The Best Great Gatsby Chapter 7 Quotes from Every Character: Simple Study Guide (2024)

This chapter (Chapter 7) will bring out Tom and Gatsby’s animosity for one another into the open. It also exposes everyone’s flaws, including Daisy’s affair with Jay.

Previously, the novel has hinted or suggested that Gatsby has earned his money via illegal means, but now the truth will be spoken openly.

A tragic event will also change everyone’s lives forever, and Gatsby’s dream that he has worked so hard for over the past 5 years will be cut short.

In this guide, we list The Great Gatsby Chapter 7 quotes from each character, making your job of finding the correct quote easy. ( Read more on all The Great Gatsby Characters )

Nick Carraway’s Best Quotes from Chapter 7

Nick is terribly curious when he notices that not only is Gatsby not hosting any more weekend parties, but also that most of the house lights are turned off.

Nick goes to his neighbor Gatsby’s house to ask if his friend is ill. He is met at the door by a butler whom Nick recognizes as one of Meyer Wolfsheim’s men.

Discover How Nick Carraway’s Thoughts Mirror Fitzgerald’s Beliefs

Why Does Gatsby Fire All His Servants and Stop Hosting Parties?

The main reason for Gatsby’s parties was to lure Daisy, and now that she frequently goes to his mansion, the parties are no longer necessary. Gatsby fired all his servants to avoid gossip because Daisy comes over in the afternoons.

My Finn informed me that Gatsby had dismissed every servant in his house a week ago and replaced them with half a dozen others, who never went into West Egg Village to be bribed by the tradesmen, but ordered moderate supplies over the telephone.

The grocery boy reported that the kitchen looked like a pigsty, and the general opinion in the village was that the new people weren’t servants at all.

Who Invites Gatsby and Nick to Lunch?

Gatsby tells Nick that Daisy has asked him to come to her house the following afternoon. Nick notes that:

He [Gatsby] was calling up at Daisy’s request — would I come to lunch at her house to-morrow? Miss Baker would be there. Half an hour later Daisy herself telephoned and seemed relieved to find that I was coming.

What Are Some Quotes about the Heat in Chapter 7?

Nick arrives on what is the hottest day of the year. Keep in mind that air conditioning had yet to be invented so the only relief from the heat were fans.

The next day was broiling, almost the last, certainly the warmest, of the summer. As my train emerged from the tunnel into sunlight, only the hot whistles of the National Biscuit Company broke the simmering hush at noon…

The woman next to me perspired delicately for a while into her white shirtwaist, and then, as her newspaper dampened under her fingers, lapsed despairingly into deep heat with a desolate cry.

Nick discovers Jordan and Daisy both in the great room, wearing white dresses, Gatsby wearing a pink suit, and Tom supposedly talking to George Wilson about selling him the car on the phone, although both Jordan and Daisy believe that it’s Myrtle on the other end.

After lunch, everyone is trying to decide what to do on such a hot day when Daisy suggests that everyone drive to town (meaning New York City).

• Related Topic: Best Great Gatsby Party Quotes from the Novel

How Does Nick Describe Daisy’s Voice in Chapter 7?

While Tom goes into the house to get some whiskey to take with them, Nick makes a remark to Gatsby about Daisy’s voice:

She’s got an indiscreet voice, it’s full of—

Nick hesitated, and Gatsby finished his sentence for him saying that Daisy’s voice “is full of money”. It was like an aha moment for Nick, who thought:

That was it. I’d never understood before. It was full of money— that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it… High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl…

What Happens When They Leave for the Plaza Hotel in Chapter 7?

Gatsby’s car is nearly out of gas so they stop and fill up at George Wilson’s gas station. George tells Tom that they’re moving out west to get away from Myrtle’s lover.

Everyone agrees to go to the Plaza Hotel. Tom and Gatsby start going at one another, making insinuations and accusations. Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy never loved him.

While Daisy agrees one minute, the next minute she tells Gatsby that he’s asking for too much because she did love Tom at one point.

Tom, convinced that Daisy isn’t going to leave him, tells Daisy and Gatsby that they can go home in Gatsby’s yellow car with Tom, Jordan, and Nick following in Tom’s blue coupe just a few minutes behind.

What Did Nick Find Out about Tom and Daisy at the End of Chapter 7?

After Myrtle died in the car accident, Nick walks to the Buchanan’s house. From a pantry window, he describes what he saw as follows:

Daisy and Tom were sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table, with a plate of cold fried chicken between them, and two bottles of ale. He was talking intently across the table at her, and in his earnestness his hand had fallen upon and covered her own.

Once in a while she looked up at him and nodded in agreement. They weren’t happy, and neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale — and yet they weren’t unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture, and anybody would have said that they were conspiring.

What Is Nick’s Quote about Death & Dreams in Chapter 7?

Nick’s line goes this way:

There was Jordan beside me, who, unlike Daisy, was too wise ever to carry well-forgotten dreams from age to age. As we passed over the dark bridge her wan face fell lazily against my coat’s shoulder and the formidable stroke of thirty died away with the reassuring pressure of her hand.

So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight.

As Nick reflects about his 30th birthday, he seems to say that his dreams must remain realistic. His dreams can change as he grows older, and some dreams he must forget, just as Jordan does.

Possibly, it’s also a reflection about how unachievable Gatsby’s dream (or the American dream) was, even if one fights till death.

Jay Gatsby’s Best Quotes from Chapter 7

Gatsby is tired of waiting for Daisy to say something and is anxious for the two of them to start their lives together.

However, good manners dictate that Gatsby not start anything inside Tom’s house. When Daisy insists that they all go to New York for the day, Gatsby sees this as an opportunity to make his move.

Tom is also itching for a fight, and when he sees an opening in the conversation, he jumps at the chance.

Jay Gatsby: How Much of the Character Is Based on Reality and Fantasy

The Great Gatsby Chapter 7 Quote about Gatsby Being an Oxford Man

Tom wanted so much to embarrass Gatsby about his being an Oxford man, and asks him directly whether he’s indeed an Oxford man, to which Gatsby replies:

“Yes—I went there. It was in nineteen-nineteen, I only stayed five months. That’s why I can’t really call myself an Oxford man.”

Gatsby continues:

“It was an opportunity they gave to some of the officers after the Armistice. We could go to any of the universities in England or France.”

Daisy is pleased believing that Gatsby has won the argument, and even Nick is happy that Gatsby has been truthful, but Tom has more tricks up his sleeve.

What Does Gatsby Tell Tom about His Wife?

Earlier that day, Gatsby has already tried breaking the news to Tom, but Daisy stopped him. This time, however, Gatsby finally gets it out and tells Tom:

“Your wife doesn’t love you.
She’s never loved you. She loves me.”

Tom immediately dismisses this as a crazy idea, so Gatsby sprang to his feet and tells him once more in no uncertain terms:

“She never loved you, do you hear?”

“She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved any one except me!”

“Daisy’s leaving you.”

Gatsby still believes that Daisy will leave Tom for him, and Nick doesn’t seem to have the heart to tell Gatsby that it’s over.

Tom Buchanan’s Best Quotes from Chapter 7

Tom’s bigotry and racism are on full display in this chapter (read more Great Gatsby racism quotes), not to mention his misogyny and general ignorance despite being a Yale man.

A Character Analysis of Tom Buchanan’s Character

Tom brings everyone drinks in the parlor and starts talking nonsense about the sun.

“I read somewhere that the sun’s getting hotter every year.”

“It seems that pretty soon the earth’s going to fall into the sun—or wait a minute—it’s just the opposite—the sun’s getting colder every year.

Daisy is nervous having both Tom and Gatsby in the same room, but Tom feels prepared for whatever happens next- or is he?

Tom says that he’s done some digging into Gatsby’s background, and he’s full of contempt when bringing up the subject of Gatsby being an Oxford man.

Tom’s Sarcastic Quote about Self-Control in Chapter 7

Everyone arrives at the hotel and it doesn’t take long for Tom to go after Gatsby once more. When Daisy tries to calm him down and asks him to have a little self-control, he exclaims:

“Self control!”

“I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that’s the idea you can count me out…

Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions and next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white.”

How Tom Exposes Gatsby’s Illegal Business Dealings

Tom decides that it’s time to let the cat out of the bag and tell everyone about Gatsby’s illegal dealings.

“I found out what your ‘drug stores’ were.”

“He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasn’t far wrong.”

Daisy and Gatsby leave the hotel in Gatsby’s yellow car, while Tom, Nick, and Jordan leave in Tom’s blue car.

They see the aftermath of Myrtle’s death, and Tom is horrified to discover that the dead woman is his mistress.

Why Tom Tells Wilson That the Yellow Car Is Not His

Concerned that a grieving George will tell the police that he saw Tom driving the yellow car earlier, Tom shakes George a little and tells him:

“Listen.”

“I just got here a minute ago, from New York. I was bringing you that coupé we’ve been talking about. That yellow car I was driving this afternoon wasn’t mine, do you hear? I haven’t seen it all afternoon.”

After looking at Myrtle’s mutilated body, Tom gets back into the car to drive everyone home, and curses Gatsby for being a coward:

“The God Damn coward!”

“He didn’t even stop his car.”

The irony of his statement seems to have escaped him. Tom was concerned about being named as the driver of the yellow car and doesn’t tell the truth about switching cars or that he even knows the owner, but he thinks Gatsby is a coward for not stopping.

Daisy Buchanan’s Best Quotes from Chapter 7

Daisy Buchanan seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. She loves Gatsby with her heart, but her head tells her that she is better off with the security Tom provides.

Daisy hates the fact that Tom is cheating on her but doesn’t have any qualms about doing the same. Perhaps she believes that because she loves Gatsby, her actions are different or justified.

On the brink of an anxiety attack, Daisy tries to keep everyone occupied with other thoughts, saying:

“What’ll we do with ourselves this afternoon?” cried Daisy,

“and the day after that, and the next thirty years?”

When the conversation stalls, Daisy tries another distraction by asking:

“Who wants to go to town?”

Daisy Tells Gatsby That She Loves Him Chapter 7

After suggesting that they go to town, Daisy locks eyes with Gatsby and says:

“Ah, you look so cool.”

“You always look so cool.”

Nick heard and saw this, and he concluded that Daisy told him that she loved him. Tom Buchanan saw this, too, and his reaction was that of unbelief.

While saying that someone looks cool equals saying I love you sounds strange to modern generations, in this era, it appears that it was crystal clear.

Quotes from Daisy about Being Torn Between Tom and Gatsby

Faced with making a decision between her husband and her lover, Daisy wilts and tells Gatsby:

“Oh, you want too much!”

“I love you now—isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.”

“I did love him once—but I loved you too.”

Daisy isn’t strong enough to make a clear decision, and having two men simultaneously demanding for an answer is more than she can bear.

After the accident, Daisy takes refuge with Tom, and Gatsby loses.

Final Summary

Gatsby’s decision to take the blame for Daisy’s accident shows that, despite the fact that she didn’t do as promised, he still loves Daisy and wants to protect her at all costs.

Gatsby is willing to sacrifice himself to prove his love for Daisy, even though she obviously isn’t even willing to stand up to her husband.

Meanwhile, wealthy, old-money Tom sits secure in the knowledge that he has defeated a bootlegger who tried to steal his wife.

Last, Nick Carraway watches everything with disgust. Tom’s lies and hypocrisy, Jordan’s complete coldness over the death of Myrtle, and Daisy’s willingness to let Gatsby take the blame for her actions sicken Nick.

Nick does admire Gatsby for taking the blame because this shows him just how much Gatsby loves Daisy, but he finds disgusting how little Daisy must love Gatsby.