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The Great Gatsby · 2013 — Chapter 11 of 18 · 3'07" · B1

Daisy Wants to Run Away, Explained: make a point of

At Gatsby's party Daisy whispers that she wishes they could run away, then takes it back — it wouldn't be respectable. Meanwhile Tom stalks the party looking for her, and a phone call turns into "We're having a row." The glamour is thinning out; the people are starting to negotiate, spy, and lie.

What happens

At one of Gatsby's parties, Tom wanders the rooms looking for Daisy. She tells Gatsby she wishes they could run away, then withdraws the idea as unrespectable. Gatsby insists they'll live in his house together and says it's time to tell Tom — but he's called away to handle a dispute and never comes back. Daisy waits.

PartiesMarriage troubleConfrontingPromisingCoupleB1slowamericanClean
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Listen for

make a point ofhaving a rowWhat a circusof some sort

00:00 / 03:07
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  45. ❝ MonologueGatsby is pulled away4 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

make a point of

特意去做；专门去做

汤姆在派对上看到黛西和盖茨比的关系后，决定要查清对方底细。

She makes a point of replying to every email the same day.

Also in this scene

  • having a row

    吵架；拌嘴

  • What a circus

    真是一场闹剧

  • of some sort

    of an unspecified kind; a vague qualifier placed after a noun

Everything marked in this scene

28 notes across 57 lines

Phrase · B1for a whileNot for a while.
Phrase · B1run awayI wish we could just run away.
Soundrun away

liaison

I wish we could just run away.
Phrase · B2be respectable- That wouldn't be respectable. TOM: You live...
Grammar · B2That wouldn't be respectable

subjunctive

- That wouldn't be respectable. TOM: You live...
Phrase · B1live around here...around here, Nick?
Phrase · A2just next doorJust next door.
Phrase · A2it's time to do something...it's time to tell Tom.
Slang · B2ScramScram!
Phrase · B2What a ...What a circus.
Phrase · A2look for someone/something...I'll be looking for her.
Soundlooking for

weak form

...I'll be looking for her.
Phrase · B1how much fun we hadRemember how much fun we had?
Soundhow much fun we had

liaison

Remember how much fun we had?
Grammar · B2why we can't just have fun like that again

noun clause

I don't know why we can't just have fun like that again.
Phrase · B2have a rowWe're having a row.
Phrase · B1the futureAbout the future.
Phrase · B2wander around- He's wandering around the party looking- HERZOG: Sir.
Phrase · B2be emotionalIt's Mr. Slagle. He's quite emotional.
Phrase · B2deal with something...to deal with a dispute of some sort.
Phrase · B2a something of some sort

of an unspecified kind; a vague qualifier placed after a noun

...to deal with a dispute of some sort.
Phrase · B2be unable to do something...but Gatsby was unable to return.
Phrase · B1rely on someoneWith these hot-headed types in here, I rely on you.
Phrase · B2make a sceneBut you were not available. A scene was made.
Phrase · B2show someone the groundsWith Nicky. Mr. Gatsby was showing us the grounds.
Phrase · C1strain oneself to do something...strained himself to get this menagerie together.
Phrase · B2make a point of doing somethingAnd I think I'll make a point of finding out.
Grammar · B2I'll make a point of finding out

gerund after preposition

And I think I'll make a point of finding out.

Daisy Wants to Run Away, explained

What's really going on

The party has stopped being a spectacle and become a chessboard. Daisy's wish to run away is real, and so is her fear: "I wish we could just run away," she says, then turns it down because it wouldn't be respectable — the same line between desire and duty she has been circling all along. On the phone, two people insist "We're having a row" about the future, in a conversation that sounds less like a marriage than a merger. Gatsby, meanwhile, disappears to settle "a dispute of some sort," and Daisy is left waiting — a rehearsal, in miniature, of how the relationship will end. Tom's closing line, "I think I'll make a point of finding out," turns him from careless husband into investigator.

Theme

RomanceDaisy says she wants to run away with Gatsby, then retreats; the love is real but never quite acts.
SecretsTom starts digging into who Gatsby is, and Gatsby keeps vanishing to handle business he won't explain.

What you'll learn

  • Use run away for wanting to escape
  • Hear have a row as a real fight
  • Use make a point of for a firm plan
  • Catch make a scene as a public fuss

Listen for

  • run away — liaison
  • looking for — weak form
  • how much fun we had — liaison
I wish we could just run away.

Daisy's quiet wish, said at the party and immediately hedged — she wants escape but can't pay its price.

Remember how much fun we had?

A plea aimed at an old happiness, offered in a phone call that is really an argument about the future.

I don't know why we can't just have fun like that again.

The complaint beneath the nostalgia: the present has become work, and the past is the only place they agree.

And I think I'll make a point of finding out.

Tom's decision to investigate Gatsby — the moment the party's host becomes a target.

Questions about this scene

Why does Daisy want to run away, then change her mind?

She wants Gatsby, but she also wants to keep her place. Running away would mean giving up respectability, and she can't do it — so she tests the idea out loud and then talks herself out of it.

What is Tom doing at the party?

Looking for Daisy, and starting to look at Gatsby. He arrives restless, asks around for her, and by the end announces he intends to find out who Gatsby is and how he makes his money.

What is the argument Daisy is having on the phone?

She calls it "a row" about the future — a phrase she uses to deflect the question. The other voice is heard talking about "the colored empires," so the fight is as much about Tom as about anything else.

Why does Gatsby leave Daisy waiting?

He's pulled away by Herzog to handle a business dispute, and he doesn't return. For Daisy it is a small abandonment, and a sign that Gatsby's dealings will keep interrupting their romance.

The Great Gatsby · 18 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 12repeat the pastGatsby Refuses to Let the Past Go
Chapter 1reserve all judgmentsNick Begins His StoryChapter 2have the decencyNick Dines with the BuchanansChapter 3sit on the sidelineTom's Secret Apartment PartyChapter 4old sportNick Searches for GatsbyChapter 5a pack of liesGatsby Tells Nick His Life StoryChapter 6keeps his mouth shutGatsby's Lunch with a GamblerChapter 7pomp and circumstanceJordan Tells Gatsby's BackstoryChapter 8acting like a little boyGatsby's Awkward Reunion with DaisyChapter 9If it wasn't forGatsby Shows Daisy His MansionChapter 10to your likingTom and Daisy Join Gatsby's PartyWatching · Chapter 11make a point ofDaisy Wants to Run AwayChapter 12repeat the pastGatsby Refuses to Let the Past GoChapter 13Have it your own wayGatsby Meets Tom at LunchChapter 14Nobody From NowhereTom Calls Gatsby Nobody From NowhereChapter 15in our bloodTom Exposes Gatsby at the HotelChapter 16pull yourself togetherThe Yellow Car After the CrashChapter 17keep your voice downGatsby Waits Outside Daisy's HouseChapter 18made something of myselfGatsby Keeps Vigil Until Dawn
Chapter 11 of 18 · about 30 min to go