. There is such an evident sparkle between them that even Tom realizes they have an affair. He can’t believe it and gets angrier as they can’t take their eyes off each other.
“An Oxford man!.. Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit… Oxford, New Mexico, or something like that.”
(The Great Gatsby, chapter 7)
Tom suddenly says they all have to go to the city.
Tom takes Gatsby’s car and rides with Nick and Jordan, while Gatsby and Daisy are in Tom’s car. On their way, Tom stops by Wilson’s garage for gas. There, it appears that Wilson found out that Myrtle is cheating, but he doesn’t know who the lover is. That’s why Wilson plans on moving to the West with her. Tom is outraged as his life is falling apart: he is about to lose both his wife and mistress. Nick suddenly realizes that Wilson and Tom resemble each other, except Tom is wealthier.
The party decides to go to the Plaza Hotel. Tom starts an argument accusing Gatsby of lying about studying in Oxford and then asks him straightforwardly about Daisy. While Gatsby is sure Daisy only loves him, Tom has years of history with her.
“She never loved you, do you hear? She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved any one except me!”
(The Great Gatsby, chapter 7)
Daisy herself, being so in love with Gatsby earlier this day, takes Tom’s side now, admitting that she “did love him once.” Tom, realizing that he is the winner, sends Gatsby and Daisy back. They take Gatsby’s car. Meanwhile, Nick remembers that it is his birthday today – he turns 30.
“Thirty – the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know, a thinning brief-case of enthusiasm, thinning hair.”
(The Great Gatsby, chapter 7)
On their way home, Nick, Tom, and Jordan stop at Wilson’s again, but this time because there was a car accident with a casualty. The owner of the restaurant next door, Michaelis, is a witness. A yellow car, coming from New York, hit Myrtle and drove away. Tom knows it was Gatsby’s car and thinks he was also a driver.
When they are back at Buchanan’s house, Nick stays outside and sees Gatsby hiding behind the bushes. It appears Gatsby wants to make sure Daisy is alright. He tells Nick that it was Daisy who was driving, but he will take responsibility for it. Gatsby asks Nick to check how she is doing. Nick peaks through the window only to see Tom and Daisy eating dinner peacefully. That’s how he knows that they have reconciled and leaves Gatsby “standing there in the moonlight – watching over nothing.”
🎭 Active Characters
Nick Carraway, Jordan Baker, Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, Michaelis
🔥 Active Themes
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| Social Class | Money | Love & Marriage | American Dream |
🔬 The Great Gatsby Chapter 7: Analysis
In Chapter 7, as everybody is getting ready to go out to New York City, Nick notices that Daisy’s voice is “indiscreet,” and Gatsby adds that “her voice is full of money.” There are two layers of meaning given to this phrase. As Nick realizes later, Daisy was raised as a “golden girl.” She is well-educated, and everybody can hear it in her voice. Nick and Gatsby both realize that this is the voice of power and royalty. Daisy is used to getting whatever she wants. However, this discussion leads to a deeper level of Gatsby’s feelings towards Daisy.
Sadly enough, it all comes back to Gatsby’s crazy addiction to money. When he first met Daisy, she was already wealthy, unlike him. He was already obsessed with status by then. Even though it’s not apparent, money is what Gatsby fell in love with. Daisy is intelligent, attractive, and young, but her wealth is the only thing that matters for Gatsby.
The most significant themes in the book are confrontations between “new money” and “old money, and between the past and future. Fitzerald raises these questions in Chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby. He does it specifically to bring up all the downsides of their characters. As expected, Tom represents “old money,” and Gatsby stands for “new money.” There have already been some hits about Gatsby’s underground connections. In this chapter, Tom reveals that he has been digging up dirt on him. Openly accusing Gatsby of being a bootlegger, Tom means to destroy and humiliate him in front of everybody. It highlights his hypocrisy once again. While cheating on Daisy, he shamelessly poses himself as a victim of Gatsby and Daisy’s affair.
It is also essential to work on the time-related analysis in The Great Gatsby’s Chapter 7, as the fight between Tom and Gatsby brings up the topic of the past. Tom and Gatsby are trying their best to make Daisy stay with them. However, the moment when they ask about her old feelings shows that they want to change the past. Both Gatsby and Tom wish to be the only man she loved in the past. Daisy, on the other hand, is indecisive and stays in the present. She doesn’t seem to be interested in the past romance with Gatsby but doesn’t wish to deal with the family issues in the future.
At the end of the chapter, Gatsby sacrifices himself for Daisy. His virtue and selfless love for her overweight his criminal activity. It makes the readers feel intense compassion for Gatsby, as he loyally stays outside the house even when Daisy prefers Tom. One of the quotes makes a perfect conclusion of the chapter. At the end of The Great Gatsby’s Chapter 7 summary, Nick leaves Gatsby under the stars, staring into nothing, just as he did in Chapter 1.