English 11 Honors- the Great Gatsby

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English 11 Honors- The Great Gatsby Chapter 1 Discussion Questions

Directions: Use these questions to guide your reading of The Great Gatsby. As you read, answer the following questions in COMPLETE SENTENCES. Use direct support from the text as necessary.

1. What is it about Nick that makes him the logical choice to narrate the story?

2. Why does Daisy hope her child will be a “beautiful little fool”?

3. Why do you think Gatsby reaches out to the water?

4. Why does Daisy describe her youth as a “white girlhood”?

5. Nick, in the brief description of his background as a member of the Caraway family of the Mid-West, suggests that he is a product of his environment. What can you infer about his attitudes toward basic moral values?

6. How are East Egg and West Egg different?

7. In the first chapter, how is Daisy alluring? Find and cite specific evidence.

8. Describe the Buchanan marriage. 9. At the end of Chapter I, what do you know about each of the following characters?

Daisy:

Jordan:

Chapter 2 1. Why is Wilson covered in ash dust?

2. Why does Myrtle Wilson behave with such arrogance towards her husband?

3. How does Nick see himself at the apartment? Find and cite evidence which supports your answer and that supports his role as an “objective narrator.”

4. What facets of Tom’s personality are revealed in his altercation with Myrtle?

5. How is Dr. T. J. Eckleburg used in this chapter? 6. What do we learn about Gatsby in this chapter?

7. Explain what you think Fitzgerald is saying about America (circa 1920’s) by using these parties as a microcosm (a little world) of reality. Which class has the American Dream? Why?

Chapter 3 1. What is revealed when Nick says that people aren’t actually invited to Gatsby’s parties, that they “just sort of go there”?

2. Why is Jordan Baker described as “looking contemptuous”? What is the significance of Jordan’s lies?

3. Describe Gatsby’s party.

4. What is revealed about Gatsby in this chapter? What comments are made about him?

5. What is Nick’s reaction to or opinion of Gatsby at this point? How do you know? Explain.

6. What does the incident of the car in the ditch add to the impression you have about Gatsby’s guests?

7. What do you learn about cars and driving as a motif in this chapter? How does this apply to Jordan? Really explain this: think back to imagery and that particular activity. This is more—much more—than just a car accident

8. Note Nick’s final comment in the chapter. Can we accept his statement as truth?

9. What inferences can you make about Fitzgerald's opinion of society and the times? Remember the text won’t directly state it; you have to read between the lines!

Chapter 4 1. Why does Gatsby call Nick “old sport”?

2. What is significant about Gatsby’s car?

3. What do Daisy’s car and her choice of clothing reveal about her?

4. What is Nick’s opinion of Gatsby by the end of the chapter?

5. What is happening between Nick and Jordan?

Chapter 5 1. Why does Nick reject Gatsby’s offer of "employment"?

2. What hint is given of how Gatsby’s house was built?

3. Give examples of Gatsby’s displays of wealth. What is Fitzgerald doing here? 4. Why does Daisy cry over Gatsby’s shirts?

5. What is important about the green light?

6. What details foreshadow that things will not work out between Daisy and Gatsby?

7. Gatsby’s values mirror society’s values. What does Gatsby’s potential disillusionment suggest about society?

Chapter 6 1. What does Fitzgerald reveal about Gatsby’s background in this chapter? Why does he wait to tell this truth at this point in the story?

2. What parallel is suggested by the fact that Gatsby never receives the inheritance bequeathed to him by Dan Cody?

3. Compare the attitudes of Gatsby and the visiting trio, which included Tom Buchanan.

4. Gatsby imagines he saw a ladder in the sidewalk blocks outside Daisy's house. What is the significance or symbolism of this image?

5. What is the irony about Tom’s remark regarding women? 6. At Gatsby’s second party, what new opinion of East Egg does Nick develop?

7. Examine closely the ending of this chapter beginning with “He talked a lot.” What do these paragraphs tell you about the nature of Gatsby’s love for Daisy?

8. What is Nick’s reaction to Gatsby’s confession?

Chapter 7 1. What does the temperature add to Fitzgerald's story in this chapter?

2. What is the significance of Daisy’s statement, “What are we going to do with the rest of our lives?”

3. Jordan says Daisy's voice has a “hint of seductiveness.” Contrast the reactions of Nick and Gatsby to Daisy's voice.

4. What is ironic about Tom saying that he has second sight?

5. What comparison is made between Wilson and Tom?

6. Why is Nick so pleased with Gatsby’s honesty about Oxford?

7. Why does Tom refer to the liaison between Daisy and Gatsby in terms of inter-racial marriage?

8. What is the “alien but recognizable” look that comes over Gatsby’s face several times in this chapter?

9. What is significant about Nick realizing it is his 30th birthday? 10. Why does Tom insist that Daisy and Gatsby drive home together?

11. What is Nick’s attitude toward Gatsby now?

12. Why are Daisy and Tom reconciled?

13. Why is Gatsby left standing outside the mansion “watching over” nothing? Go with more than “Tom and Daisy are reconciled.” Consider his status from the beginning of the book: how was his isolation inevitable?

14. How does Nick react when he realizes Gatsby’s innocence?

Chapters 8 and 9 1. What is important about the fact that Nick takes charge of the funeral?

2. What happens to Tom and Daisy? What is Nick’s reaction to their behavior?

3. What is important about Mr. Gatz’s arrival? What are the two emotions pulling at Mr. Gatz?

4. What is the pathos (the quality or power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity or compassion) of Gatsby’s resolutions? 5. What is the importance of the owl-eyed man’s attendance at the funeral?

6. Explain Jordan’s comment about the “bad driver.”

7. How does Nick explain the tragedy as a contrast between The East and The Midwest?

8. How has Nick matured at the end of the story?