Great Gatsby Questions

How do we know that Myrtle Wilson is not an intellectual?

Myrtle thinks that Tom will leave Daisy for her and that the two are in love.

What's happening between Nick and Jordan?

Nick is attracted to her, even if he doesn't really like/respect her. They have a romance brewing, but it's more of a summer fling than the real thing.

What is Nick's social class/background? How did his family make money?

Nick is considered old money. His family made their money with their hardware business.

Do you think Tom will leave Daisy for Myrtle? Support your answer.

No, because he doesn't love her either. 

Who is Jordan Baker, and what has Nick heard about her?

She cheated to win her first golf match. She is also rather masculine. She is a long time friend of Daisy.

How does Daisy behave the night before her wedding? Why?

She gets roaring drunk and attempts to throw away an expensive pearl necklace that Tom gave her.She's having second thoughts about marrying Tom and has received a letter that has caused her to become very upset.

We find out that Tom has "some woman in New York." What unflattering feature of Jordan Baker's personality is revealed in this scene?

She is not affected by other's feelings and emotions.

What is Daisy's opinion of Gatsby's party?

She pretends to like it, but she doesn't really. The people are loud, drunk, and obnoxious. Although the party is ritzy and luxurious, there's really nothing classy about it.

What's the name of the book that Tom wants to discuss at dinner? What does this book's content show us about Tom?

The Rise of the Colored Empires

How is West Egg different from East Egg?

The West Egg is new money and flashy and less respected. The East Egg is old money and classy and much more respected.

What's the weather like at the beginning of the chapter? Symbolically analyze this element of the scene.

Analysis of the rain could go two different ways. First, it might be a sign that nothing can ever be perfect, no matter how much Gatsby wants it to be. Second, it might be an optimistic sign of renewal and cleanliness, washing away the sorrow of the past.

After crossing paths with Gatsby, Tom says, "I may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me." What's interesting (and hypocritical) about this line?

Tom is a hypocrite because he's been running around himself and he's attracted to women, like Myrtle, who are exactly the kind of women he's talking about here.

Before meeting him, what does Nick tell us about Tom Buchanan?

Tom peaked at 21 in his football career and ever since he has been searching for a feeling as wonderful as that.

At the end of this chapter, Nick sees Gatsby on the lawn and is about to call to him and introduce himself, but he does not. What stops Nick? What does Gatsby's "trembling" suggest?

He seems happy alone, he is being more emotional and is not something that he really does

Notice how often and in what context Doctor Eckleburg's eyes are mentioned. Symbolically, what might those eyes on that billboard represent?

He sees everything in the city and knows it all.

While the reader can have easily predicted Daisy and Tom's reactions to his party, Gatsby cannot. Why not?

He doesn't understand what is truly appealing to the elite class. He still operates under that vision of wealth/luxury that he conjured for himself when he was 17. His vision of having "made it" is the new money vision of success (grand, opulent, over-the-top), but the old money ways are far more understated and refined.

When Nick asks Gatsby what business he is in, Gatsby responds, "That's my affair," before he realizes that this is not an appropriate reply. Why does Gatsby give that answer, and why is not it an appropriate reply?

He gives the answer because he's up to no good (working as a bootlegger) and doesn't want Daisy, or anyone, to know about it. This is not an appropriate respond because it's curt and rude.

Why does Gatsby take Nick and Daisy the long way around his house to the front door instead of just cutting through the back lawn?

He wants to show off his impressive home by giving the full, grand tour. It's important for Daisy to get the full picture of his wealth.

What steps has Gatsby taken to ensure this reunion day is perfect?

He's had way too many flowers delivered, had Nick's lawn mowed, and is wearing a white suit with silver shirt and gold tie.

What's up with the puppy? Why do you suppose Fitzgerald included it as an element in this chapter?

It symbolizes Myrtle and what she wants and how she feels versus what Tom wants and what he feels.

Jordan recalls the time in 1917 when she saw Gatsby and Daisy together. From Jordan's description, do you think Daisy was genuinely interested in Gatsby?

Yes. She's so captivated by him in that scene that she doesn't even notice Jordan until she's just five feet away. Daisy and Gatsby were very into each other back in the day.

What unexpected common bond do Gatsby and Nick share?

both were in the third division in france during the war

Nick describes the people who attend Gatsby's parties and says "that once there, the guests conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks." Given this, what can you conclude is Nick's opinion of Gatsby's party guests?

he does not have much respect for them, judging them, and this is the only time they have to party because of the prohibition

Why do you suppose that Jordan does not believe Gatsby when he says that he had attended Oxford College in England?

he doesn't fit Jordan's stereotype of an oxford man. he's not naturally sophisticated, trying too hard

In what ways is Gatsby's behavior at his party quite unlike the behavior of most of his guests?

he doesn't party or drink, just watches the party guests.

Why does Jordan want to leave the group from East Egg? Why does Nick want to leave the group?

it is too polite and reserved, and too boring, want to be where the fun is. nick wants to find gatsby and follows jordan around because he does not want to be alone

Nick says, "I was looking at an elegant young roughneck...whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. Some time before he introduced himself I'd got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care." What is Fitzgerald trying to convey here about Gatsby? How should we feel about Gatsby here?

not very polished but looks formal and sounds very sophisticated. rough around the edges, words are practiced, something off

Toward the end of the party, we have the unflattering description of husbands and wives and also the drunk who has crashed his car. What is Fitzgerald's deeper message to us here?

rich people drive recklessly because they have so much money. owl eyes gets into an accident and goes into a ditch because he was drunk. money doesn't make them happy, they have to go back to their normal boring lives

Jordan declares to Nick that she "hates careless people." Explain the irony here.

she cheats so she can be on top and is the most careless person in the room. She doesn't care for anyone's feelings except her own

Who is Owl-Eyes? What surprises him about Gatsby's library? Why would this impress him?

that they are real books that have not been read because the pages still stick together

Who, do you suppose, sent the letter that caused Daisy to become so upset? What do you think the letter may have said?

Gatsby. He was probably declaring his love for her in the letter.

Compare and contrast George Wilson and Tom Buchanan. Then, compare and contrast Myrtle Wilson and Daisy Buchanan.

George and Tom both have a relationship and are not all that bright. Except, George is married to her and truly loves her while Tom views her as his city girlfriend. Myrtle and Daisy both have a relationship w Tom but Daisy is attractive and his wife and Myrtle is his not bright city girl.

In the first few pages of this chapter, we learn about Gatsby's background. When did James Gatz change his name to Jay Gatsby? Why did he leave college after just two weeks?

He changed his name when he was 17. He was frustrated that the people there didn't immediately recognize his greatness and he felt the janitor work-study job he was given was beneath him.

What was the advice given to Nick by his father? How, do you suppose, does this make him a good person to tell the story?

"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in the world haven't had the advantages that you've had." (Fitzgerald 1). This means that a lot of things he has received, due to his wealth, doesn't give him the right to judge others because the majority of them haven't received luxuries he has received.

What is weird about Nick's drive into New York with Gatsby? List at least three things about Gatsby in this scene that strike you as odd.

1. Gatsby overshares about his background, being sure to mention that he inherited family money, but that all of his people are dead now. Weird. 2. he emphasizes that he was "educated at Oxford," in such a way that it immediately makes Nick think that he's lying. He's even carrying around a photo of himself at Oxford to use as proof. Even weirder. 3. he says his people are from the mid-west, but then says they're from San Francisco. It doesn't take a geography expert to know that San Francisco is not in the mid-west. More weirdness. Finally (yes, here's an extra one for you), he's carrying around a medal of valor from Montenegro. Who does that? Someone who's trying too hard to impress others, that's who.

Looking through the list of party-goers, find and paraphrase at least three pieces of evidence that the old money is in East Egg and the new money in West Egg?

1.The East Eggers named Blackbuck are snooty and flip their noses up at everyone. 2. East Eggers include legendary American family names, such as Voltaire and Stonewall Jackson, and people Nick knew from Yale. 3. West Eggers are mostly movie/entertainment producers and people with more-ethnic-sounding names like Poles and Mulreadys, making us think more of an immigrant class of people.

What is the reader left to think about Daisy's emotional state and her relationship with Tom?

Daisy is nervous and over compensating. She acts like nothing is happening, physical actions prove otherwise.

Gatsby disappears when which other character unexpectedly arrives at lunch? Take a guess as to why Gatsby doesn't want to see this character.

Gatsby is avoiding Tom mainly because Gatsby is in love with Daisy or at least that he has a compelling reason to want to avoid Tom Buchanan.

Nick says, "Then it had not been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night" when Nick first spotted Gatsby reaching out across the bay. What does Nick now realize about that night and about Gatsby's real estate purchase?

Gatsby wants Daisy, but he also aspires to reach the higher social class that Daisy represents. Nick realizes that Gatsby purchased that particular house because it's adjacent to the Buchanans' house.

Nick says, "So he [Gatsby] invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year- old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end." For James Gatz, what does he expect the future Jay Gatsby's life will be like? Specifically, at night, what sets James' heart "in a constant, turbulent" riot?

His new life will be filled with every luxury. All of his dreams will come true. His desires for bigger, more gaudy displays of wealth. As a young man, he figures glitz and bling are true symbols of wealth. He has a young, North Dakota sense of what an elite wealthy life would be like; the bigger/the gaudier, the better, he thinks.

The description of the "valley of ashes" opens this chapter. Literally, what is the valley of ashes? What might it represent on a symbolic level?

It is the houses, and chimneys, and railroads. It symbolizes poverty.

Okay, let's talk about that scene with the shirts. Obviously, Daisy's not crying because of the actual shirts. Analyze the passage and explain what, exactly, has caused Daisy to become so emotional as she wraps herself in all those shirts.

The beautiful, colorful shirts are a symbol of what Daisy's lost by marrying Tom. Gatsby is the colorful, exotic fabric, while Tom would be the staid, starched white shirts worn by the upper-class. All of the color and fun is out of her lily-white life. Daisy is the ultimate material girl, so it's no surprise that the fine material of Gatsby's shirt bring her to the edge of her breaking point.

The green light that Gatsby is staring at will become an important symbol in the book. What symbolic associations do you connect to the color green?

The green light is associated with money.

To young Gatz, what does Dan Cody's yacht represent?

The yacht represents all of the beauty and glamour in the world.

What two things does Nick see on/near the Queensboro Bridge that make him think that Gatsby is, perhaps, telling the truth?

There's a somber funeral procession, but then they are passed by a limousine driven by a white chauffeur. Inside the limo, two African-American men and a woman are having a riotous time. This contrast makes Nick think that anything is possible in New York.

As the three of them look across the bay toward Daisy's house, Nick tells us, "Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever. Compared to that great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one." First, explain what Fitzgerald means by "the great distance" between Gatsby and Daisy. Then, explain the significance of the fact that the green light is now just a light on a dock and that Gatsby's "count of enchanted objects had diminished by one."

They're apart because of her marriage to Tom, but, more importantly, the distance between them is a huge one of social class. He's trying to reach out and close the gap between their social classes, but, of course, that is impossible. This part of the reunion is like the feeling you get once you finally accomplish a goal/obtain something you've wanted for a long time. While you're happy to finally have that thing, there might be a little bit of a let-down because the item/achievement isn't as awesome as you'd always dreamed it would be.

Why does Gatsby not get the $25,000 left to him in Cody's will? What lesson did young Gatsby likely learn from this incident?

Through legal wranglings that Gatsby does not understand, Ella Kaye is able to make sure Gatsby doesn't get the money. He learned that he couldn't rely on wealth to be given to him; he would have to earn it himself.

When Nick returns from the war, why does he decide to go East?

To experience new things. He learned the bond business.

If you were going to pick one color to connect with Daisy Buchanan, what color would it be? Explain your reasoning.

White because she is written about as though she is an angel with the purest soul.

Who is Meyer Wolfsheim, and what do we know about him?

Wolfsheim is a shady businessman/gangster who Gatsby does business with. We know that he wears cufflinks made out of human molars and that he was involved in the scandalous fixing of the 1919 World Series.