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Gatsby Discussion Questions
Gatsby Discussion Questions
Gatsby Discussion Questions
Chapter 1:
1. What is the difference between East Egg and West Egg and the people who live in each?
2. What kind of relationship exists between Nick and the Buchanans?
3. What is the significance of Tom’s reference to the book he is reading?
4. Daisy describes herself as sophisticated. Is she proud and happy about this? Why does Daisy
always speak in such exaggerated phrases? Why do you think she wants her daughter to grow
up to be a fool?
5. When Nick leaves the Buchanan’s house, he is “confused and a little disgusted.” Why? What
does this suggest about his values?
6. Why is Nick Carraway made the narrator? Why tell this story from Nick’s point of view?
7. Why does Gatsby reach out toward the water?
8. On pages 1 and 2 the narrator of the novel introduces himself. What qualifications does Nick
establish that should make him a good and trustworthy narrator?
9. At Nick’s return he was upset with everyone he knew except Gatsby, why does he approve of
Gatsby?
10. What is your first impression of Tom as he is described in the novel?
11. Why did Nick move to the East?
12. What kind of party do the Buchanan’s throw for Nick?
13. Tom is very opinionated and talks about some of his theories. Indicate what some of his theories
are.
14. Who presumably calls and interrupts the party?
15. How do Jordan and Daisy know each other? What does Jordan do for a living?
16. What is the advice Nick’s father gives him? Does he believe it?
17. Explain how the first chapter of this novel is critically important in the development of plot,
characters, and themes.
18. After reading the chapter, explain the difference between Daisy, Jordan, Tom, and Nick.
Part 2: Vocabulary
Define each of the words and write the text sentence that the word is used. Also, include any words
that you wrote down in your journal that you are unfamiliar with.
1. Feign 9. Aon
2. Supercilious 10. Bore
3. Conscientious 11. Levity
4. Incredulous 12. Reproach
5. Reciprocal 13. Fractiousness
6. Wan 14. Contemptuously
7. Complacent 15. Extemporizing
8. Intimation 16. Peremptorily
Directions: Write a diary entry first from Nick’s point of view after he attends the dinner party at the
Buchanans’, then from Daisy’s point of view. Then, answer the question below.
Always, Love,
Nick Carraway Daisy Buchanan
Directions: Compare and contrast (1) Nick Carraway and Tom Buchanan and (2) Jordan Baker and
Daisy Buchanan. Make a collage using words, images, and pictures that represent these people.
Brainstorm ideas on your notebook paper.
This activity gives you a chance to analyze Gatsby in order to better understand him.
Directions: Interview Gatsby as he stands at the end of the dock in the concluding lines of Chapter 1.
Think about why Fitzgerald chooses to end this chapter this way. Consider what types of questions
you will ask Gatsby and how he will respond. Write up the interview as if it were to appear in a real
magazine.
List the questions you will ask Gatsby. Who is your audience? To what magazine will you submit this
interview? Write up the interview, including a title, a teaser headline under the title, and the
complete interview.
Chapter 2:
1. The railway and road into New York City between West Egg and the city passes through an ugly
section of land. What is the prominent color and substance which Fitzgerald writes about in the
opening paragraph?
2. Why is Tom having an affair? What does Myrtle mean to Tom? Is Tom in love with her? Why
does Tom insist on showing Myrtle off to Nick? What things does Myrtle buy? What does this
say about her?
3. Like the first chapter, the second chapter describes a party. But what is the difference in the
people’s attitudes and behavior at these parties, specifically Tom and Nick, who are at both
parties?
4. Why does Tom break Myrtle’s nose?
5. What is symbolic about the “valley of ashes,” and “the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg?”
6. Evaluate Myrtle’s talk of her unhappy marriage. What does she seem to be trying to justify?
7. How does Myrtle’s speech reveal her character?
8. Myrtle is Tom’s mistress. How does she differ in looks and manner from Daisy?
9. In buying the dog for Myrtle, Tom uses a word to describe the sex of the dog. Would Tom have
used it in his household in front of Daisy? What does this show about his character?
10. Mrs. Wilson changes her dress. What happens to her demeanor when she changes into the
cocktail dress?
11. What rumor has Catherine heard about Gatsby?
12. Describe the valley of the ashes.
13. Why does Myrtle marry George?
14. Why is the evening in Tom’s New York apartment hazy and dim? Contrast this with the evening
setting at Tom and Daisy’s mansion.
15. How is the theme of sight and blindness shown in this chapter? What happens to the concept of
time?
16. What is alliteration? Can you find two examples in chapter 2? Why do authors use alliteration
and when is it most effective?
1. Contiguous:
2. Facet:
3. Interpose:
4. Apathetic:
5. Languid:
6. Imply:
7. Strident:
8. Deft:
9. Clad:
10. Transcendent:
11. Oculist:
12. Proprietary:
Part 3: Letter to a Neighbor: Vocabulary
Directions: Write a complaint to Tom Buchanan concerning his loud party. Use ten of the vocabulary
words listed above. Be creative, but use the words correctly in context.
Mr. Buchanan,
Sincerely,
Gatsby Chp. 3!
Chapter 3:
Part 2: Vocabulary
Your participation today will count for a grade. I want to focus on close readings of the text-now
that things are starting to make a little more sense, we can focus on what the author is up to.
Please take 10-15 minutes now to respond to the following in your notebook so that you have
something to contribute to discussion.
1. Why Myrtle? You have to figure that Tom, of the richest and most elite stock in the country,
can have anyone- including Daisy. So why have an affair with Myrtle? And why would he
make it so that people’s knowledge of the affair “was insisted upon wherever he was
known”? Why would Tom lie to Myrtle about Daisy’s being Catholic?
2. There are obvious parallels between the parties in chapter 2 and 3, just as both contrasts
with the dinner at the Buchanans in Chapter 1. Choose one of the parties and answer the
corresponding questions:
For the party in chapter 2: Why is Nick “simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the
inexhaustible variety of life”? What is significant about the way Myrtle acts on pages 30-35-
what sort of social chameleon is she? Why is Tom almost invisible throughout the gathering,
and what do we learn about him when he breaks Myrtle’s nose? (Why would he do this to
Daisy?)
For the party at Gatsby’s in chapter 3: Why is the party “something significant, elemental
and profound” to Nick? Why do you think Fitzgerald makes Gatsby, much like Tom in
chapter 2, almost invisible at his own party while continuing to not reveal anything about his
background? Why are guests “so reluctant to go home”?
3. When you read this the first time I can imagine you were somewhat boggled: what the heck
is a “valley of ashes”, and why should you care? Well, it’s there for a reason. Read the intro
again and write down a few notes to the questions below.
a. Chapter 1 ends with the green light; chapter 2 begins with the gray images in the
Valley of Ashes. What aspects of the setting imply that it is intended to have a
symbolic meaning as well as a literal one?
b. Find an example of personification and alliteration in the first paragraph. Why do
you think the author uses these techniques here?
c. What do you think the “eyes of Dr. Eckleburg” represent? Think about what we’ve
said about eyes in previous classes- what is potentially significant about this
billboard of an oculist that hangs over the land?
4. Why Nick? Fitzgerald could have chosen any perspective for his point of view- he chose first
person and he developed Mr. Carraway for a purpose. Why? What do you think Nick’s role
is? Can we trust Nick? Nick calls himself “one of the few honest men left in the world.” Do
you agree? Defend your answer.
5. How would you describe the meeting between Nick and the Buchanans? What are Tom and
Daisy like?
6. Daisy says she hopes her daughter becomes “a beautiful, little fool.” What does this mean?
Is Daisy really as airheaded as she appears? Or is she smart but knows how to “play the
game?”
7. What do you think will happen next in the novel? Infer with context clues/ background
knowledge.
Gatsby Chapter 4!
Questions:
Part 2: Vocabulary:
1. Knickerbocker
2. Fluctuate
3. Sporadic
4. Rajah
5. Elicit
6. Valor
7. Somnambulatory
8. Denizen
9. Jaunty
10. Punctilious
11. Labyrinth
12. Olfactory
13. Inevitable
Part 3:
Directions: Think about an event or a series of events from your past. In your notebook write about how
those events have influenced your present, either positively, negatively, or both.
The Funnies: Turning Literature into Pop Culture
Directions: Create a comic strip of the events that take place in this chapter. Use pictorial renditions of
the major events and include pared-down dialogue bubbles.
Directions:
Students will be paired into groups of 3-4. Each group will be directed to one of three stations around
the room ( more stations added for big classes).
1. The first activity involves students drawing the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg on printer paper with
markers. This helps bring in a visual element to the exercise; students will also be told to be
prepared to defend why they drew the eyes the way they did.
2. The second station presents a list in which the characters in the novel are set at the left with
blank spaces on the right. In those blank spaces, students will be asked to list descriptions of the
characters, any connections to modern-day celebrities or family members, other characters in
literature, likes, dislikes, etc.
3. The third station will be an independent writing stations with 3 separate quotes from The Great
Gatsby listed. Students will be asked to select a quote and free-write on what they believe that
quote means to them personally and how it might relate to the novel during the time allotted.
Question:
Part 2: Vocabulary
1. Rout
2. Innumerable
3. Ecstatic
4. Reproach
5. Serf
6. Obstinate
7. Exult
8. Hulking
9. Nebulous
10. Harrowed
11. Defunct
12. Colossal
Part 3:
Character Emotion
1
Explanation with example:
2
Directions: Respond to the following statements in complete sentences. Are the statements valid? Use
the text to support your answers.
1. Gatsby is truly a friend to Nick because he offers to take him for a ride in his Rolls Royce.
2. Gatsby is truly a friend to Nick because
3. Gatsby wants to give Nick money.
4. Gatsby is truly a friend to Nick because Nick has money.
5. Gatsby is truly a friend to Nick because Nick is Daisy’s cousin.
Close Reading and Examination of the Text
Directions: Each group examines a different passage. Look for and report back on the following:
a. Examples of literary devices-for example, simile, metaphor, foreshadowing, and irony- and for
diction and syntax.
b. How the paragraph fits into the chapter as a whole.
c. How the paragraph advances our understanding of plot, theme, setting, character, or
symbolism.
Passages to examine:
Part 2: Vocabulary:
1. Laudable
2. Insidious
3. Repose
4. Debauch
5. Antecedent
6. Ingratiate
7. Dilatory
8. Desolate
9. Elusive
10. Platonic
11. Meretricious
12. Ineffable
13. Turgid
14. Contingencies
15. Haughtily
16. Septic
17. Euphemism
18. Obtrusive
19. Menagerie
Part 3
Directions: Arrange the following events in Chapter 6 sequentially- first, according to their natural order
and, then, according to how they are presented to us by the narrator:
Pre-Write/Class Discussion
1. Daisy refuses to sacrifice her status as a member of the aristocracy so that she can follow true
love. How do you feel about this choice?
2. Do you think she would have been happier with Gatsby than with Tom? Why or why not?
3. Is Fitzgerald judging her shallowness?
4. Do you judge her? How? Why?
5. What would you do if you were Daisy?
Gatsby Chapter 7!
Questions:
Part 2: Vocabulary:
1. Lapse
2. Insistent
3. Tentative
4. Tumult
5. Portentous
6. Irreverent
7. Vicarious
8. Rancor
9. Formidable
10. Trimalchio
11. Indiscreet
12. Contingency
13. Abyss
14. Inviolate
15. Libertine
16. Prig
17. Tangible
18. Magnanimous
19. Truculent
20. Luminosity
Part 3:
Gatsby’s loyalty to Daisy at the end of this chapter is tragic, sad, and poignant. He is truly in love with
her.
Directions: Make an argument for Gatsby’s character. Do you find the first two statements above to be
true, or do you think Gatsby is pathetic? Be specific in a chart.
Directions: Make two collages of 25 words each describing Daisy and Gatsby as you now understand
them. Use words that describe Daisy’s and Gatsby’s internal and external selves, and then draw these
words on a sheet of printer paper, using colors. Make the background of your collage reflect the
uniqueness of each character. Brainstorm ideas.
Gatsby as a Symbol
Directions: Research the American Dream. Be sure that you understand the important role it played in
Americans’ lives. Answer the following questions.
Part 2: Vocabulary:
1. Humidor
2. Indiscernible
3. Settee
4. Divot
5. Garrulous
6. Incoherent
7. Conceivable
8. Forlorn
9. Laden
10. Redolent
11. Pneumatic
12. Grotesque
13. Fortuitously
14. Amorphous
Part 3:
Directions: In your journal, discuss whether or not you think that Wilson’s murder of Gatsby is justified.
Whenever possible, use examples from the story to support your statement.
Gatsby Chapter 9!
Questions:
Part 2: Vocabulary:
1. Pasquinade
2. Derange
3. Surmise
4. Superfluous
5. Elocution
6. Unutterable
7. Subtle
8. Orgastic
9. Ceaselessly
10. Adventitious
11. Distorted
12. Brittle
13. Jauntily
14. Provincial
15. Incessant
16. Pandered
17. Transitory
18. Aesthetic contemplation
19. Obscurity
20. Eluded
Part 3:
Directions: On a separate sheet of paper, explain the final line of the novel. Be certain to examine each
word, each carefully placed comma, and each metaphor and its entirety. Then, explain how the last line
encapsulates the central themes, conflicts, and characters’ motivations.
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
Directions: In your notebook, respond to the following statement. Be sure to support your answer with
examples from the text.
The green light symbolizes hope, the American Dream, and failure. Explain.
Directions: Write ten questions regarding the novel that you would like to ask F. Scott Fitzgerald. Use a
separate piece of paper to do this assignment. After you write your questions, exchange papers with
another student who will answer the questions.
Directions: Use your assigned character for this worksheet. Throughout the reading on slips of
paper, write specific descriptive phrases from the text that identify the characters; attach multiple
to the head, forming a complete figure of a male or a female. If you feel artistic, cut your slips of
paper into the shape of body parts. Your character should be a fully formed body.
I am _________________________
What a Character!
Directions: Show the character that you are assigned with facts, opinions and interpretations from your
reading. For facts, give the page numbers. Be ready to defend opinions and interpretations with material
from the text that supports your thinking.
Character:
“I’ve had choices since the day I was born…” (George Jones)
Directions: Check the box the character would choose; explain your reasoning on the line after the list
of choices.
Why?____________________________________________________________
Why?_____________________________________________________________________
Why?_______________________________________________________________
Why?_____________________________________________________________________________
Part 5:
Directions: In groups of 3, create the pilot for a reality television show based on the book. This does not
have to be an accurate representation of the book, but can be a, “Based on title and author concept>”
Questions to consider: What is the title? What will be the overall mood you want to present? What is
the setting? Which characters will be introduced? What situation will be shown? This must hook the
produces and viewers so more shows will be contracted. Which stars will play the parts of the
characters? When you are finished outlining your idea, write the opening 5 minutes that will appear
before the first commercial in script format. Be sure to label it with the title and Scene 1. The first
paragraph relates the setting, who is in it and a summary of what is happening and why. This is written
in italics. After this, write the script, with parenthetical notes ( in italics directly after the name and
colon) that shows how the character is to move and speak. Extra credit: film this with the people in the
group and save it to a DVD disc to be aired in class.
Title:
Characters:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Situation:
Background music:
Atmosphere: