Descibe the effect of rain on the plot in Chapter 5 of The Great Gatsby.

Chapter five finds the rain continually starting, stopping,
dripping, and even "misting."  The sheer amount of rain mentioned in this chapter absolutely
surprised me!  It is the chapter where Gatsby plans and succeeds in both inviting Daisy to tea at
Nick's house and then over to Gatsby's to rekindle their love without Nick around. So, let's
explore the rain here with a stress on its ability to affect
plot.

Ironically, the first thing the rain does is to not affect the
plot at all.  Despite the downpour, Gatsby sends his lawn mower over to Nick's house anyway. 
Everyone knows that one doesn't cut grass in the rain, so this shows that Gatsby wasn't going to
let a little thing like weather get in the way of his first meeting with Daisy.  Further, there's
no real plot development associated with Daisy entering Nick's house driving "under the dripping
bare lilac-trees" (89).  Although this adds to Daisy's mystique, perhaps, it doesn't really do
much in the way of plot.  Daisy comes in, she's a bit wet, Gatsby wants to make an entrance so he
stands outside in the puddles and rings the doorbell, Nick tries to leave them alone and runs out
into the rain for a while, etc.  No real affect on plot development
yet.

Then some interesting things begin to happen.  The rain stops. 
Immediately, Nick notices this:

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While the rain continued it had seemed like the murmur of
their voices, rising and swelling a little now and then with gusts of emotion.  But in the new
silence I felt that silence had fallen with the house, too.
(89)

Interesting!  The background
noise of the rain seems to have a part in making the relationship happen for Gatsby.  When the
rain stops, Gatsby has won Daisy back and now "he literally glowed; without a word or a gesture
of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the room" just like the way the world
looks beautiful and new after a rain (90).  Such is our first inkling of how the rain affects
plot:  the end of the rain makes it possible for the three of them to walk across the lawn and
move to Gatsby's house (instead of Nick's).  When Gatsby realizes that the rain has stopped
"there were twinkle-bells of sunshine in the room" and he says to Nick, "I want you and Daisy to
come over to my house, ... I'd like to show her around"
(90).

Finally, I would be amiss if I didn't mention the significance
of the mist near the end of the chapter because it obscures the green light at the end of Daisy's
dock:

"If it wasn't for
the mist we could see your home across the bay," said Gatsby.  "You always have a green light
that burns at the end of your dock."
(94)

Just like the mist obscuring it,
"the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. ... His count of enchanted
objects had diminished by one" (94).  However, the irony is that Gatsby now has the
real Daisy right there, linked arm in arm with him.  Is he satisfied with
the reality, ... or is his mind still in the dream?  Ah, but that's another
story.

My conclusion, then, is that rain truly does bring
possibility for Gatsby. Gastby won't let the rain ruin his plans, and as a result the rain brings
relaxation and love along with excitement.  The end of the rain symbolizes the beginning of
Gatsby's and Daisy's love affair, ... and they frolic across the lawn together leaving Nick in
the dust.  One wonders what happens between the end of Chapter 5 and the beginning of Chapter 6. 
Hmmm, I could easily guess.