English 10 Great Gatsby Exam Review Questions – Flashcards
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What was the advice given to Nick by his father? How, do you suppose, this makes him a good person to tell this story?
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"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."
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What is Nick's social class/background? How did his family make its money?
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Middle Western City/Wholesale hardware business that his father carries on today
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When Nick returns from the war, why does he decide to go East?
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Nick wanted to learn the bond business and the midwest seemed like the edge of the universe
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How is West Egg different from East Egg?
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West Egg-New money/less fashionable East Egg-Old money/fashionable
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Before meeting him, what does Nick tell us about Tom Buchanan?
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Tom is one of the most powerful ends that ever played football in New Haven. He is 30 years old and has a supercilious manner.
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If you were going to pick one color to connect with Daisy Buchanan, what color would it be? Explain your reasoning.
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Blue-she is more reserved and is only happy when she is with Gatsby.
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We find out that Tom has "some woman in New York." What unflattering feature of Jordan Baker's personality is revealed in this scene?
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She tells Nick that Tom has a women in New York and she gossips to Nick.
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What's the name of the book that Tom wants to discuss at dinner? What does this book's content show us about Tom?
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Tom feels that the white race is the dominant one and they must watch out for other races/that he is a racist man
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What is the read left to think about Daisy's emotional state and her relationship with Tom?
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She is bipolar-one minute happy and the next sad/she likes Tom and she thinks he is like a rose
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Who is Jordan Baker and what has Nick heard about her?
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Jordan is Daisy's friend/Tom heard a critical, unpleasant story about her that she cheated in a golf tournament
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At the end of Ch.1, 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?
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Nick didn't want to get in the way and be rude.
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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?
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Jealousy, money, power and wealth
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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?
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Wasteland/Wilson's live there/industrial area-working people, coal fueled everything
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Compare and contrast George Wilson and Tom Buchanan. Then, compare and contrast Myrtle Wilson and Daisy Buchanan.
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-George-poor, working man, introvert, meek, wife cheats on him -Tom-racist, rich, powerful, arrogant -Myrtle-full bodied, flirts, has affair with Tom -Daisy-thin, frail, knows her husband is cheating but is powerless to do anything about it
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How do we know that Myrtle Wilson is not an intellectual?
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The way she speaks-working class language and she reads the town tattle
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Notice how often andin what context Doctor Eckleburg's eyes are mentioned. Symbolically, what might those eyes on that billboard represent?
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The eyes of God watching them doing all these sinful things
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What is up with the puppy? Why do you suppose Fitzgerald included it as an element in this chapter?
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Tom bought the puppy for Myrtle and it symbolizes the lack of thought for which they live their lives.
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Do you think Tom will leave Daisy for Myrtle? Support your answer.
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Myrtle is useful, Tom doesn't really care about her and he just tolerates her.
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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?
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He is not impressed. Nick is not a big drinker and it is not much fun to be sober and hang around a bunch of drunk folks.
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Why does Jordan want to leave the group from East Egg? Why does Nick want to leave the group?
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She is bored and the guy who came with her has been coming on too strong. Nick wants to meet Gatsby.
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Who is Owl-Eyes? What surprises him about Gatsby's library? Why would this impress him?
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Middle-aged drunk man sitting in Gatsby's library. It surprises him that Gatsby's books are real.
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What unexpected common bond do Gatsby and Nick share?
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They fought in similar battles in WWI and Gatsby recognizes Nick.
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Why do you suppose that Jordan does not believe Gatsby when he says that he had attended Oxford College in England?
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She gossips a lot
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In what ways is Gatsby's behavior at his party quite unlike the behavior of most of his guests?
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He doesn't drink and hold to strict formality and he is detached from the crazy fun.
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Jordan declares to Nick that she "hates careless people." Explain the irony here.
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She is careless and so is Nick.
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Looking through the list of party-goers, find and paraphrase at least pieces of evidence that the old money is in East Egg and the new money in West Egg?
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1. Mr. and Mrs. Blackbucks look down with their noses on everyone (East Egg is snobby) 2. Old American names (Stonewall Jackson) and they are people known from Yale 3. West Egg-movie and entertainment people and have ethnic names
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What is weird about Nick's drive into New York with Gatsby? List at least 3 things about Gatsby in this scene that strikes you as odd.
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1. Gatsby overshares his background 2. Emphasizes that he went to Oxford 3. Said he was from the midwest 4. Gatsby is carrying around a metal from the war
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What two things does Nick see on/near the Queensboro Bridge that make him think that Gatsby is, perhaps, telling the truth?
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1. Funeral procession headed to New York 2. Limousine-inside 2 different African American men/women with a white driver
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Who is Meyer Wolfsheim and what do we know about him?
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Nick wanted to learn the bonds trade and he was going to learn from Meyer Wolfsheim. He is a gangster involved with alcohol.
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Gatsby disappears when which other character unexpectedly arrives at lunch? Take a guess as to why Gatsby doesn't want to see this character.
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Daisy's husband Tom/because he is in love with Daisy.
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How does Daisy behave the night before her wedding? Why?
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She gets drunk and tries to throw away an expensive pearl necklace that Tom got her.
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Who do you suppose sent the letter that caused Daisy to become so upset? What do you think the letter may have said?
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Gatsby sent the letter declaring his love for Daisy.
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What is happening between Nick and Jordan?
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Nick is attracted to her but doesn't think highly of her. He tells Jordan that he has a girlfriend in Chicago.
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What steps has Gatsby taken to ensure this reunion day is perfect?
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He sends a bunch of flowers and someone to mow Nick's lawn in the rain. Gatsby is wearing a white suit, silver shirts and gold tie.
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What is the weather like at the beginning of Ch. 5? Symbolically analyze this element of the scene.
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The weather is rainy - it symbolizes that nothing can be perfect.
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In the first few pages of Ch. 6, 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?
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He changed his name after the saved Dan Cody on the ocean/He was 17 years old
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To young Gatz, what does Dan Cody's yacht represent?
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All the beauty and glamor in the world
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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?
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It was intact to Ella Kaye/Gatsby was left with an appropriate education
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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 is interesting about this line?
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Tom is married and he is having an affair with Myrtle
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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?
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He is boasting and wants Daisy to see everything that he has
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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 it not an appropriate reply?
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Gatsby is a bootlegger and doesn't want anyone to know/It is rude to respond that way.
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What causes Tom to realize that his wife has been having an affair with Gatsby?
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Daisy is flirting with Gatsby while Tom is in the room. She is also talking in a different voice.
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What does Gatsby understand about Daisy's voice that Nick does not?
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Her voice sounds like money to Gatsby
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Describe the driving arrangement that brings the five characters into the city.
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Wilson looked very sick (green) and Tom gives him a car.
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Why, do you suppose, Tom decides to let Wilson finally have the car he has been promising him?
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Wilson said he and his wife are heading out west.
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What indication is there at this point that, in Myrtle's mind anyway, Tom has been more than a fling?
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She doesn't want to move and refuses to move away with George. She wants to stay near Tom.
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What is Daisy's opinion of Gatsby's party?
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Daisy says that the parties excite her
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While the reader can have easily predicted Daisy and Tom's reactions to his party, Gatsby cannot. Why not?
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Gatsby is clueless of everything that is going on around him and he lives a carefree life.
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What is Nick's view of repeating the past and what is Gatsby's opinion? Why is Gatsby's opinion unrealistic?
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Gatsby wants to repeat the past, but Nick tells him you can't repeat the past and that makes Gatsby angry.
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Why do you suppose Fitzgerald links the behavior of the characters to the hottest day of the summer?
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The weather is copying the tension that is building between all the characters.
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When Gatsby briefly meets Daisy's little girl, he is somewhat unnerved. Symbolically, what does the little girl represent?
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She is the physical evidence of the past-Daisy's not a great mother.
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Besides Myrtle's, what other eyes "kept their vigil" on the activities along the roadway?
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The eyes on the billboard
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As always, there is a grain of truth in what Gatsby says. In what sense is he an Oxford man?
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He was there for 5 months, as a study program for soldiers after the war
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Daisy says that Tom is "revolting." To what, can you imagine, is she referring?
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He is admitting infidelity and love at the same time
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Why does Daisy have a tough time saying, as Gatsby wishes, that she never loved Tom?
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Some part of Daisy did love Tom. She can't just say that nothing matters because she did have a kid with Tom.
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Why is it so important to Gatsby that Daisy say she never loved Tom?
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He wants his fantasy to be complete
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How has Gatsby earned most of his money and what does Tom say that startles Gatsby?
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Tom knows that Gatsby has something else going on
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What is Daisy's reaction to this news?
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She wanted to go home and is scared of being associated with gangsters
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Why does Tom make the point to Wilson that he just drove the coupe from New York and the yellow car does not actually belong to him?
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He knows that Wilson saw him drive the car earlier and wants to removes suspicion.
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What indication is there that Tom really was fond of Myrtle?
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He pushes his way to see her for himself and he did care about her a little bit.
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What does the reader learn that Tom does not know?
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Daisy was driving the car, not Gatsby.
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What is the scene that Nick observes taking place between Tom and Daisy in the kitchen?
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They looked like they were working together to solve a problem.
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Why does this scene suggest ill for Gatsby?
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Suggests that Tom has won and Daisy will do whatever she has to do to protect herself
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Why was the young Gatsby drawn to Daisy?
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Assumed that because of that she was important
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What is the cause of the problem between Jordan and Nick?
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They witnessed the traumatic event that pulled them apart from each other
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In what context do Dr. Eckleburg's eyes appear in this chapter?
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George Wilson thought that he was being watched
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When Wilson disappears for 3 hours, where do you guess he might have gone?
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He went to kill Gatsby
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Gatsby asks the groundskeeper not to drain the pool. Why?
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Another way to hold on to the past
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How can Wilson's actions at the end of this chapter be explained?
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He then shoots himself because he can't live with what he did to Gatsby
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What were Nick's final words to Gatsby? Why is this a fitting goodbye?
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"They are a rotton crowd, your worth a whole bunch of them together." Gatsby wanted to be a part of a group of lousy and snobby people.
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Why does Nick feel responsible for getting people to the funeral? Why do you suppose Wolfsheim reacts the way he does?
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Wolfshiem is a gangster and need to distance himself and thought of himself as Gatsby's friend.
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What does young Jimmy Gatz's daily schedule say about him?
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He was an extremely hard worker and dedicated to self improvement.
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Is Nick surprised that Daisy has not sent a message or flowers?
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Nick is not surprised but he is disappointed.
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Nick's fantastic dream involves El Greco figures. What is the dream and what might this dream represent in regard to Nick's present feelings about the East?
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He sees this dream as a sign that the east coast isn't for him. The dream was they were carrying a dead, drunk lady from a West Egg party.
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What shocking piece of information does Nick receive in his chance meeting with Tom? What is Nick's final feeling about Tom and Daisy?
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Tom and Daisy are crazy people who create problems and someone will take care of it.
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Nick makes the symbol of the green light very concrete. What does the green light symbolize?
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Green = lush green countryside and opportunity to reach a new level
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What does the last sentence in the story mean?
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No matter how hard we try, we are doomed to always get pushed back.
