Plot points Flashcards
What are the key plot points of the great Gatsby (chapter 1)
-Narrator Nick Caraway states how he learned from his father to reserve all judgement
-he briefly mentions Gatsby and how he represents everything he scorns
But exempt’s him from all judgement due to Gatsby “gorgeous” personality
-In summer Nick arrives at New York where he moved for business and rented a house on a part of Long Island called west egg next door to Gatsby
-He has dinner with his cousin daisy her husband Tom Buchanan and her Friend Jordan baker ( a competitive golfer)
-Toms racism and white- supremacist attitudes are highlighted
-Tom gets a phone call from his “mistress”
-As Nick leaves Tom and daisy hint they would like him to take an interest in Jordan
-When Nick arrives home he sees Gatsby at the dock (green light)
What are the key plot points of the great Gatsby (Chapter 2)
-Tom has been drinking and forces Nick to join him on a trip to the city
-They stop in the valley of ashes
-The valley of ashes is watched over, not by God, but by an abandoned advertisement: the symbol of materialism
-Myrtle is presented as full of vitality, whilst her husband George is portrayed as anaemic
-Once in town, Myrtle tries to act like a society hostess, with ‘impressive hauteur’
Nick criticises her, not for her affair, but for her social pretensions
-He also presents her sister Catherine and the McKee’s in an unflattering light, revealing his snobbery
-Catherine provides another reference to the mystery which shrouds Gatsby saying he is related to Kaiser Wilhelm
-Tom breaks Myrtle’s nose in a drunken row
What are the key plot points of the great Gatsby (Chapter 3)
-Nick is invited to one of Gatsby’s parties
-Nick meets Gatsby, yet still his identity is withheld for as long as possible
-Gatsby asks to speak to Jordan alone
-Jordan emerges from her meeting with Gatsby saying that she has just heard something extraordinary
-There is a car crash, where a wheel is shorn off - foreshadowing
The driver Owl eyes has a complete lack of care and responsibility
-We discover that Jordan is ‘careless’, symbolising her class
What are the key plot points of the great Gatsby (Chapter 4)
-Nick lists all of the people who attended Gatsby’s parties that summer
-He then describes a trip that he took to New York with Gatsby to eat lunch.
-As they drive to the city, Gatsby tells Nick about his past, but his story seems highly improbable.
-Seeing Nick’s scepticism, Gatsby produces a picture of himself playing cricket at Oxford.
-When a policeman pulls Gatsby over for speeding, Gatsby shows him a white card, and the policeman apologizes
- Gatsby takes Nick to lunch and introduces him to Meyer Wolfsheim
-gives Nick the impression that the source of Gatsby’s wealth might be unsavoury
-When Nick sees Tom, Gatsby disappears After the lunch Nick sees Jordan and she narrates Daisy and Gatsby’s story
-According to Jordan, Gatsby has asked her to convince Nick to arrange a reunion between Gatsby and Dais
What are the key plot points of the great Gatsby (Chapter 5)
-That night, Nick comes home from the city after a date with Jordan. He is surprised to see Gatsby’s mansion lit up brightly
-Gatsby seems agitated and almost desperate to make Nick happy he invites him to Coney Island, then for a swim in his pool.
-Nick realizes that Gatsby is nervous because he wants Nick to agree to his plan, he agrees to help
-It is raining and the windows are ‘bleared’ signifying Nick’s inability to see the immorality of what he’s doing
-Gatsby’s clothing suggests his purity of feelings and also matches the colour of a daisy
-The scene is awkward and the characters are embarrassed
The sun comes out which provides child-like ‘twinkle-bells’ and hope
-They go to Gatsby’s house and through Daisy’s presence, Nick can see the romantic atmosphere of house and garden
Daisy is glowing
-Nick wonders whether Daisy can live up to Gatsby’s dream of her
What are the key plot points of the great Gatsby (Chapter 6)
Part 1
A reporter arrives at Gatsby’s to investigate his involvement in ‘a pipeline’.
-Nick dismisses the claims, refusing to believe badly of Gatsby
-Nick deviates from his plan to tell the events chronologically and narrates some of what Gatsby told him the night of Myrtle’s death
-We learn that Gatsby was the son of a farmer, dissatisfied with his lot in life he left home at 17 before meeting Dan Cody
-Even before Gatsby has boarded Cody’s boat, he has reinvented himself into his idealised version of himself
Part 2
-Stopping by Gatsby’s house one afternoon, he is alarmed to find Tom Buchanan there.
-Tom has stopped for a drink at Gatsby’s house with Mr. and Mrs. Sloane
- To be polite, they invite Gatsby to dine with them, and he accepts, not realizing the insincerity of the invitation
-They all have horses and he has an automobile (another difference between old and new money)
-When Gatsby returns with his hat to leave, Tom and his friends have gone without him
Part 3
-Daisy, Tom and Nick attend one of Gatsby’s parties
-Through Daisy’s eyes, Nick sees the party differently using more muted and darker colours than the vivid description in chapter 3
-Gatsby seeks out Nick after Tom and Daisy leave the party; he is unhappy because Daisy has had such an unpleasant time.
-Gatsby wants things to be exactly the same as they were before
Nick reminds Gatsby that he cannot re-create the past. Gatsby, distraught, protests that he can
-Nick then recounts, or imagines Daisy and Gatsby’s first kiss five years before
What are the key plot points of the great Gatsby (Chapter 7)
Part 1
-Gatsby calls off his parties He also fires his servants and replaces them with shady individuals connected to Meyer Wolfsheim
-On the hottest day of the summer, Nick goes for lunch at Tom and Daisy’s. He finds Gatsby and Jordan Baker there as well.
-Tom notices the way Daisy speaks to Gatsby and ‘knows’
-Itching for a confrontation, Tom seizes upon Daisy’s suggestion that they should all go to New York together
-Nick, Tom, and Jordan learn that Wilson has discovered his wife’s infidelity
Part 2
-They drive into the city and end up aimlessly at The Plaza Hotel, where they get a ‘large and stifling’ room
-In the unbearable heat, tensions rise and Tom challenges Gatsby to explain himself
-Gatsby tries to get Daisy to say she never loved Tom, but she can’t
-Tom begins to give details of Gatsby’s criminal activities which scares Daisy
-Tom sends Daisy back to Long Island with Gatsby to prove Gatsby’s inability to hurt him.
-Tom and Nick stop at the scene and see Myrtle, dead, in the garage with Wilson repeatedly calling out ‘Oh my Ga-od!’
-at Tom’s house, Nick waits outside and finds Gatsby hiding in the bushes.
Gatsby says that he has been waiting there in order to make sure Daisy is ok.
-He tells Nick that Daisy was driving but that he himself will take the blame.
-Tom and Daisy in the domestic setting on the kitchen conspiring
What are the key plot points of the great Gatsby (Chapter 8)
-Nick wakes from terrible dreams before dawn and goes to Gatsby’s
-Gatsby is still clutching at ‘some last hope’ as he and Nick sit and smoke in the gloom of dawn.
-There is however the hint of gold in the morning, suggesting the hint of potential romance that Gatsby holds on to
-Nick breaks his chronological narrative once again and paraphrases Gatsby’s story of him and Daisy and his movements post-war
-There is a poignant description of Gatsby - the last time Nick sees him alive
-Nick goes to his office and refuses to meet Jordan Baker for a date.
-The focus of his narrative then shifts to relate to the reader what happened at the garage after Myrtle was killed
-Wilson goes to Gatsby’s house after Tom tells him, where he finds Gatsby lying on an air mattress in the pool, floating in the water and looking up at the sky.
-Wilson shoots Gatsby, killing him instantly, then shoots himself. Nick is there when they discover the body
What are the key plot points of the great Gatsby (Chapter 9)
Part 1
-Writing two years after Gatsby’s death, Nick describes the events that surrounded the funeral.
- Nick tries to hold a large funeral for him, but all of Gatsby’s former friends and acquaintances dont come
-Tom and Daisy, for instance, move away with no forwarding address
-He takes a call that implicates Gatsby in fraud, but doesn’t dwell on this. It is notable how Nick never dwells on the evidence of Gatsby’s criminal activity
-Gatsby’s father attends who has come all the way from Minnesota.
-Sick of the East and its empty values, Nick decides to move back to the Midwest. He breaks off his relationship with Jordan
-Just before he leaves, Nick encounters Tom
-He asks Tom why he sent Wilson to Gatsby and Tom said he had no choice and that Gatsby deserved it
-Nick comes to the conclusion that Tom and Daisy are careless and uncaring
Part 2
-On his last night in West Egg before moving back to Minnesota, Nick walks over to Gatsby’s empty mansion
-Nick imagines that America was once a goal for dreamers and explorers, just as Daisy was for Gatsby.
- He pictures the green land of America as the green light shining from Daisy’s dock
-we are reminded of the artificially of the American Dream and the irony that European settlers destroyed the ‘green’ land in their pursuit of their dream
-Nick realises that dreams are forever out of reach, yet we will still reach for them, no matter the odds stacked against us
What are the key plot points of Richard (Act 1 scene 1)
-Play opens with young Richard who has just arrived at Windsor castle
-He has to solve a dispute between The accuser, his cousin Bolingbroke
- And Mowbray whos been accused of embezzlement, conspiracy against the king and the murder of another one of Richards uncles (Duke of Gloucester)
-Mowbray and bolingbroke grow increasingly angry at which Richard tries to calm them down
-To which they throw down their “gages”(hats) challenging each other to a duel to settle it
-Richard with help from Gaunt try to convince them to reconcile but it doesn’t work
-So Richard sets a date for the two to duel
What are the key plot points of Richard (Act 1 scene 2)
-While court is waiting for Bolingbroke and Mowbray to settle their duel, Gaunt has a visit from his sister- in law (Duchess of Gloucester) who is now of course widowed
-She urges Gaunt to avenge his brothers death out of loyalty but also so he isn’t an easy target for political assassins who think they can get away with it “The naken pathway thy life”
-Gaunt refuses, saying God will punish will punish the murderers “Put will our quarrel to the will of heaven”
-But the audience learns a secret that Gaunt cant take action because Richard murdered Gloucester (Divine right of kings) If gaunt kills richard it would be blasphemy against God
-The Duchess disappointed leaves and Curses both B and M wishing they both die in the duel who she believes killed her late husband
What are the key plot points of Richard (Act 1 scene 3)
-When asked to state their innocence by richard B and M make dramatic speeches
-Just before the duel starts Richard interrupts ordering the duel to stop and instead chooses banishment M for life and B for 10 years
-but then suddenly decided to reduce it to 6 saying its because he takes pity upon Gaunt
What are the key plot points of Richard (Act 1 scene 4)
- King Richard returns from Coventry to his court, accompanied by two of his friends and allies, the noblemen Bagot and Greene
-Aumerle has just returned from escorting Bolingbroke down to the sea at which Richard asks if tears were shed
-Richard goes into detail how him, bushy, Bagot and green saw how Bolingbroke won over the common people
-Richard feels that Bolingbroke was behaving as if he were in line to be the next king of England
-Richard mentions how he will go through with the war but needs to tax people to do so
-Bushy enters and says Gaunt is sick, Richard rejoices and hatches his plan
What are the key plot points of Richard (Act 2 scene 1)
-Gaunt dying in his house talks to the Duke of York while he awaits the arrival of Richard
- He hopes Richard will hear his advice, York says that’s unlikely as the king is too much surrounded by flatterers and selfish to be interested
-Gaunt replies that, if that is the case, he must prophecy with his last breath that Richard is headed for doom
-Gaunt speech happens
-Richard arrives and asks inquires Gaunts health, this is met with a bitter reply from Gaunt angry at the exile of his son and goes on to scald him for wasting money
-Richard infuirated interupts saying that were Gaunt not of the royal blood, he would destroy him
-Gaunt then points out to Richard that he has not hesitated to shed the blood of royalty before and brings up his involvement in the death of his uncle Thomas of Gloucester.
-He finishes by cursing Richard with his dying breaths
- Gaunt has died. Richard promptly announces his intention to seize all of Gaunt’s goods in order to finance his war in Ireland.
-After Richard leaves with his attendants, three lords–the Earl of Northumberland, Lord Ross, and Lord Willoughby discuss that England is being ruined under Richard’s reign.
-Northumberland says has secret news: Bolingbroke, with many English allies plan to sail for England as soon as Richard leaves for Ireland.
What are the key plot points of Richard (Act 2 Scene 2)
-Richard has departed for Ireland to put down the rebels there
- Queen Isabel mourns his absence. Richards followers try to comfort her,
- but Isabel says she is haunted as she feels as though something terrible is going to happen
-Bolingbroke has landed with his army at Ravenspurgh
-Richard has left and taken his army with him so there is no one to stop him.
-The lords join bolingbrokes side
-Aumerle Joins Richard in Ireland, his father York leaves with Queen Isabel to try and raise an army
-Bushy and Greene flee to the west, while Bagot declares his intention to join Richard in Ireland.
-As known favorites of Richard, they are now in danger from the common people, who have turned against Richard and his supporters.
What are the key plot points of Richard (Act 2 Scene 3)
-Bolingbroke and Northumberland are riding towards Berkeley castle at which they are met with Northumberland’s son Percy
-Percy himself was sent by Worcester to scout out Berkeley Castle and learn what sort of army York is raising there
-Bolingbroke swears eternal friendship and gratitude to Percy.
-we learn from Percy that York’s army is small
-Bolingbroke is highly respectful toward his uncle York, but York dismisses him angrily disturbing the peace of England through his invasion
-Bolingbroke makes an eloquent speech, declaring that Richard has done him wrong, pleading his right to the titles denied him.
-York explains despite how he feels he cannot condone rebellion against the king, however he doesn’t have the man power to stop it so he stays neutral and invites Bolingbroke to sleep at Berkely castle
What are the key plot points of Richard (Act 2 Scene 4)
on the coast of Wales where Richard intends to land upon his return from Ireland, a large Welsh army has been waiting,
-under the supervision of Richard’s ally Lord Salisbury, for Richard to lead it against Bolingbroke when he returns.
-After ten days of waiting with no news from the King, the army’s captain explains to Salisbury that
-there are bad omens in the sky, and that he and his men are convinced Richard is dead, They then disperse despite Salisbury’s pleas to make them stay
- In despair, he declares that he can see Richard’s star falling from the sky to the earth
