Wednesday, August 28, 2013

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, why is Nick pleased with Gatsby's honesty about Oxford?

In Chapter 7, Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, Nick, and Jordan are in a suite at the Plaza Hotel, when Tom challenges Gatsby about whether he really went to Oxford. Gatsby says that he only attended Oxford for five months in 1919, so he can't really say he's an Oxford man. Gatsby claims that after the Armistice, officers were allowed to visit universities in England or France. Nick says that "I had one of those renewals of complete faith in him that I'd experienced before" (page 129). Jordan has long doubted Gatsby's claim that he went to Oxford, and Nick has been dubious about this claim as well. At this point, Nick may still be doubtful about whether Gatsby actually attended Oxford, but he wants Gatsby's marvelously confident persona to stay intact so that Gatsby has a chance of winning Daisy and defeating Tom. Nick also simply wants to continue believing in Gatsby, who represents to him the "orgastic future" (page 180), or the promise of what's to come. 

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