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The Great Gatsby · 2013 — Chapter 17 of 18 · 3'30" · B2

Gatsby Waits Outside Daisy's House, Explained: keep your voice down

After the car kills a woman, Gatsby stands guard outside the Buchanans' house through the night. One line reveals the driver was someone he loves — "It was Daisy" — and he insists it was his own fault, begging only for silence: "No one must know that Daisy was driving."

What happens

After the hit-and-run, Gatsby keeps watch outside Daisy's mansion all night, afraid Tom might hurt her. He admits to the narrator that Daisy was driving but says the fault is his own, asks for secrecy, and refuses to go home and rest, promising to stay until morning.

ArgumentsAccusationsConfrontingConfessingFriendsB2mediumamerican
IMDb ↗

Listen for

keep your voice downin the wrongnothing to worry aboutsteady

00:00 / 03:30
Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
  26. ❝ MonologueGatsby takes the crash8 linesPractice page ↗
  49. ❝ MonologueTom talks Daisy down10 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

keep your voice down

压低声音；小声点

尼克与盖茨比深夜争执时，反复劝他压低声音，别把话说得太大声。

Keep your voice down — the baby is asleep.

Also in this scene

  • in the wrong

    有错；理亏

  • nothing to worry about

    没什么好担心的

  • steady

    to make something or someone stop shaking and become stable

Everything marked in this scene

35 notes across 58 lines

Phrase · B1just sitting hereJust sitting here.
Phrase · B2run someone down- ...you ran down is dead, Jay. - I thought so.
Phrase · B2hear yourselfDaisy? Do you hear yourself?
Phrase · B2how could youHow could you?
Phrase · B2keep one's voice downKeep your voice down.
Grammar · B1Keep your voice down

imperative

Keep your voice down.
SoundKeep your voice down

liaison

Keep your voice down.
Phrase · B2a goddamn coward- ...but a goddamn coward! - Keep your voice down!
Slang · B2coward- ...but a goddamn coward! - Keep your voice down!
Phrase · B2no point in doing somethingPlease. There was no point in stop- No point'? No point? What about that woman?
Grammar · B2There was no point in stop

there be

Please. There was no point in stop- No point'? No point? What about that woman?
Phrase · B2be killed instantlyNo point. She was killed instantly.
Phrase · A2be someone's faultI understand! I understand! It was my fault.
Soundmy fault

liaison

I understand! I understand! It was my fault.
Phrase · B2as if someone was trying to do something...she rushed out at us as if she was trying to speak to us.
Phrase · B1happen so quicklyIt all happened so quickly. She tried- I tried...
Phrase · B2steady someoneShe thought that driving would steady her.
Phrase · B1it wasn't someone's faultIt wasn't her fault...
Phrase · B2no one must knowNo one must know that Daisy was driving.
Grammar · B2No one must know that Daisy was driving

modal must

No one must know that Daisy was driving.
Phrase · A2promise someonePromise me.
Phrase · B1get some restJay, you should go home and get some rest.
Phrase · B1all nightI'm going to wait here. I'm going to wait here all night...
Phrase · C1that unpleasantness...to bother her about that unpleasantness this afternoon...
Phrase · C1brutality on someoneIf he tries any brutality on her whatsoever- Torn won't touch her. He's not even thinking about her.
Phrase · B1not touch someoneIf he tries any brutality on her whatsoever- Torn won't touch her. He's not even thinking about her.
Phrase · A2trust someoneI don't trust him.
Phrase · B2any commotionI'll see if there's any commotion.
Phrase · B2be in the wrongListen, she was in the wrong, running out on the road.
Phrase · B1nothing to worry about...nothing to worry about.
Soundnothing to worry about

liaison

...nothing to worry about.
Phrase · B1take care of thingsLet me take care of things.
Phrase · B1make some callsI'll make some calls.
Phrase · B2get out of townJust go away, get out of town.
Phrase · A2it'll be all rightIt'll be all right.

Gatsby Waits Outside Daisy's House, explained

What's really going on

Gatsby's vigil is the quietest kind of confession. He cannot say he loves Daisy out loud, so he protects her instead: "It was Daisy" is followed immediately by "It was my fault," and he makes the narrator promise that "No one must know that Daisy was driving." What he fears is not the law but Tom. Earlier in the day Tom humiliated him in front of Daisy, and now Gatsby waits in the dark, ready to take any punishment meant for her. It is devotion and self-erasure at the same time, and it will cost him everything.

Theme

RomanceGatsby guards Daisy all night and takes the blame for her, proving his love is total and reckless.
SecretsThe whole night is built on a promise to hide who was really driving, turning love into a shared secret.

What you'll learn

  • Use Keep your voice down to hush someone
  • Hear no point in as not worth doing
  • Use get out of town for leaving a city
  • Use take care of for handling a mess

Listen for

  • Keep your voice down — liaison
  • my fault — liaison
  • nothing to worry about — liaison
How could you do that?

An accusation aimed at Gatsby for letting the car drive on, or for covering for Daisy — either way it frames what he did as unforgivable.

I understand! I understand! It was my fault.

Gatsby refuses any excuse and takes the blame on himself, even though the accident was Daisy's doing.

No one must know that Daisy was driving.

His only request: protect Daisy's name, no matter what it costs him or how it looks.

I'm going to wait here. I'm going to wait here all night...

Gatsby will not leave his post outside the house; the long watch shows how far he is willing to go.

Questions about this scene

Why does Gatsby wait outside the house all night?

He is afraid Tom might hurt Daisy and wants to be nearby in case she needs him, even though there is nothing practical he can do from the driveway.

Who was actually driving the car?

Daisy was driving when the woman was hit. Gatsby admits it but insists the fault is his and begs the narrator to keep her involvement secret.

What does in the wrong mean here?

It means someone is at fault or in the wrong. At the end, one line argues the dead woman was in the wrong for running out into the road.

Why does Gatsby take the blame for Daisy?

He wants to shield her from scandal and punishment. Taking the blame is his way of proving his love and proving he can protect her.

The Great Gatsby · 18 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 18made something of myselfGatsby Keeps Vigil Until Dawn
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 PartyChapter 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 CrashWatching · Chapter 17keep your voice downGatsby Waits Outside Daisy's HouseChapter 18made something of myselfGatsby Keeps Vigil Until Dawn
Chapter 17 of 18 · about 3 min to go