At the beginning of chapter three Nick seems to display a sort of obsession towards Gatsby as he notes all of the details that he puts into preparing his house for such parties as having his servants and an extra gardener prepare the grounds, or what foods he brings to his house to serve to his guests such as lemons and oranges for beverages. Nick does not partake in going to the parties for he does not want to attend as an uninvited guest, but when he is finally given an invitation, he actively seeks to find the man behind the myth. There is almost a bit of a cat and mouse game between Nick and Jay as Nick obsesses over Jay and notices every single detail about him and his routines over the weeks that he resides as his neighbor, but all the while reserves from introducing himself to the neighbor that he so routinely watches over. On the other hand, Jay solemnly invites people to his parties, they just show up, so when he invites Nick to attend one of his events, Nick is elated for the opportunity to meet his acclaimed neighbor, but in the attempt to find the host and thank him for the invitation, Gatsby remains elusive and leaves Nick to search for him throughout the night.
In an attempt to find Jay, Nick finds himself in a group discussing the validity of the man’s life as rumors spread like wildfire of the host: “‘Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once’”, “‘I don’t think it’s so much that… its more that he was a German spy during the war. I heard that from a man who knew all about him, grew up with him in Germany’”, “‘Oh, no, it couldn’t be that, because he was in the American military during the war’”(p.44). There is so much speculation as to what has happened in Jay’s life leading up to who he is today, mostly because of the mysteriousness associated with his past, as no one really knew of him in his early years. So many rumors have spread about Gatsby because it is easier to make something up than to be bothered by the mysteriousness of it, and he must be either hiding something or not telling the truth about his past for he puts on such grandeur events to distract the attention away from him and the mystery associated with him, to the elegance and festivities associated with his parties. Usually, when a person puts on such a grand event they would like to take part in it and appreciate all the hard work that has gone into it, however Jay acts in a very elusive manner as he avoids interaction with his guests, implying that he has something to hid from them as he does not want to be questioned as to who the real Jay Gatsby is.
When Nick finally runs into the man he has been searching for all night, he does not even recognize him, which is rather odd considering he has been carefully and attentively watching over his neighbor’s house for the past few weeks and taken notice of his routines. Upon realizing it is Jay, Nick takes precise observations so as not to miscalculate the character if his sought after neighbor: “He smiled understandingly- much more than understandingly.. with a quality of eternal reassurance… (that) concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice.. (that) understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood” (p.48). Nick appears to be almost star struck that he has finally gotten the chance to meet “The Great Gatsby” and seems to almost be in love at first sight, for his feelings are apparent in the elaborate and delicate but precise way that he describes the way in which a simple smile makes him feel so comfortable and assured in his presence; but he soon picks up on the “fakeness” that the others have caught on to: “Some time before he introduced himself I’d got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care” (p.48). Nick can tell that Jay is precise with his words so as to be purposely consistent in what he tells people of himself, and even though he catches on to Jay’s alertness when talking about himself, he is so interested in him that he ignores his observations, playing into the “love is blind” character as he does not want any previously heard rumors to alter the relationship they are in the process of forming, and is willing to trust in whatever Gatsby has to say to him, whether it is the actual truth or not.
In an attempt to find Jay, Nick finds himself in a group discussing the validity of the man’s life as rumors spread like wildfire of the host: “‘Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once’”, “‘I don’t think it’s so much that… its more that he was a German spy during the war. I heard that from a man who knew all about him, grew up with him in Germany’”, “‘Oh, no, it couldn’t be that, because he was in the American military during the war’”(p.44). There is so much speculation as to what has happened in Jay’s life leading up to who he is today, mostly because of the mysteriousness associated with his past, as no one really knew of him in his early years. So many rumors have spread about Gatsby because it is easier to make something up than to be bothered by the mysteriousness of it, and he must be either hiding something or not telling the truth about his past for he puts on such grandeur events to distract the attention away from him and the mystery associated with him, to the elegance and festivities associated with his parties. Usually, when a person puts on such a grand event they would like to take part in it and appreciate all the hard work that has gone into it, however Jay acts in a very elusive manner as he avoids interaction with his guests, implying that he has something to hid from them as he does not want to be questioned as to who the real Jay Gatsby is.
When Nick finally runs into the man he has been searching for all night, he does not even recognize him, which is rather odd considering he has been carefully and attentively watching over his neighbor’s house for the past few weeks and taken notice of his routines. Upon realizing it is Jay, Nick takes precise observations so as not to miscalculate the character if his sought after neighbor: “He smiled understandingly- much more than understandingly.. with a quality of eternal reassurance… (that) concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice.. (that) understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood” (p.48). Nick appears to be almost star struck that he has finally gotten the chance to meet “The Great Gatsby” and seems to almost be in love at first sight, for his feelings are apparent in the elaborate and delicate but precise way that he describes the way in which a simple smile makes him feel so comfortable and assured in his presence; but he soon picks up on the “fakeness” that the others have caught on to: “Some time before he introduced himself I’d got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care” (p.48). Nick can tell that Jay is precise with his words so as to be purposely consistent in what he tells people of himself, and even though he catches on to Jay’s alertness when talking about himself, he is so interested in him that he ignores his observations, playing into the “love is blind” character as he does not want any previously heard rumors to alter the relationship they are in the process of forming, and is willing to trust in whatever Gatsby has to say to him, whether it is the actual truth or not.