Since Gatsby is so focused on his affair with Daisy, he stops throwing his extravagant parties and fires his usual servants so as to avoid any gossip going around the city. One very day, the whole gang (Daisy, Tom, Gatsby, Nick, and Jordan) find themselves having lunch at the Buchanans' house. It is becoming more and more obvious that there is something going on between Gatsby and Daisy; Tom can see it and he is itching for a confrontation. They all take a trip to the city to try to take their minds off of the heat. On the way there, Tom stops at Wilson's place for gas and finds out that Wilson has discovered that his wife has been cheating on him and that he plans to move away with her to the West. This makes Tom very anxious because he already feels like he is losing Daisy to Gatsby, so if Myrtle leaves too he will lose both of his women and be left all alone.
The group gets a room at the Plaza Hotel. Under the aggravating, incessant heat of summer and the inhibition-suppressing influence of alcohol, Tom and Gatsby get into a fight over Daisy. Gatsby insists that Daisy never loved Tom and wants her to tell Tom that, but Daisy can't do it. Tom gradually gains control of the confrontation as he sees Daisy kind of slipping away from Gatsby. She finally breaks down and says that there actually was a time when she loved Tom, much to Gatsby's dismay. Tom, who seems to have "won" for now, sends Daisy back home with Gatsby. Nick, Jordan, and Tom follow behind and find that there has been a hit-and-run in front of Wilson's place. After running inside to investigate, Tom finds that Myrtle was the person who was hit and killed.
I found this whole chapter just really, really sad and pitiful. If everyone would just be honest with each other, then they could all be in relationships where they are happy (except for Wilson, but he deserves someone more faithful than Myrtle anyway). After how upset Tom got once he saw Myrtle laying there dead, one can see that he clearly loved her and I think he should have focused all his energy on being happy with her instead of keeping up appearances with Daisy. If that happened, then Daisy and Gatsby could try to restart their relationship again, too, in which I think they'd both be much happier than in the current situation.
The group gets a room at the Plaza Hotel. Under the aggravating, incessant heat of summer and the inhibition-suppressing influence of alcohol, Tom and Gatsby get into a fight over Daisy. Gatsby insists that Daisy never loved Tom and wants her to tell Tom that, but Daisy can't do it. Tom gradually gains control of the confrontation as he sees Daisy kind of slipping away from Gatsby. She finally breaks down and says that there actually was a time when she loved Tom, much to Gatsby's dismay. Tom, who seems to have "won" for now, sends Daisy back home with Gatsby. Nick, Jordan, and Tom follow behind and find that there has been a hit-and-run in front of Wilson's place. After running inside to investigate, Tom finds that Myrtle was the person who was hit and killed.
I found this whole chapter just really, really sad and pitiful. If everyone would just be honest with each other, then they could all be in relationships where they are happy (except for Wilson, but he deserves someone more faithful than Myrtle anyway). After how upset Tom got once he saw Myrtle laying there dead, one can see that he clearly loved her and I think he should have focused all his energy on being happy with her instead of keeping up appearances with Daisy. If that happened, then Daisy and Gatsby could try to restart their relationship again, too, in which I think they'd both be much happier than in the current situation.