“That's the best thing a girl in this world can be.”
Por qué es buena
A mother's blessing that is really a quiet indictment of her world.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
In that town, staying quiet was the best thing a woman could be.
00:00 / 07:04
00:00 / 07:04
Nick Dines with the Buchanans, Explained
The Great Gatsby · 2013
Capítulo 2 de 18 · 7'04"
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.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 3:57–4:15
❝ Monólogo · 8 frases Tom on civilization
He dresses panic as a duty, in borrowed long words.
18s - 5:05–6:01
Daisy's Polite Jab at Tom's Affair
56s - 6:13–7:02
❝ Monólogo · 11 frases Daisy Wants a Beautiful Little Fool
50s
Nick Dines with the Buchanans, explained
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.
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.
Key lines & what they mean
- “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.
Theme
- Class — Nick's West Egg address is sneered at as "new money," while the Buchanans' inherited wealth lets them humiliate each other politely at dinner.
- Marriage — Tom takes his mistress's calls at the table, and Daisy answers with manners instead of a fight.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel0/4
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“All the bright, precious things fade so fast.”
Por qué es buena
One sentence turns brightness itself into a warning about loss.
Registro
literary
Úsala tú
All the bright, precious moments of that summer faded so fast.
“I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything.”
Por qué es buena
A triple rhythm that boasts of experience and betrays emptiness.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
I've been everywhere, seen everything, and done everything twice.
“I'm pretty cynical about everything.”
Por qué es buena
Self-portrait in one word: cynical, and unapologetic about it.
Registro
Neutral
Úsala tú
After ten years in that job, I'm pretty cynical about everything.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ Daisy's fool speech
Listen, Nick, when she was born... ...Tom was God knows where... ...with God knows whom. And I asked... ...the nurse if it was a boy or a girl. And she said it was a girl... ...and I wept: "I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool. That's the best thing a girl in this world can be. A beautiful little fool."
She folds a whole gender trap into one pretty curse.
❝ Tom on civilization
Civilization's going to pieces. Have you read The Rise of the Colored Empires... ...by this fellow Goddard? Everybody ought to... ...read it. The idea is... ...that it's up to us, the dominant race... ...to watch out or these... ...other races... ...will have control of things.
He dresses panic as a duty, in borrowed long words.
Siguiente · 03sit on the sidelineLa escena: Tom's Secret Apartment PartyIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- 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
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWho 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.