Plotting and Scheming

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

Jordan and Gatsby were plotting and scheming.

As chapter 4 comes to a close, Nick Carraway finally learns from Jordan what Gatsby meant by "this matter". At their afternoon tea, Jordan told Nick a story about Daisy dating young soldiers, one of which being Gatsby, and how Daisy eventually married Tom Buchanan. When Daisy heard the name Gatsby, she asked Jordan if he was the same man she had known long ago. Indeed, Nick's next door neighbor is the one and only Gatsby. Gatsby purposely bought the house directly across the bay from Daisy and hoped that he could meet her again. With the help of Jordan, Gatsby planned for Nick to invite Daisy to his home for tea, where Gatsby would then come over and visit. This entire plan was set into motion because of Jordan. 

When Jordan was first introduced, she seemed like she would be a minor character. Yet, she has taken an important role in this story. Had Jordan and Gatsby not met, Gatsby would not have known that Nick was friends with Daisy and Tom Buchanan. Without this friendship, Gatsby's plan to meet with Daisy would be much more difficult to facilitate. Although Jordan could have arranged a meeting between Daisy and Gatsby, she needed Nick's help to bring Daisy near Gatsby's home, which Gatsby wanted Daisy to see. Gatsby waited five years to arrange a causal meeting with Daisy, and he could have waited even longer if he had not met Jordan. " 'I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night, ' went on Jordan, 'but she never did' "(Fitzgerald, 79). Jordan set Gatsby's plans into motion, and whether or not she plays any important roles later on in the story, she started what I think is going to be an interesting reunion.