A Twist in the Outcome

This chapter is Nick explaining what happened after Gatsby was killed.  In the beginning of the chapter, Nick is trying to find people who are able to attend his funeral.  He attempts to call Tom and Daisy to tell them the news a few times, but no one answers.  The butler said that they had gone away with baggage without saying when they would be returning.  Nick also tried to contact Gatsby's business partner, Wolfsheim, but without success.  When Nick sends him a letter asking for information, he receives a response form Wolfsheim saying that Gatsby's death is awful news, however, he will not be able to make the funeral because, "I am tied up in some very important business and cannot get mixed up in this thing now."  If I were Nick, I would be very confused by this; Gatsby and Wolfsheim seemed close, even if it was only because they were business partners.  If a friend or a co-worker dies, most people will postpone what they are doing and make plans to attend their funeral.  I would be distraught throughout this whole process; losing a close friend and then having to basically plan their funeral is not exactly a helpful coping process.  It also would not help when Gatsby's father is the only other one who ends up going to the funeral.  I find it both touching and strange about how proud Gatsby's father was of him in this chapter.  It was touching because that is generally how all fathers should look on their children's lives.   Fathers should be proud of their children no matter what.  I found it strange because before Gatsby's death, his father was neither mentioned nor present in any part of the book.  In this chapter, the American dream does not seem all that great.  Gatsby was this popular man who threw great parties that everyone loved to attend and had a lot of fun at.  After he dies, not one of those people even considers going to his funeral.  The moral here is materialism; people will stick around to use you for your belongings, but when the other shoe drops no one will be there for you as a person.  Overall, I really did like this book.  I thought it had a great perspective on the American dream, and I liked how things did not turn out how you might have expected them to.