The Great Gatsby Chapter 3 (Part 2) Bilingual Comparison

The large room was full of people One of the girls in yellow was playing the piano and beside her stood a tall ,red haired young lady from a famous chorus ,engaged in song . She had drunk a quantity of champagne and during the course of her song she had decided ineptly that everything was very very sad --she was not only singing ,she was weeping too . Whenever there was a pause in the song she filled it with gasping broken sobs and then took up the lyric again in a quavering soprano. The tears coursed down her cheeks --not freely ,however ,for when they came into contact with her heavily beaded eyelashes they assumed an inky color,and pursued the rest of their way in slow black rivulets . A humorous suggestion was made that she sing the notes on her face whereupon she threw up her hands ,sank into a chair and went off into a deep vinous sleep.

The big room was packed with people. The girl in yellow had a girl playing the piano, and next to her stood a tall red-haired young woman from a famous song and dance troupe, singing there. She had already drunk a great deal of champagne, and in the course of her singing she had untimely assumed that everything was very, very miserable—that she was not only singing, but also crying. Whenever there was a pause in the song, she filled it with a sobbing cry, and then continued to sing in a trembling soprano. Tears flowed down her cheeks—but not unimpeded, for as soon as they touched the thickly painted eyelashes, they turned into black ink and continued to flow slowly like two small black rivers. Someone made a joke and suggested that she sing those notes on her face, and when she heard this, she threw her hands upwards, fell into a chair, and fell asleep drunk.

"She had a fight with a man who says he's her husband ,"explained a girl at my elbow .

She had just had a fight with someone who claimed to be her husband, a girl next to me explained.

I looked around . Most of the remaining women were no having fights with men said to be their husbands . Even Jordan's party ,the quartet from East Egg,were rent asunder by dissension . One of the men was talking with curious intensity to a young actress,and his wife after attempting to laugh at the situation in a dignified and indifferent way broke down entirely and resorted to flank attacks --at intervals she appeared suddenly at his side like an angry diamond ,and hissed "You promised !" into his ear .

I looked around and saw that most of the remaining women were now arguing with their so-called husbands. Even Jordan's gang, the four from the East Egg, were torn apart by disagreement. One of the men was talking to a young actress with great vigor, and his wife was at first dignified, pretending not to care, trying to laugh it off, but then when she was completely crossed, she took a side attack - from time to time suddenly appeared beside him, like a spine snake in its mouth when it was angry, squeezing a word out of his teeth against his ear: You promised!

The reluctance to go home was not confined to wayward men . The hall ws at present occupied by two deplorably sober men and their highly indignant wives . The wives were sympathizing with each other in slightly raised voices .

Those who are reluctant to go home are not limited to wayward male guests. There were two unsmiling male guests and his angry wife in the hall at this moment. The two wives raised their voices slightly in sympathy with each other.

"Whenever he sees I'm having a good time he wants to go home ."

Every time he saw me having fun he would go home.

"Never heard anything so selfish in my life ."

I've never seen anyone in my life who was so selfish as he was.

"We're always the first ones to leave ."

We are always the first to go.

"So are we."

We are the same.

"Well,we're almost the last tonight said one fo the men sheepishly ." The orchestra left an hour ago ."

Tonight, though, we were almost finished, and one of the two men said sheepishly that the band had left half an hour earlier.

In spite of the wives' agreement that such malevolence was beyond credibility ,the dispute ended in a short struggle,and both wives were lifted kicking into the night .

Although the two wives agreed that this viciousness was unbelievable, the dispute finally ended in a brief struggle, and both wives were picked up, kicked their legs, and disappeared into the night.

As I waited for my hat in the hall the door of the library opened and Jondan Baker and Gatsby came out together . He was saying some last word to her but the eagerness in his manner tightened abruptly into formality as severall people approached him to say goodbye.

As I waited in the hall for the waiter to retrieve my hat, the door to the library opened, Jordan. Baker and Gatsby walked out together. He was still saying his last words to her, but at this moment several people came to say goodbye to him, and his original eager attitude suddenly converged and became restrained.

Jordan's party were calling impatiently to her from the porch but she lingered for a moment to shake hands .

Jordan's gang called out to her impatiently from the balcony, but she lingered for a moment to shake my hand.

"I've just heard the most amazing thing ,"she whispered ." How long were we in the there?"

I had just heard one of the most astonishing things, and she whispered out of her mind, How long have we been there?

Why ,--about an hour .

Oh, an hour.

"It was -- simply amazing ,"she repeated abstractedly ." But I swore I wouldn't tell it and here I am tantalizing you." She yawned gracefully in my face ." Please come and see me ----Phone book----Under the name of Mrs.Sigourney Howard ---My aunt ----"She was hurrying off as she talked --her brown hand waved a jaunty salute as she melted into her party at the door .

This thing... It's amazing, she repeated in surprise, but I swore not to tell anyone, and I'm already teasing you now. She yawned softly at my face, and when she had time, please come and see me... telephone directory... Sigunai. Mrs. Howard's name... My aunt... She hurried away as she spoke—she waved her tanned hand lively to say goodbye, and then disappeared into her group at the door.

Rather ashamed that on my first appearance I had stayed so late ,I joined the last of Gatsby's guests who were clustered around him . I wanted to explain that I'd hunted for him early in the evening and to apologize for not having known him in the garden .

I felt strangely embarrassed to stay so late the first time, so I went to the last few guests who were hugging Gatsby. I wanted to explain that I had been looking for him everywhere as soon as I came, and apologized to him for the person who had just come face to face with him in the garden and did not know who he was.

"Don't mention it ,"he enjoined me eagerly ." Don't give it another thought ,old sport ." The familiar expression held no more familiarity than the hand which reassuringly brushed my shoulder ." And don't forget we're going up in the hydroplane tomorrow morning at nine o'clock .

It doesn't matter, he earnestly told me, don't take it to heart, man. This affectionate title is not as affectionate as the hand that very kindly pats me on the shoulder. Don't forget that tomorrow morning at nine o'clock we will take a seaplane to the sky.

Then the butler ,behind his shoulder:

Then the butler came and stood behind him.

"Philadelphia wants you on the phone ,sir ."

Sir, there is a long distance call from Philadelphia looking for you.

"All right ,in a minute . Tell them I'll be right there … good night ."

Well, just come, tell them I'll come, good night.

Good night .

Good night.

Good night . He smiled -- and suddenly there seemed to be a pleasnt significance in having been among the last to go ,as if he had desired it all the time ,Good night ,old sport … Good night .

Goodnight, he smiled slightly, and suddenly I waited until the end to leave, which seemed to contain a pleasant meaning, as if he had always hoped so. Good night, dude... Good night.

But as I walked down the steps I saw that the evening was not quite over . Fifty feet from the door a dozen haedlights illuminated a bizarre and tumultuous scene . In the ditch beside the road ,right side up but violently shorn of one wheel ,rested a new coupe which had left Gatsby's drive not two minutes before . The sharp jut of a wall accounted for the detachment of the wheel which was now getting considerable attention from half a dozen curious chauffeurs . However,as they had left their cars blocking the road a harsh discordant din from those in the rear had been audible for some time and added to the already violent confusion of the scene.

However, as I walked down the steps, I saw that the party was not completely over. Fifty feet from the gate, the headlights of a dozen cars illuminated an unusual, boisterous scene. In a ditch on the side of the road, on the right, up, lay a new car, but one of the wheels crashed. The car left Gatsby's lane less than two minutes. The protruding part of a wall is what causes the wheels to fall off. There were now five or six curious drivers watching, but because they had let their cars block the way, the drivers in the cars behind them had been honking their horns for a long time, and there was a harsh noise, which added to the already serious chaos of the whole scene.

A man in a long duster had dismounted from the wreck and now stood in the middle of the road ,looking from the car to the tire and from the tire to the observers in a pleasant ,puzzled way .

A man in a long trench coat had come out of a broken car, standing in the middle of the road, looking at the car, then at the tires, and then at the onlookers, with a happy and confused expression on his face.

"See!" he explained ." It went in the ditch ."

Look, he explains, the car went into the ditch.

The fact was infinitely astonishing to him -- and I recognized first the unusual quality of wonder and then the man --it was the late patron of Gatsby's library .

He was amazed by this fact, and I first heard the unusual tone of surprise and then recognized the man who had visited the Gatsby Library earlier.

"How'd it happen ?"

How?

He shrugged his shoulders .

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I know nothing whatever about mechanice ,"he said decisively .

I don't know anything about mechanics. He said affirmatively.

"But how did it happen ? Did you run into the wall ?"

How did it come about? Did you crash into the wall?

"Don't ask me ,"said Owl Eyes ,washing his hands of the whole matter ." I know very little about driving --next to nothing . It happened ,and that's all I know ."

Don't ask me, Owl Eye said, to get things off the ground, I don't know much about driving — almost nothing. It happened and I knew it.

"Well ,if you're a poor driver you oughtn't to try driving at night ."

Even if you don't drive well, you shouldn't try to drive at night.

"But I wasn't even trying,"he explained indignantly ,"I wasn't even trying ."

But I didn't even try, he explained angrily, I didn't even try.

An awed hush fell upon the bystanders .

The onlookers were so stunned that they could not speak.

"Do you want to commit suicide?"

Do you want to commit suicide?

"You're lucky it was just a wheel ! A bad driver and not even trying !"

Thankfully it's just a wheel! I didn't drive well, and I didn't even try it! "

"You don't understand ,"explained the criminal ." I wasn't driving . There's another man in the car ."

You don't understand, the sinner explained, that I wasn't driving, and there was a man in the car.

The shock that followed this declaration found voice in a sustained "Ah-h-h!" as the door of the coupe swung slowly open . The crowd --it was now a crowd --stepped back involuntarily and when the door had opened wide there was a ghostly pause . Then ,very gradually,part by part ,a pale dangling individual stepped out of the wreck ,pawing tentatively at the ground with a large uncertain dancing shoe .

The shock caused by this statement manifested itself as a series of oh... yes... yes! At the same time, the door of the car slowly opened. The crowd—already a large crowd at the moment—could not help but retreat, and when the car opened up, there was a moment of eerie pause. Then, gradually, part by part, a pale-faced, shaking man stepped out of the crashed car and first stretched out a dancing shoe and tentatively tried it on the ground.

Blinded by the glare of the headlights and confused by the incessant groaning of the horns the apparition stood swaying for a moment before he perceived the man in the duster .

Blinded by the bright light of the headlights of the car and confused by the sound of a car horn, the ghost stood there and shook for a moment before recognizing the man in the trench coat.

"Wha's matter?" he inquired calmly ." Did we run outa gas ?"

What's wrong? He asked calmly, "Are we running out of gas?"

"Look!"

And voila!

Half a dozen fingers pointed at the amputated wheel --he stared at it for a moment and then looked upward as though he suspected that it had dropped from the sky .

Five or six men pointed their fingers at the wheel that had fallen off—he glanced at it, and then looked up as if he suspected that the wheel had fallen from the sky.

"It came off ,"some one explained .

The wheels fell. One person explained.

He nodded .

He nodded.

"At first I din't notice we'd stopped ."

At first I didn't notice that we had stopped.

A pause . Then ,taking a long breath and straightening his shoulders he remarked in a datermined voice :

After a while, he took a deep breath, straightened his chest again, and said in a firm voice:

"Wonder'ff tell me where there's a gas'line station ?

I don't know if you can tell me where there is a gas station?

At least a dozen men ,some of them little better off than he was ,explained to him that wheel and car were no longer joined by any physical bond .

At least five or six men, some of them slightly more sober than he was, explained to him that there was no longer any substantial connection between the wheels and the car.

"Back out ,"he suggested after a moment ." Put her in reverse ."

Reversing, after a while he came up with another idea and used the reverse gear.

"But the wheel's off!"

But the wheels have fallen!

He hesitated .

He hesitated for a moment.

"No harm in trying ,"he said .

It doesn't hurt to try it, he said.

The caterwauling horns had reached a crescendo and I turned away and cut across the lawn toward home . I glanced back once . A wafer of a moon was shining over Gatsby's house ,making the night fine as before and surviving the laughter and the sound of his still glowing garden . A sudden emptiness seemed to flow now from the windows and the great doors ,endowing with complete isolation the figure of the host who stood on the porch ,his hand up in a formal gesture of farewell .

The scream of the car horn reached its climax, so I turned around and went home through the grass. I glanced back. A bright moon was shining on the top of Gatsby's Villa, the night was as beautiful as before, the moon was still the same, and the laughter had disappeared from the still glorious garden. A sudden emptiness seemed to flow from those windows and huge doors at this moment, leaving the image of the master in complete solitude, and he stood on the balcony at this moment, raising a hand in a formal farewell gesture.

Reading over what I have written so far I see I have given the impression that the event of three nights several weeks apart were all that absorbed me . On the contrary they were merely casual events in a crowded summer and ,until much later ,they absorbed me infinitely less than my personal affairs .

Re-reading what I wrote above, I felt that I had given the impression that what had happened on three nights, weeks apart, was all I was concerned about. On the contrary, they were little things in the middle of a busy summer, and until much later I was far less concerned about them than I was about my own private affairs.

Most of the time I worked . In the early morning the sun threw my shadow westward as I hurried down the white chasms of lower New York to the Probity Trust . I knew the other clerks and young bond-salesmen by their first names and lunched with them in dark crowded restaurants on little pig sausages and mashed potatoes and coffee . I even had a short affair with a girl who lived in Jersey City and worked in the accounting department ,but her brother began throwing mean looks in my direction so when she went on her vacation in July I let it blow quietly away .

I work most of the time. Every morning as the sun casts its shadow to the west, I hurried along the white chasm between the skyscrapers in South New York to The Company. I mingled well with the other clerks and young bond salesmen, and joined them for lunch in a dark, crowded restaurant, with small pork sausages and mashed potatoes, and a cup of coffee. I even had a short-term relationship with a girl who lived in Jersey City and worked in the accounting office. But her brother started to give me a look, so when she went on vacation in July, I let it blow quietly.

I took dinner usually at the Yale Club --for some reason it was the gloomiest event of my day --and then I went upstairs to the library and studied investments and securities for a conscientious hour . There were generally a few rioters around but they never came into the library so it was a good place to work . After that ,if the night was mellow I strolled down Madison Avenue past the old Murray Hill Hotel and over Thirty-third Street to the pennsylvania Station .

I usually have dinner at the Yale Club—for some reason it's the most bleak thing of the day—and after the meal I go upstairs to the library and spend an hour seriously studying all kinds of investments and securities. There are often a few playful people in the classmates' association, but they never go into the library, so it is a good place to work. Since then, if the weather is pleasant, I've wandered down Madison Road, past the old Murray Hill Hotel, and across Thirty-Three Street to Penn Station.

I began to like New York ,the racy ,adventurous feel of it at night and the satisfaction that the constant flicker of men and women and machines gives to the restless eye. I liked to walk up Fifth Avenue and pick out romantic that in a few minutes I was going go enter into their lives ,and no one would ever know or disapprove . Sometimes ,in my mind ,I followed them to their apartments on the corners of hidden streets ,and they turned and smiled back at me before they faded through a door into warm darkness . At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes ,and felt it in others -- poor young clerks who loitered in front of windows waiting untill it was time for a solitray restaurant dinner --young clerks in the dusk ,wasting the most poignant moments of night and life .

I began to like New York, the unbridled and adventurous mood of the night, the endless flow of men and women and the satisfaction of the passing cars to the overwhelmed eyes. I like to wander along Route Five, picking out women out of the crowd and fantasizing that I'm going to be in their lives within minutes and that no one will ever know or criticize it. Sometimes, in my mind's eye, I follow them to the apartment where they live on the corner of the mysterious street, and when they get to the door they smile back, then walk through a door and disappear into the warm darkness. At dusk in the charming twilight hours of the metropolis, I sometimes feel a kind of loneliness that is difficult to dispel, and at the same time I feel that others feel the same way - those poor young clerks who are hesitating in front of the window, waiting for the time to go to a small restaurant alone to have dinner - the young clerk in the twilight, wasting the night and the most intoxicating time in life.

Again at eight o'clock ,when the dark lanes of the Forties were five deep with throbbing taxi cabs ,bound for the theatre distric ,I felt a sinking in my heart . Forms leaned together in the taxis as they waited ,and voices sang ,and there was laughter from unheard jokes ,and lighted cigarettes outlined unintelligible gestures inside . Imagining that I ,too ,was hurrying toward gayety and sharing their intimate excitement ,I wished them well .

Sometimes at eight o'clock in the evening, the dark streets and alleys of forty-something street are crowded with taxis, five in a row, bustling, all going to the theater area, and then I feel a nameless pity in my heart. When the taxi stopped at the intersection, the people in the car snuggled together, the sound of talking came out, the inaudible jokes caused laughter, and the lit cigarettes rose in the car with blurry smoke rings. I fantasized that I was also hurrying to find pleasure and share their inner excitement, so I secretly blessed them.

For a while I lost sight of Jordan Baker ,and then in midsummer I found her again . At first I was flattered to go places with her becausr she was a golf champion and every one knew her name . Then it was something more . I wasn't actually in love ,but I felt a sort of tender curiosity . The bored haughty face that she turned to the world concealed something --most affectations conceal something eventually ,even though they don't in the beginning --and one day I found what it was . When we were on a house-party together up in Warwick,she left a borrowed car out in the rain with the top down ,and then lied about it -- and suddenly I remembered the story about her that had eluded me that night at Daisy's . At her first big golf tournament there was a row that nearly reached the newspapers --a suggestion that she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round . The thing approached the proportions of a scandal --then died away . A caddy retracted his statement and the only other witness admitted that he might have been mistaken . The incident and the name had remained together in my mind .

I haven't seen Jordan in a long time. Baker, I later found her again in midsummer. At first I felt honored to accompany her everywhere because she was a golf champion and everyone knew her name. Later, there was another feeling. I didn't really fall in love with her, but I developed a gentle curiosity. She hid something from the weary and arrogant face of the world—most of the pretentious words and deeds always covered up something later, though it wasn't at first—and one day I found out what it was. The two of us went to Volvik for a villa party together. She parked a borrowed car in the rain without pulling it on the canopy, and then she lied—and suddenly I remembered the thing about her that night I couldn't think of at Daisy's house. At her first major golf tournament, there was a storm that almost got to the news - some people said that in the semi-finals she moved the baller in an unfavorable position. It was almost about to become a scandal – and it later subsided. One caddy retracted his words, and the remaining witness admitted that he might have made a mistake. The incident and her name remained in my head.

Jordan Baker instinctively avoded clever ,shrewd men ,and now I saw that this was because she felt safer on a plane where any divergence from a code would be thought impossible . She was incurably dishonest. She was incurably dishonest . She wasn't able to endure being at a disadvantage ,and given this unwillingness ,I suppose she had begun dealing in subterfuges when she was very young in order to keep that cool ,insolent smile turned to the world and yet satisfy the demands of her hard jaunty body .

Jordan. Baker instinctively avoided smart and alert men, and now I understand that this is because she thinks it is safer to operate in social circles that do not take deviant actions seriously. She was dishonest to the point of being hopeless. She couldn't bear to be at a disadvantage, and since she was so unwilling, I suppose she had been playing tricks since she was very young, in order to maintain that arrogant sneer to the world, while at the same time satisfying the demands of her strong, athletic body.

It made no difference to me . Dishonesty in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply -- I was casually sorry ,and then I forgot . It was on that same house party that we had a curious conversation about driving a car . It started because she passed so close to some workmen that our fender flicked a button on one man's coat .

It didn't matter to me at all, women were dishonest, it was commonplace for people to do it — I felt a slight regret and forgot about it later. It was also at that villa party that the two of us had an interesting conversation about driving. Because she drove past several workers and got so close that the fender rubbed the buttons of a worker's shirt.

"You're a rotten driver ," I protested ." Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all ."

You're a careless driver, and I protested that you should be more careful or stop driving.

"I am careful."

I'm careful.

"No ,you're not.

No, you weren't careful.

"Well ,other people are ,"she said lightly .

It doesn't matter, others are very careful anyway, she said lightly.

"What's that got go do with it ?"

What does this have to do with your driving?

"They'll keep out of my way ,"she insisted ." It takes two to make an accident ."

They'll avoid me, she said stubbornly, and it would take both sides to be careless to cause a car accident.

"Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself ."

Suppose you run into someone as careless as you?

"I hope I never will ,"she answered ." I hate careless people . That's why I like you ."

I hope never to touch it, she replied, and I hate careless people. That's why I like you.

Her grey ,sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead ,but she had deliberately shifted our relations ,and for a moment I thought I loved her . But I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires ,and I knew that first I had to get myself definitely out of that tangle back home . I'd been writing letters once a week and signing them :"Love ,Nick ,"and all I could think of was how ,when that certain girl played tennis , a faint mustache of perspiration appeared on her lip . Nevertheless there was a vague understanding that had to be tactfully broken off before I was free .

Her gray, sun-lit, squinting eyes stared straight ahead, but she deliberately changed our relationship, so for a moment I thought I was in love with her. But my mind was dull, and my head was full of rules and discipline, which served as a brake on my lusts, and I knew that first of all I had to get rid of the entanglement of my hometown completely. I kept writing a letter every week and signing "Love you, Nick," and all I could think of was that every time the lady played tennis, there was always a bead of sweat like a mustache on her upper lip. But there was an unspoken tacit understanding between us, which had to be skillfully lifted before I could be free.

Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues ,and this is mine:I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.

Everyone thinks he has at least one basic virtue, and that's what it is: there aren't many honest people I know, and I happen to be one of them.