The Great Gatsby

summarize the feeling in the Tom Buchanan household in the first chapter.

Could someone try to help me. Thanks !!!

Asked by
Last updated by jill d #170087
Answers 1
Add Yours
Best Answer

One night, Nick attends a dinner party in East Egg; the party is given by Tom Buchanan and his wife, Daisy. Daisy is Nick's cousin, while Tom was Nick's classmate at Yale. Tom comes from a wealthy, established family, and was a much-feared football player while at Yale. A friend of Daisy's is also in attendance. This woman, whose name is Jordan Baker, makes her living as a professional golfer. She has a frigid, boyish beauty and affects an air of extreme boredom.

Tom dominates the conversation at dinner; he wishes to propound ideas he has found in a book entitled "The Rise of the Colored Empires." This book espouses racist and white supremacist ideas, to which Tom wholeheartedly subscribes. When Tom abruptly leaves to take a phone call, Daisy declares that she has become terribly cynical and sophisticated since she and Nick last met. Her claims ring false, however ­ particularly when contrasted with the genuine cynicism of Jordan Baker, who languidly informs Nick that Tom's phone call is from his lover in New York. After his awkward visit with the Buchanans, Carraway goes home to West Egg.

The Buchanan household seems to contain a lot of hidden tension and resentment. It also displays a false face. Daisy's forced happiness and girlish excitement belie inner conflicts. 

Source(s)

http://www.gradesaver.com/the-great-gatsby/study-guide/summary-chapter-1