Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Why did Gatsby fire all of his servants?

Gatsby does this in Chapter 7, just two chapters after Nick has set up a clandestine meeting for Gatsby and Daisy to rekindle the romance of their youth. After a rough start, the two seem very much in love again and are likely to begin an affair. 


Having recaptured Daisy, Gatsby stops throwing his lavish parties, which were always a way to tempt her and impress her. He also fires all his servants, saying to Nick, "I wanted somebody who wouldn’t gossip. Daisy comes over quite often—in the afternoons" (Chapter 7). He replaces them with people connected to Meyer Wolfshiem, a shady character who Gatsby is in an illegal bootlegging business with. Presumably, he can trust these people to keep his and Daisy's visits a secret.


In this chapter, we see Gatsby displaying a hubris about the strength of his and Daisy's love. Later, he asks Daisy to deny ever loving Tom in front of everyone, something she cannot/will not do. The ending of the parties and replacing of the servants raises suspicions and the hints about his illegal activities multiply, but Gatsby seems to think he is untouchable by public opinion, his only wish is to continue protecting Daisy's reputation until their love can be public. 

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