...the night I drove over to my cousin Daisy's for dinner.The Great Gatsby · 2013 — Chapter 2 of 18 · 7'04" · B2
Nick Dines with the Buchanans, Explained: have the decency
Tom keeps slipping away to take a call from another woman while the table pretends not to hear. Daisy's complaint — "She might have the decency not to telephone at dinnertime" — sounds like manners, but it's a marriage laid bare in front of guests.
What happens
Nick drives across the bay to East Egg to have dinner with his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan. His old Yale friend Tom takes phone calls from a mistress during the meal, Jordan Baker is introduced, and the guests trade talk of a mysterious neighbor named Gatsby.
Listen for
the golden girlgoing to pieceshave the decencythe great American novel
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Phrase of the scene
have the decency
有点体面；懂点分寸
汤姆的情妇在晚餐时打来电话，黛西用这句话对汤姆表达被冒犯的怒气。
He could at least have the decency to call and apologize.
Also in this scene
- the golden girl
黄金女郎；众星捧月、天生受宠的女孩
- going to pieces
分崩离析；整个人垮掉
- the great American novel
the ambitious novel everyone supposedly has in them; a joke about grand plans
Everything marked in this scene
27 notes across 160 lines
...a sporting star. But now his glory days were behind him and he...past state
...a sporting star. But now his glory days were behind him and he...Let's say after dinner, you and I, we go into town.- I can't. - Catch up with the old wolf pack.Made me who I am today.Played the Prince of Wales. What a sissy.Daisy Buchanan, the golden girl.stress
Daisy Buchanan, the golden girl.Yes. Um, at least a dozen people send their love.- ...without you!" - I'm paralyzed with happiness.elision
- ...without you!" - I'm paralyzed with happiness.Well, I've seen your face on the cover of Sporting Life.This summer I'll fling you two together. I'll push you into linen closets...Civilization's going to pieces.be going to
Civilization's going to pieces....to watch out or these...We've got to beat them down.She might have the decency not to telephone at dinnertime. Don't you think?You remind me of a rose. An absolute rose...remind someone of
You remind me of a rose. An absolute rose...weak form
You remind me of a rose. An absolute rose...I've had a very bad time, Nicky.I'm pretty cynical about everything....Tom was God knows where...A beautiful little fool."All the bright, precious things fade so fast.Nick Dines with the Buchanans, explained
What's really going on
Everyone at this table is performing. Tom's phone keeps ringing, and Daisy never names the affair; she just says, "She might have the decency not to telephone at dinnertime," which turns a private humiliation into a joke about manners. Nick, the outsider, watches old money at work: the Buchanans belong here, and his own West Egg address draws the phrase "social-climbing... primitive new-money types." One line claims she is "pretty cynical about everything," yet the scene's real weight lands later, when she hopes her newborn daughter will be "a beautiful little fool" — the best a girl can be in this world. Charm, wealth and contempt share one dinner table.
Theme
ClassNick's West Egg address is sneered at as "new money," while the Buchanans' inherited wealth lets them humiliate each other politely at dinner.
MarriageTom takes his mistress's calls at the table, and Daisy answers with manners instead of a fight.
What you'll learn
- Use create a scene to stop a public fuss
- Hear paralyzed with happiness as irony
- Explain beautiful little fool as bitter hope
- Catch throw one's lot in as picking sides
Listen for
- the golden girl — stress
- paralyzed with happiness — elision
- remind me of — weak form
That's the best thing a girl in this world can be.Daisy means an oblivious girl suffers less: staying a fool is the safest thing a woman can be in her world.
All the bright, precious things fade so fast.A wistful note that beauty, youth and joy pass quickly and never return.
I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything.Said with weariness, not pride: total experience has left her empty rather than satisfied.
I'm pretty cynical about everything.A rare confession that her charm hides disillusion with her life and marriage.
Questions about this scene
Who is the woman Tom keeps calling during dinner?
His mistress in New York. The calls reach the table mid-meal, and Daisy can only complain about the timing rather than the affair itself.
Why does Daisy say she is cynical?
She has seen and done everything, yet feels empty. Her charm hides someone who no longer expects much from her marriage or her life.
What does the golden girl mean?
A girl who seems blessed by fate: beautiful, adored and always the center of attention. It is the label given to Daisy at dinner.
Why does Daisy hope her daughter will be a fool?
She believes an oblivious girl suffers less than a clever one, so she wishes Pammy the protection of being a beautiful little fool.
The Great Gatsby · 18 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 3sit on the sidelineTom's Secret Apartment Party
Chapter 1reserve all judgmentsNick Begins His Story
Watching · 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
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 2 of 18 · about 74 min to go