The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Jordan Baker Character Analysis

A friend of Daisy's who becomes Nick's girlfriend. A successful amateur golfer, Jordan is beautiful and pleasant, but does not inspire Nick to feel much more than a "tender curiosity" for her. Perhaps this is because Baker is "incurably dishonest" and cheats at golf. Still, there is some suggestion in the novel that she loves Nick, and that he misjudges her.

Jordan Baker Quotes in The Great Gatsby

The The Great Gatsby quotes below are all either spoken by Jordan Baker or refer to Jordan Baker. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
).

Chapter 3 Quotes

On a chance we tried an important-looking door, and walked into a high Gothic library, panelled with carved English oak, and probably transported complete from some ruin overseas. A stout, middle-aged man with enormous owl-eyed spectacles was sitting somewhat drunk on the edge of a great table, staring with unsteady concentration at the shelves of books. As we entered he wheeled excitedly around […].

“[…] They’re real.”

“The books?”

He nodded.

“Absolutely real—have pages and everything. I thought they’d be a nice durable cardboard. Matter of fact, they’re absolutely real. Pages and—Here! Lemme show you.”

[…]

“See!” he cried triumphantly. “It’s a bona fide piece of printed matter. It fooled me. This fella’s a regular Belasco. It’s a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism!”
Related Characters: Owl Eyes (speaker), Nick Carraway (speaker), Jay Gatsby, Jordan Baker
Related Symbols: Gatsby's Mansion
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation: 45-46
Explanation and Analysis:
In this passage, Nick and Jordan Baker wander around Gatsby’s party in search of Gatsby himself—this is Nick’s first time attending one of Gatsby’s parties, and despite living next door, Nick has never met the man. Instead, though, they find an excitable, drunken man in Gatsby’s library, chattering animatedly about the fact that Gatsby’s books are real rather than being cardboard dummies of book spines. This passage draws on several of the novel’s key themes. As with all of Nick’s descriptions of Gatsby’s party and mansion, this excerpt about the library “panelled with carved English oak” points to the material Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam

Chapter 4 Quotes

“I am the son of some wealthy people in the middle-west—all dead now. I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years. It is a family tradition.”

He looked at me sideways—and I knew why Jordan Baker had believed he was lying. He hurried the phrase “educated at Oxford,” or swallowed it or choked on it as though it had bothered him before. And with this doubt his whole statement fell to pieces and I wondered if there wasn’t something a little sinister about him after all.
Related Characters: Jay Gatsby (speaker), Nick Carraway (speaker), Jordan Baker
Page Number and Citation: 65
Explanation and Analysis:
As Nick and Gatsby drive into the city, Gatsby gives this brief (and somewhat suspicious) backstory of his life. Gatsby firmly positions himself as being from old money—and having not just the inherited wealth but also the prestigious education, sophistication, heritage, and traditions to match. Each of these things, the novel implies, is just as important to being considered authentically “old money” as the wealth itself. So in this passage, Gatsby is attempting to underscore his credibility—but his “sideways” glance at Nick and hurried speech seem to undermine that very credibility. As the novel will go on to show, people Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odi
“Why didn’t he ask you to arrange a meeting?”

“He wants her to see his house,” she explained. “And your house is right next door.”

“Oh!”
Related Characters: Jordan Baker (speaker), Nick Carraway (speaker), Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby
Related Symbols: Gatsby's Mansion
Page Number and Citation: 79
Explanation and Analysis:
At tea, Jordan Baker reveals to Nick what Gatsby said in private at his last party: Gatsby and Nick’s cousin Daisy Buchanan were romantically involved five years ago, and Gatsby, who’s still deeply in love with her, wants Nick to help the ex-lovers reconnect. This passage is comical for its childishness; too embarrassed to explain all of this to Nick himself, Gatsby uses Jordan as the messenger. Throughout this day, Nick has been beginning to see through the veneer of Gatsby’s carefully curated persona, and this moment adds to this. No longer seeming perfectly polished and intriguing, Gatsby now seems Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. P

Chapter 9 Quotes

That's my Middle West . . . the street lamps and sleigh bells in the frosty dark. . . . I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all—Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life.
Related Characters: Nick Carraway (speaker), Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, Jordan Baker, Tom Buchanan
Related Symbols: East and West
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation: 176
Explanation and Analysis:
After Gatsby’s funeral, Nick adopts this broader perspective on the events that have transpired in the novel. He observes that all of the characters were coastal transplants who hoped and failed to pursue an American Dream on the East Coast. Nick offers, here, an interesting case of re-narrativizing his life: with this added realization of the characters’ common heritage, he can reinterpret the tale as “a story of the West.” Thus their actions and flaws become less characteristic of individual choices and more of the social types they represent. That they “possessed some deficiency” renders the plot of the novel Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore
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Jordan Baker Character Timeline in The Great Gatsby

The timeline below shows where the character Jordan Baker appears in The Great Gatsby. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
Class (Old Money, New Money, No Money) Theme Icon
At dinner Nick meets Jordan Baker, a young professional golfer, who is beautiful but also seems constantly bored by her... (full context)
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
Class (Old Money, New Money, No Money) Theme Icon
...learns he has a phone call and leaves the room. Daisy follows quickly behind, and Jordan tells Nick that the call is from Tom's mistress. The rest of dinner is awkward.... (full context)
Chapter 3
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
The American Dream Theme Icon
Nick runs into Jordan Baker at the party. While spending time with her, he observes all the amazing luxuries... (full context)
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
The American Dream Theme Icon
Nick and Jordan decide to find their mysterious host, and wander into Gatsby's library. There they meet a... (full context)
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
Past and Future Theme Icon
Later, as Nick and Jordan sit outside watching the party, Nick strikes up a conversation with the man sitting next... (full context)
Past and Future Theme Icon
At almost two in the morning, a butler approaches Jordan and asks her to come meet with Gatsby. She returns a while later from this... (full context)
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
...has a brief relationship with a woman from New Jersey, and then begins to date Jordan Baker. Yet though he's attracted to Jordan, he doesn't like her because she's dishonest and... (full context)
Chapter 4
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
The American Dream Theme Icon
Class (Old Money, New Money, No Money) Theme Icon
Past and Future Theme Icon
After lunch, Nick meets Jordan at the Plaza Hotel. She tells him the "amazing thing" that Gatsby had told her... (full context)
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
The American Dream Theme Icon
Class (Old Money, New Money, No Money) Theme Icon
Past and Future Theme Icon
Jordan finishes the story later in Central Park. She says Gatsby never fell out of love... (full context)
Chapter 7
The American Dream Theme Icon
Class (Old Money, New Money, No Money) Theme Icon
Past and Future Theme Icon
...day of the summer, Daisy invites Nick and Gatsby to lunch with her, Tom, and Jordan. At one point, while Tom is out of the room, Daisy kisses Gatsby on the... (full context)
Class (Old Money, New Money, No Money) Theme Icon
...yellow car. Gatsby and Daisy travel alone in Tom's coupe, while Tom drives Nick and Jordan. It's clear Tom now knows about the affair between Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby's car is... (full context)
Past and Future Theme Icon
...the distance, then spots Myrtle Wilson staring down from the windows above the garage at Jordan Baker, whom she seems to have mistaken for Daisy, her rival in love. (full context)
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
The American Dream Theme Icon
Past and Future Theme Icon
...Long Island (Gatsby and Daisy took Gatsby's car), Nick observes that unlike Daisy, people like Jordan Baker know better than to hold onto irretrievable dreams. Nick describes the car he rides... (full context)
Class (Old Money, New Money, No Money) Theme Icon
The point of view shifts back to Nick: Tom, Nick, and Jordan arrive at the scene in their car. Both Tom and Wilson are overwhelmed by grief... (full context)
The American Dream Theme Icon
Class (Old Money, New Money, No Money) Theme Icon
Tom, Jordan, and Nick drive to the Buchanan's house. Tom calls a taxi for Nick. As Nick... (full context)
Chapter 8
Class (Old Money, New Money, No Money) Theme Icon
Past and Future Theme Icon
At work that day, Nick falls asleep. The phone wakes him: it's Jordan. Their conversation quickly turns unpleasant and one of them hangs up on the other. Nick... (full context)
Chapter 9
The American Dream Theme Icon
...as a story of the West since many of the key characters (Daisy, Tom, Nick, Jordan, Gatsby) involved were not from the East. He says that after Gatsby's death, the East... (full context)
The Roaring Twenties Theme Icon
The American Dream Theme Icon
Nick goes to Jordan Baker's house to set things straight with her. She tells him she is engaged to... (full context)