Summary
Highlights
The chapter opens with a description of the Valley of Ashes, a bleak industrial wasteland between West Egg and New York, characterized by ashes forming grotesque landscapes and obscuring the poor workers. Overlooking this desolation are the gigantic, spectacled eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, a faded billboard symbolizing a forgotten or indifferent divine presence.
Nick Carraway recounts meeting Tom Buchanan's mistress, Myrtle Wilson, during a train stop in the Valley of Ashes. Tom insists Nick join them. They go to a garage owned by George B. Wilson, Myrtle's spiritless husband, who is unaware of his wife's affair. Myrtle is described as a woman in her mid-thirties with a perceptible vitality, contrasting sharply with her husband.
Tom, Myrtle, and Nick travel to New York, with Myrtle discreetly seated in another train car. At the station, Myrtle buys magazines, cold cream, and perfume. She then insists on getting a dog for their apartment, purchasing a somewhat ambiguous 'airedale' puppy for ten dollars from a street vendor.
They arrive at Tom and Myrtle's small, gaudily furnished apartment in New York. Nick observes a mismatched photograph on the wall and various scandal magazines. Tom brings out whiskey, and Nick gets progressively drunk. Myrtle calls friends to join, including her sister Catherine and the McKees (Chester and Lucille).
Catherine, Myrtle's sister, is a slender, worldly woman with striking red hair. Mr. McKee is a feminine photographer, and his wife, Lucille, is chatty and vain about her husband's photographic endeavors. Myrtle changes into an elaborate chiffon dress, and her personality transforms, becoming more arrogant and theatrical as she presides over the party.
During the party, Catherine reveals that Gatsby is rumored to be Kaiser Wilhelm's nephew, explaining his wealth. She also tells Nick that neither Tom nor Myrtle can stand their respective spouses and that Daisy is Catholic, preventing a divorce (a lie concocted by Tom to keep Myrtle at bay). Myrtle shares her disdain for George, stating she married him because she thought he was a 'gentleman' but quickly realized her mistake when he wore a borrowed suit for their wedding.
Myrtle pulls Nick close and recounts her initial encounter with Tom on a train. She was instantly attracted to his expensive suit and believed he was a man of wealth and breeding. Her internal monologue during this first meeting, 'You can't live forever, you can't live forever,' hints at her desire to seize opportunities and escape her current life.
As the party becomes increasingly raucous and drunken, Tom and Myrtle argue vehemently. When Myrtle defiantly shouts Daisy's name, Tom physically strikes her, breaking her nose. The scene descends into chaos with blood, scolding women, and the unconscious Mr. McKee waking up in a daze.
Nick, disoriented and repelled by the evening's events, leaves the apartment with Mr. McKee. His journey home involves bizarre hallucinations and a final image of himself half-asleep in Penn Station, reflecting the unsettling nature of the night's revelations.