Chapter 2 Discussion Questions the Great Gatsby

Chapter 2 – Discussion questions – The Great Gatsby

1. In the first paragraph of chapter two, what device does Fitzgerald use multiple times to create a sort of musical effect? Cite examples.

2. What might the valley of ashes represent on a symbolic level?

3. Contrast Daisy with Myrtle.

4. According to http://grammar.about.com, asyndeton (ah-SIN-di-ton) is a writing style that omits conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses (opposite of polysyndeton). What does Fitzgerald convey through the use of an asyndeton on pages 30 and 31?

Examples:

 "They dove, splashed, floated, splashed, swam, snorted." (James T. Farrell, Young Lonigan)

 "He was a bag of bones, a floppy doll, a broken stick, a maniac." (Jack Kerouac, On the Road)

 "Anyway, like I was saying, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That--that's about it." (Bubba in Forrest Gump)

5. Although Catherine comments that neither Tom nor Myrtle care about the one they married, how does the reader know that that isn’t true?