Page 99 - The Great Gatsby

88 The Great Gatsby The funeral 89

'What's che matter, Nick? Don't you want to shake hands along the stone. Then I walked down to che beach and lay 011
with me?' the sand.
'No. You know what I thinlc of you.' Most of the big houses along the shore wcre closed now for
'You're crazy, Nick.' the winter, and were in darkness; there was only the shadowy,
'Tom, what did you say to Wilson that afternoon?' moving light of a ferryboat across che water. And as the
He stared at me without a word, and I knew I had gucssed moon rose higher, the houses slowly began to melt away, until
right about those missing hours. I became aware of che old island underneath. Sailors from
'I told him the truth,' he said. 'He carne to our house while Holland were the first to set eyes 011 the island; to them it was
we were packing our bags. He was crazy enough to kili me if a fresh green breast of che new world. For a passing, magical
I hadn't told him who owned che car. What if I did tell him? moment, they had che last and greatest of ali human dreams,
That man threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy's, holding their breath in the presence of this new continent, face
but he was a tough one. He ran over Myrt!e like you'd run over to face for the last time in history with so great a cause for
a dog, and never even stopped his car. By God, it was awful!' wonder.
There was nothing I could say, except che one tbing that was And as I lay there, thinking about the old, unknown world,
impossible to say - that it wasn't true. I thougbt of Gatsby's wonder when he first saw the green light
I couldn't forgive him or like him, bue I saw that he thought at the end of Daisy's dock. He had come a long way to chis
he had good reasons for what he had done. It was ali very blue lawn, and his dream must have seemecl so close to him.
careless and confused. T h ey were careless people, Tom and He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere
Daisy - they smashed up things, and then wenc back into their back in the enormous shadows bcyond the city, where the dark
money or their huge carelessness, or whatever it was that kept fields rolled on under the night.
them together, and !et other people pick up the pieces ... Gatsby believed in the green light, thc future that year by
I shook hands with him; it seemed silly not to. Then he went year moves further away from us. lt escaped us then, but that
into a jewelry store to buy a pearl necklace or perhaps just doesn't matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our
sorne buttons, rid of my small-town moral judgements for ever. arms further ... And one fine morning ...
So we beat on, boats against the current, carried back
Gatsby's house was still empty when I left - the grass 011 his ceaselessly into the past.
Jawn had grown as long as mine. On the last night, witb my
cases packed and my car sold, I went over and looked at that
huge failure of a house once more. n the white steps a rude
O
word, written by sorne boy with a piece of brick, stood out
clearly in the moonlight, and I rubbed it out, drawing my shoe