The Great Gatsby Quotes
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Source: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
"Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once."
"Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once."
A thrill passed over all of us. The three Mr. Mumbles bent forward and listened eagerly.
"I don't think it's so much that," argued Lucille sceptically; "it's more that he was a German spy during the war."
One of the men nodded in confirmation.
"I heard that from a man who knew all about him, grew up with him in Germany," he assured us positively.
"Oh, no," said the first girl, "it couldn't be that, because he was in the American army during the war." As our credulity switched back to her she leaned forward with enthusiasm. "You look at him sometimes when he thinks nobody's looking at him. I'll bet he killed a man."
Context
In The Great Gatsby, everyone loves to talk about the big guy. Did he go to Oxford? Was he a spy? Did he seriously kill a guy?
Meanwhile, Gatsby himself doesn't really spend too much time telling elaborate stories about his past. Sure, he puts up a facade, but it's nothing compared to the crazy stuff people have come up with about him.
Where you've heard it
Ever seen Gossip Girl? The Great Gatsby is like a Gossip Girl of the 1920s. Except instead of the Upper East Side, it's East Egg.
xoxo Gossip Egg.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Gossiping can be petty, but we wouldn't call this kind too pretentious.