"Watching over nothing"

Chapter 7 is the longest chapter in the book and it includes so many incidents that it is hard to understand them at once. The dominating event is that Tom and Gatsby's conflict come to surface. Gatsby's love for Daisy increases each day, so much that now it is more of an obsession. Tom, now, is fully aware of what is going on between Daisy and Gatsby. He even confronts Gatsby and challenges him, saying that Daisy will chose him over Gatsby. When they go to New York, we learn that Wilson is now aware of the fact that his wife in being unfaithful to him and it is ironic because Tom and Wilson are now at the same situation. With this chapter we see more of Tom's hypocrisy and with great disappointment we see that Daisy chooses Tom over Gatsby. The obstacle of time prevents Daisy and Gatsby to reconcile. While one of them has moved on compared to the other, the other is still in the past.


When Gatsby takes on the blame for Daisy, we can clearly see that his love is very passionate and is not over. Unfortunately, Daisy's love is not as powerful and while Gatsby waits for Daisy, alone, she has already forgotten him and is with Tom. At the end of the chapter, the reader feels great sympathy for Gatsby. He is just like the way he was at the end of chapter one, with some slight differences. Instead of looking at the green light, arms wide open, with hope he is looking at an emptiness "watching over nothing" because his dream is over.