Great Gatsby

1. Why does Nick move from Minnesota to New York? What is his vision of the American Dream?

Nick Moves from minnesota to New York to work in the bond business. His vision of the American Dream is the money of the upper class.

Why does Nick move back West at the end of the novel? What does this suggest about Fitzgerald's idea of the American Dream?

At the end of The Great Gatsby, Nick returns to the Midwest because he is disillusioned with life in New York. ... In addition, Nick is also disillusioned because he realizes, through Gatsby's short life, that the American Dream is a destructive force.

How does Klipspringer respond when Gatsby asks him to play piano for them? What does Klipspringer's response reveal about his apparent arrangement with Gatsby?

Both songs are about money, certainly an obsession of Gatsby's, and both cast doubt on his ability to hold Daisy: he is wooing her with "palaces," which she already has through Tom, and the second song hints that perhaps his "palace" is built on an insubstantial basis: how long will his wealth last and will they "have fun" if it goes? The second song also brings up children and the passage of time, as the quote Fitzgerald includes in the novel indicates: "the poor get—children ... in the meantime, in between time ..." Both children and time are uncomfortable realities for Gatsby, who doesn't want to deal with Daisy's child or the idea that time changes things.

What does Nick say when Gatsby offers him a side job that wouldn't require much work but would be very profitable? Based on Nick's response, what is he feeling and/or thinking about the job offer?

Gatsby does not actually offer Nick employment but suggests that he could help him out financially through his vast network of business connections. Nick resents and declines this offer of assistance because he knows Gatsby is only offering to reward him for enabling him to meet with Daisy and for them to use Nick's little cottage as a place for further meetings. Nick does not want to feel he is involved in something immoral and reprehensible. He has a very high sense of propriety and rectitude. Gatsby, on the other hand, is used to getting involved in all sorts of shady dealings and thinks nothing of the offering, in effect, to pay Nick for services rendered.

6. Whose body is found on the lawn at Gatsby's mansion?

George Wilson's body was found on the lawn at Gatsby's mansion.

4. How does George's perception of the accident compare with what actually happened?

George thought Gatsby had an affair with Myrtle and killed her, but it was Daisy who killed her and Tom who had the affair.

. What violent action does George take in chapter 8, and why?

He kills Gatsby out of need for revenge and then kills himself.

7. Explain how the position and posture of the body found in Gatsby's pool is symbolic.

I thought it reflected his utter isolation from regular life. He floated in that pool, away from everyone, an artificial little spot -- just like his phony life.

2. The first time Nick sees his neighbor, he is standing on his lawn, reaching his arm out toward the water in the bay. When Nick looks out at the water, all he sees is a distant green light which might mark the end of a dock. The first image of a character in a novel is significant. What thoughts do you have about Nick's neighbor based on this scene?

Nick sees Gatsby do something rather strange. He stretches his arms out toward the water and appears to be trembling. Nick can see nothing out seaward except a single green light. This light is mentioned several times throughout the novel. It is a light on the dock at Daisy's home in the upper-class section of Long Island. For Gatsby it symbolizes everything he aspires to have, including high social status, good breeding, and, of course, Daisy herself, who represents all the other things.

4. How is the character Myrtle Wilson used as a metaphor for those who are pursuing the American Dream in the East?

She is oblivious about upper-class life: she tells her sister at one point Tom doesn't divorce Daisy because Daisy is Catholic. This is a small inside joke on Fitzgerald's part - since Tom and Daisy are part of the community of uber-WASPy residents of East Egg, there's almost no chance that Daisy could be Catholic. That Myrtle thinks accepts Tom's lie shows that she is not a well-schooled as she thinks she is about the life and customs of the elite class she wants to be a part of.

3. What does Daisy's statement, "I hope she'll be a fool - that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool," reveal about the way she views her own life?

She views her life as being sad and hopeless, so she wants her daughter to basically live in her own little world, where she cannot be affected by the horrible things around her.

1. Explain how Fitzgerald uses the Eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, a billboard, as a metaphor.

The eyes of T.J. Eckleburg are blue and they represent the eyes of god that look down on the people who live in the area, judging the society america has become. this metaphor exists in the point of view of George Wilson.

. During the scene at the Morningside Heights apartment, how does Nick initially react to the behavior of the other characters? How does he end up behaving differently from the way he acted back home, and why is this significant?

The fourth and final setting of the novel, New York City, is in every way the opposite of the valley of ashes—it is loud, garish, abundant, and glittering. To Nick, New York is simultaneously fascinating and repulsive, thrillingly fast-paced and dazzling to look at but lacking a moral center. While Tom is forced to keep his affair with Myrtle relatively discreet in the valley of the ashes, in New York he can appear with her in public, even among his acquaintances, without causing a scandal. Even Nick, despite being Daisy's cousin, seems not to mind that Tom parades his infidelity in public.

How has the green light been symbolic of the American Dream?

The green light resembles hope and a goal. Gatsby looked out at that light often enough to remind him of what his end goal was: Daisy. The light was always there, but just out of reach. This is representative of the American Dream for many people. They have a goal they strive to reach.

Describe the appearance of Gatsby's mansion at the beginning of chapter 7. Why is this description so different from how the house used to look?

The lights go out, and the parties cease. Gatsby fires all of his servants.

What is Gatsby's response when Nick warns him that "You can't repeat the past?" What does Gatsby's response reveal about his character?

To Nick's statement that "you can't repeat the past" Gatsby replies incredulously, "Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!" Gatsby is confident that he will be able to repeat the past of when he and Daisy first met now that he has the money to attract her attention. His view is very simplistic and naive.

2. The story is told from the point of view of Nick Carraway, who is from the Minnesota, and has traveled to the East (New York) to achieve his American Dream. How does this point-of-view affect the story? How would the story be different if it were told from Daisy's point-of-view, or Tom's?

Truly, the impact of Nick's narrative upon the text is reflective of what Gatsby himself is. Romantic at first, the narrative then becomes realistic, just as the demi-god Jay Gatsby sadly becomes no more than a mortal, who dies like all mortals, and senselessly at that. Disillusioned by his experience, Nick, then, returns to the Midwest, where there is a moral sense, just as Fitzgerald hopes his society will return to old values.