The Great Gatsby Study Questions – Flashcards
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When he feels like criticizing anyone, he should remember that all the people in this world haven't had his advantages.
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What advice did the narrator's father give him?
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He has been the often-unwilling recipient of the "intimate revelations" of many men (people often open us to him).
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What have been the results of the narrator's habit of reserving judgment?
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His father's suggestion that "a sense of the fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth."
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What is the narrator especially careful not to forget?
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The "eggs" are two unusual formations of land on Long Island, which extends due east of New York City. East Egg is more fashionable. Nick rents a small house on the West Egg.
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What is the West Egg and the East Egg?
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Jay Gatsby- his mansion resembles the Hotel de Ville in Normandy. It has a tower on one side, ivy climbing its walls, a marble swimming pool, and forty acres of lawn and garden.
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Who lives next door to Nick? Describe his house.
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Tom and Daisy Buchanan live on the East Egg. Daisy Buchanan is Nick's second cousin, once removed. Tom and Nick knew one another at Yale.
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Who are the Buchanans and where do they live?
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A sturdy straw-haired man of thirty, arrogant eyes and a powerful body- a "cruel" body, gruff and aggressive.
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Tom's physical description is important later in the novel. How does the narrator describe him?
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Daisy has a "low, thrilling voice", a sad lovely face, bright eyes, and a bright, passionate mouth. Her most alluring asset is her voice.
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Describe Daisy.
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Jordan is a girlhood friend of Daisy's. She's tall, slender, has grey eyes and a charming face. She is their guesthouse.
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Describe Jordan Baker and why she is at the Buchanan's?
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Tom calls whites the "dominant race" and asserts that they must keep control or people of color with destroy society.
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How do we get the impression that Tom's is racist?
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Tom's girlfriend in NY.
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according to Jordan Baker, who phoned Tom during dinner?
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They seem to enjoy playing with other people's emotions as if life were nothing more than as amusing game.
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What "secret society" do the Buchanans belong to?
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It is a desolate area where empty people labor, watched over by the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. It symbolizes the "wasteland mentality" of the materialistic middle class and spiritual emptiness of society as a whole.
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Describe the Valley of Ashes. What does it symbolize?
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No, everyone know about it, he often takes her to restaurants where is is likely to see friends.
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Does Tom try to keep his affair with Myrtle a secret?
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Myrtle is in her mid-thirties, is fairly stout bu carriers her surplus flesh "sensuously". She wishes to escape her circumstance and have the trappings of the wealthy. Her husband George runs an unprofitable garage. Myrtle treats him badly.
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Describe Myrtle and her husband.
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Myrtle's wish for the dog was immediately fulfilled by Tom, but neither considers how she will be able to care for the puppy properly. It's just another possession.
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What is the significance of the puppy?
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Gatsby is supposedly the "nephew or cousin" of Kaiser Wilhelm.
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What gossip about Gatsby does Nick learn at the party?
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She uses poor grammar and speaks coarsely to her husband. She has lived with George over the garage for 11 years, and Tom is her first "sweetie".
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What shows Myrtle's lack to sophistication?
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Gatsby's parties are on a much grander scale; however, the end results are not much different: everyone gets drunk acts foolishly.
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Gatsby's parties are juxtaposed to Tom's by Fitzgerald. How do they compare?
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Many guest merely crash the parties given by Gatsby . He doesn't even know most of his guests.
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What does Nick mean when he says he is one of the few who where invited?
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He doesn't want any trouble with anybody. Someone says he once killed a man. Someone else says he was a German spy during the war.
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What are some rumors about Gatsby heard at the party?
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He means that the people at the party were rather wild and daring in their casual acceptance of all kinds of behavior, so their being in awe of Gatsby was remarkable.
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What is Nick's comment about gossip?
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He is a young man with large glasses who is impressed to discover that the books in Gatsby's books are real. This means Gatsby is not fake.
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Who is "Owl Eyes" and what surprises him?
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That his smile has quality of "eternal reassurance".
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What does Nick find most striking about Gatsby?
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That he seemed to drift out of nowhere to buy a palace on Long Island.
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What about Gatsby is suspicious to Nick?
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She says they are more intimate than small parties, and it seems that it should be the other way around.
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What is ironic about Jordan's comment about large parties?
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"Old Sport"
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What term does Gatsby use to address Nick?
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She is terribly dishonest. He recalls a past gold scandal in which she moved her ball to a better spot.
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What does Nick discover about Jordan later that summer?
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Gatsby seems to hurry over his explanation of his life, and says he's from San Francisco by calls it the Midwest. He does show Nick a medal of honor and a picture of himself at Oxford. Gatsby is trying to establish his credibility before he request a favor of Nick.
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Why doesn't Nick believe Gatsby's story in the car?
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He gives the impression he is a gangster or bootlegger. One of his friends was shot in his presence. Hie cuff links are made out of human molars.
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What is extremely unusual about Mr. Wolfsheim?
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Wolfsheim fixed the World Series.
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What crime does Gatsby say Wolfsheim committed?
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They were lovers in 1917. She married Tom even though she still loved Gatsby.
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What startling news does Nick find out Daisy and Gatsby?
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She got drunk and said she's changed her mind. She was clutching a letter from Gatsby.
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What did Daisy do the day before her wedding to Tom?
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Cheating on Daisy
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What was Tom doing shortly after the wedding?
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Gatsby wants Nick to invite Daisy to tea at his house, alone, so he can see her again.
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What favor is asked of Nick on Gatsby's behalf?
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Gatsby offers to return the favor of making arrangements with Daisy by offering Nick a rather lucrative business deal. Nick refuses and doesn't want to be bought.
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What does Gatsby propose that offends Nick?
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he literally glows with a new well-being.
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How does the meeting with Daisy affect Gatsby?
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Gatsby says he earned his money. Earlier he said he inherited it.
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How does Nick catch Gatsby in a lie?
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He first felt embarrassed, then filled with joy, and finally consumed with wonder.
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What three emotional states does Gatsby move through during his meeting with Daisy?
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She may be crying over the "lost years" the accumulation of shirts represents or maybe the sight of expensive clothing brings her to tears.
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Why does Daisy cry when she sees all of Gatsby's beautiful shirts?
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He is non-paying self-invited "boarder" at Gatsby's.
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Why is Klipspringer unable to refuse Gatsby's request to play the piano?
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It creates suspense.
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Why is Fitzgerald's use of flashback more effective than chronological order?
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Tom, he possibly has some idea of Daisy and Gatsby, and hopes to catch her with him.
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Who unexpectedly drops in at Gatsby's one Sunday?
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the fact that he knows Daisy.
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What does Gatsby flaunt at Tom?
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Tom is rude to Gatsby. Gatsby is hospitable.
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Compare Tom and Gatsby's behaviors.
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Nick says you can't repeat the past. Gatsby says sure you can.
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What advice does Nick give Gatsby after the party Daisy attended?
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it is very hot, builds dramatic tension as the story "heats" up.
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Describe the weather and its relevance to the plot.
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She is out of harmony with his dream.
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How does Pammy's appearance affect Gatsby?
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A way to relieve the boredom of her wealthy lifestyle.
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What does Gatsby represent to Daisy?
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He suddenly becomes a "prig" acting like the guardian of morality.
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What is Tom's hypocritical reaction to Daisy's affair?
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Daisy is the embodiment of what Gatsby has been longing for all his life, byt he might have better that her voice was full of OLD money- something he can never have.
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Why does Gatsby describe Daisy's voice as being "full of money"?
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He knows Myrtle is having an affair with someone.
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What has George Wilson learned?
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He knows he can make a quick profit on the sale of the car and get the money he needs to get out of town.
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Why has George been trying to but a car from Tom?
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George wants to take Myrtle and run away. Tom is trying to act as if its no big deal.
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Compare Tom and George in their knowledge of their wive's affairs.
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She sees Jordan in the car with Tom and assumes it is Daisy.
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What does Myrtle observe and what conclusions does she jump to?
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Gatsby insists Daisy denounce her love for Tom. Tom attacks Gatsby's business dealings. Daisy is affected by Tom's revelations and revises her original stand to say that she loved both men.
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Discuss the confrontation between Tom and Gatsby.
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He is suddenly sicked by Jordan and the Buchanans. He blames Tom's involvement with Myrtle for her death, but sees how unconcerned Jordan is with the situation.
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How does Nick change as a result of Myrtle's death?
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Myrtle ran out to the car because the had seen Tom driving it before. Daisy was actually driving the car, and Gatsby was her passenger.
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Who did Myrtle think was driving the car?
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Nick has nightmares and wakes just before dawn with a feeling that he must warn Gatsby about something.
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What foreshadows Gatsby's death?
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Gatsby was still clutching at one last hope that Daisy would choose to be with him after all.
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Nick urges Gatsby to go away. Why does he refuse?
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It unravels a bit more of mystery about Gatsby, this time giving the reader the real story of his feelings fro Daisy.
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Why does Fitzgerald include Gatsby's flashback about Daisy?
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The falling leaves and the draining of the pool signal an end and parallel the end of the illusion and the end of Gatsby's life.
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What is symbolic significance of autumn at the novel's end?
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Although Nick disproves of Gatsby's shady business dealings, he admires his honest and steadfast devotion to a goal.
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What is Nick's only compliment to Gatsby mean?
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Jordan is more concerned about herself than anything else.
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What does Nick realize about Jordan?
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No one else is interested in Gatsby in a personal way. They just used him for pleasure but no one really cared about him.
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The details of Gatsby's funeral are left up to Nick. Why?
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His tennis shoes
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What is Klipspringer's biggest concern?
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It's more evidence of Gatsby's criminal activities.
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What does the call from Slagle tell the reader?
