Trapped in a Car

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

In chapter 4, Gatsby met with Carraway to drive him to lunch. During the car ride, Gatsby began to tell Nick a little about himself. As the conversation developed, Nick appeared to feel uncomfortable. Gatsby could have told Nick about himself any time prior to that, but he chose to wait until Nick was confined in a moving vehicle. I can relate to how Nick felt because sometimes my mom has waited until I was trapped in a car ride to talk to me about important things. When in a car, there is no place to escape from an uncomfortable situation. The only relief is arriving at one's destination. 

Also in this section, I felt that some of Gatsby's experiences related to Lily's from The House of Mirth. When Gatsby was young, his family died, and he inherited money. Because of his sadness, he traveled to Europe. "I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad thing that happened to me" (Fitzgerald, 67).  I think that his time in Europe resembles Lily's vacation with the Dorsets. Lily left New York to escape from her troubles with her debt to Trenor. Gatsby went to Europe to escape the sadness of the loss of his family. Both characters tried to physically distance themselves from their problems, but I do not feel like this worked for either.