Friday, February 10, 2012

Why did Jordan say she liked Nick in Chapter Three of The Great Gatsby?

By Chapter Three of The Great Gatsby, Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway have spent quite some time together and are gradually getting to know each other. Nick remembers a story that he had heard about Jordan's first big golf tournament and how she may have moved her ball in the semi-finals; he realizes that she prefers to avoid clever men because of this, feeling that it's safer. Nick decides that Jordan is "incurably dishonest" and unable to "endure being at a disadvantage." Meanwhile, he describes himself as "one of the few honest people that I have ever known." 


They are driving together one day when Nick comments on her terrible driving; Jordan spits back that she is sure other people are more careful and that they will keep out of her way. Nick asks, "Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself," and Jordan proclaims, "I hope I never will...I hate careless people. That's why I like you." 


Despite knowing about these poor character traits, Nick is enchanted by this statement, and declares that "for a moment I thought I loved her."

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