It's the opposite.The Great Gatsby · 2013 — Chapter 13 of 18 · 3'41" · B1
Gatsby Meets Tom at Lunch, Explained: Have it your own way
On the hottest day of summer, five people sit down to lunch and the temperature keeps rising. One line gushes, "You look so cool," while Tom grows suspicious and pushes everyone toward town. The argument ends with a flat "Have it your own way."
What happens
At the Buchanans' house, Gatsby, Nick, Jordan and Daisy join Tom for lunch on the hottest day of the summer. Daisy flatters Gatsby, Gatsby watches the light across the bay, and Tom begins to sense the attraction between them, so he proposes a trip into the city.
Listen for
Have it your own waytoo hot to fusslook so coolbrute
00:00 / 03:41Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Tap a line to replay it
Phrase of the scene
Have it your own way
随你的便；就照你的来
汤姆坚持要进城，黛西改主意后带着情绪让步，把决定权丢回给他。
Fine, have it your own way — we'll take your car.
Also in this scene
- too hot to fuss
热得没力气计较
- look so cool
看起来那么冷静；那么从容
- brute
a rough, insensitive person; an insult for someone acting brutish
Everything marked in this scene
29 notes across 77 lines
Oh, I would like to be out...I'm right across from you.liaison
I'm right across from you....I wanted to be close.Oh, don't be morbid.You look so cool.weak form
You look so cool.noun clause
...Gatsby that she loved him...I'm perfectly willing.It's a marvelous idea....brought around now.Can't anyone at least have...Come on, let's have fun. It's too hot to fuss.Daisy, it was your great idea.Why don't we? Let's all go to town....a great big room at the Plaza......a bucket of ice......a bottle of whiskey...Fine. Have it your own way, Tom.Two bottles of whiskey. Wrap them in a towel....would you be good enough to take...polite request
...would you be good enough to take...No, plenty of gas.Well, if I run out, I'll stop...real conditional
Well, if I run out, I'll stop...liaison
Well, if I run out, I'll stop......buy anything at a drugstore nowadays.I'll be the man on the corner...Gatsby Meets Tom at Lunch, explained
What's really going on
The heat is doing the work of the whole scene. Tempers fray, small remarks land like accusations, and Tom finally notices what everyone else already sees: Gatsby is in love with his wife. Daisy keeps praising him — "You look so cool," she says, comparing him to an advertisement — while one line quietly points at "that light... at the end of your dock," which is all about her. Tom answers by taking charge and announcing the trip to town. "Fine. Have it your own way, Tom," someone surrenders, and the afternoon stops being a lunch and becomes a battle.
Theme
RomanceGatsby and Daisy exchange coded compliments across the table, and Tom starts to read the room correctly.
BetrayalTom brings his affair to the table while policing Daisy's feelings, and nobody says the obvious thing out loud.
What you'll learn
- Use look so cool as a compliment
- Hear circus wagon as a jab
- Give in with have it your own way
- Catch the drugstore sneer
Listen for
- right across from you — liaison
- look so cool — weak form
- run out — liaison
Come on, let's have fun. It's too hot to fuss.A plea to stop arguing: the heat makes every small irritation feel bigger, so the only sensible move is to enjoy the day.
Fine. Have it your own way, Tom.A reluctant surrender. She stops fighting Tom's plan and lets him win, but the tone makes clear it is not agreement.
I'll be the man on the corner...A playful promise that Tom will be waiting at the Plaza, turning the trip into a slightly teasing dare.
Why don't we? Let's all go to town.The suggestion that finally moves everyone off the boiling porch and into the city, where the real confrontation waits.
Questions about this scene
Why does Tom suddenly want to go to town?
He has just sensed the connection between Gatsby and Daisy, and taking everyone into the city lets him keep them under his eye and stay in control of the day.
What does brute mean when someone says it here?
It means a rough, harsh person — close to calling someone a bully. It is thrown at the man who insists on getting his way, half joking and half serious.
Why does the light at the end of the dock matter to Gatsby?
It is the green light on Daisy's dock across the bay, the object he watches every night; mentioning it is his coded way of talking about her.
Is Daisy on Gatsby's side during lunch?
She flatters him openly while Tom is at the same table, which fuels Tom's suspicion and sets up the trip into town.
The Great Gatsby · 18 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 14Nobody From NowhereTom Calls Gatsby Nobody From Nowhere
Chapter 1reserve all judgmentsNick Begins His Story
Chapter 2have the decencyNick Dines with the Buchanans
Chapter 3sit on the sidelineTom's Secret Apartment Party
Chapter 4old sportNick Searches for Gatsby
Chapter 5a pack of liesGatsby Tells Nick His Life Story
Chapter 6keeps his mouth shutGatsby's Lunch with a Gambler
Chapter 7pomp and circumstanceJordan Tells Gatsby's Backstory
Chapter 8acting like a little boyGatsby's Awkward Reunion with Daisy
Chapter 9If it wasn't forGatsby Shows Daisy His Mansion
Chapter 10to your likingTom and Daisy Join Gatsby's Party
Chapter 11make a point ofDaisy Wants to Run Away
Chapter 12repeat the pastGatsby Refuses to Let the Past Go
Watching · Chapter 13Have it your own wayGatsby Meets Tom at Lunch
Chapter 14Nobody From NowhereTom Calls Gatsby Nobody From Nowhere
Chapter 15in our bloodTom Exposes Gatsby at the Hotel
Chapter 16pull yourself togetherThe Yellow Car After the Crash
Chapter 17keep your voice downGatsby Waits Outside Daisy's House
Chapter 18made something of myselfGatsby Keeps Vigil Until DawnChapter 13 of 18 · about 21 min to go