Great Gatsby 2.4

1.) "I tossed half-sick between grotesque reality and savage, frightening dreams."
Nick is unable to sleep well throught the night after Myrtle's death. He is worried about Gatsby waiting outside of Daisy's home in the middle of the night because Nick does not want him interfering with Daisy and Tom's relationship anymore. Nick is fed up with Gatsby pursuing his dream that will never come true. He knows that Gatsby has not caught up with reality, and will not let go of the past. Gatsby's dreams will eventually be crushed, and the harsh feeling of reality will set in on him. Nick is worried about whether or not the truth of Gatsby will be revealed to Daisy, diminishing all hopes Gatsby has of winning Daisy.

2.) "His house had never seemed so enormous to me as it did that night...we sat smoking out into the darkness."
Nick is astonished at the vast size of Gatsby's mansion because it seems more spacious and empty than he had remembered it. This marks Gatsby's downfall as he begins to realize that Daisy has given up on him. He no longer throws lavish parties filled with excitement because they were only attempts to impress Daisy. The build-up of dust in his house is a sign that Gatsby's hope is decreasing, and the dark atmosphere resembles the darkness in his heart. The empty, silent house symbolizes that Gatsby is empty without the consent of Daisy's love. The mood that he puts off is noticed by Nick, and that is why Gatsby's mansion appears to be bigger and silent.

3.) “I have an idea that Gatsby himself didn’t believe it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared.”
Nick believes that Gatsby has given up on Daisy. Gatsby was waiting on Daisy’s phone call, but it never comes. He decides to go for a swim on the last possible day of the season. This is the bottom of his downfall as a character because he has decided to change his busy, hopeless lifestyle to one of serenity. Gatsby does not care about impressing people anymore if he cannot have Daisy, so his soul has died inside of him. Wilson murdering Gatsby was merely useless because he had already died emotionally.

4.) “At first I was surprised and confused; then, as he lay in his house and didn’t move or breathe or speak, hour upon hour, it grew upon me that I was responsible, because no one else was interested—interested, I mean, with that intense personal interest to which every one has some vague right at the end.”
Nick realizes that he is the only person that could take responsibility for Gatsby after his death. Not one other person in the world seems to be affected by the death of Gatsby because his only reason for existence was impressing Daisy. He did not develop personal relations with anyone besides Nick, and most of the people Gatsby did know had either died or disappeared. Daisy, Tom, Wolfshiem, and Klipspringer all refuse to go to Gatsby’s funeral because they cannot bear to face the truth. Daisy and Tom are stuck in their perfect world and don't want to be affected by the harsh consequences of reality.

5.) “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.”

Nick states that there are certain people in the world that focus only on themselves like Tom and Daisy. This results in them creating catastrophes in other people’s lives even though they are content with what is happening in their own lives. They turn to wealth in order to solve their problems, but in reality this only allows them to hide from their problems. The carelessness of some people results in the destruction of others’ lives.