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The Great Gatsby Text Analysis – Chapter I
Directions: Answer the following questions WITH TEXTUAL EVIDENCE After you answer the
questions, choose a quote (or more if instructed) from the chapter and analyze it by explaining why it is important to the context of the chapter and to the novel as a whole.
1. Notice how many times Fitzgerald uses the words “hope” and “dream.” Why does he do this?
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2. Nick starts the novel by relaying his father’s advice that “whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (1). List Nick’s advantages.
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3. Pay attention to time. What is the day and year during the opening of the book compared to the scene at Tom’s and Daisy’s house?
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4. Describe Nick. What facts do you know about him, and what can you infer about him? What kind of a narrator do you think he will be?
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5. What image does the author use to describe Jordan Baker? What does this image show us about Jordan? Why did he choose to use this image?
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6. How does Nick initially react to Jordan? Does his perception of her change throughout the chapter? Why or why not?
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7. What does Tom’s behavior reveal about his character?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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8. Nick says that the environment of the place where he lives gives him “that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer” (4). What could this be symbolic of? Nick’s environment has been compared to the Biblical Garden of Eden, which exemplifies a fresh beginning. If we sustain this comparison to Eden, what do you predict will happen over the course of the novel?
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9. Daisy’s first words are: “I’m p-paralyzed with happiness” (8). What is your first impression of Daisy? Does it change over the course of the chapter? Why or why not?
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10. Notice all the references to eyes in the novel. What do a person’s eyes say about him or her? How does Nick describe Daisy’s and Jordan Baker’s eyes?
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11. Daisy hopes her daughter will be a fool. She says, “That’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (17). At this point in the novel, what do you think Daisy could be saying about the role of women in the 1920s?
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12. Tom and Daisy’s home is crimson and white. Using knowledge of color symbolism, what could these two colors symbolize or tell us about their marriage?
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13. The tile of this novel is, The Great Gatsby, yet this character only has a brief cameo at the end of this chapter. What is he doing in that scene? What does Nick deduce that Gatsby is reaching out for? Why would Fitzgerald choose to not show us the title character until the end of the chapter and why does he not have a more integral role yet?
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11. If you could give this chapter an official title, what would you choose? Why would this be an appropriate title for this chapter?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Quote: “___________________________________________________________________________________________________
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What is the significance of this quote? Why is it important?
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The Great Gatsby Text Analysis – Chapter II
Directions: Answer the following questions WITH TEXTUAL EVIDENCE. After you answer the
questions, choose a quote (or quotes if instructed) from the chapter and analyze it by explaining why it is important to the context of the chapter and to the novel as a whole.
1. Describe the “valley of ashes” (23). What does it look like? What could this represent knowing the historical context of the 1920s?
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2. Describe Mr. Wilson and Myrtle. Where do they live? Do they seem to fit into the setting in which they live?
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3. What more have you learned about Nick in this chapter? Is he similar or different than the people he spends his time with?
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4. What appears out of nowhere in the valley of ashes? Why is this significant, and what might it (they) symbolize?
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5. Nick says, “I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon” (29). If Nick is drunk at this time, can we really be certain that everything Nick tells us about the day is accurate?
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6. Catherine tells Nick that she had attended one of Gatsby’s parties. What does this seem to imply about Gatsby and his popularity?
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7. Catherine confides to Nick that “neither one of them can stand the person they’re married to” (33). At this point in the novel, do you believe this is true or false?
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8. What seemed to be a great disappointment for Myrtle concerning her marriage to George? What does her reaction to the episode tell you about where she places her values?
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9. Describe the violent act Tom commits against Myrtle. What does this reveal about both characters?
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10. At the end of the chapter, Nick’s drunkenness increases to the point of utter confusion. Is Nick truly aware of everything that happens toward the end of the evening?
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11. If you could give this chapter an official title, what would you choose? Why would this be an appropriate title for this chapter?
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What is the significance of this quote? Why is it important?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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What is the significance of this quote? Why is it important?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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The Great Gatsby Text Analysis – Chapter III
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Directions: Answer the following questions WITH TEXTUAL EVIDENCE. After you answer the
questions, choose a quote (or quotes if instructed) from the chapter and analyze it by explaining why it is important to the context of the chapter and to the novel as a whole.
1. Pay attention to Nick’s judgments. What do they reveal about his character that he does this (especially in relation to his opening comments in the chapter)?
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2. Describe Gatsby the first time Nick sees him in this chapter._________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. What rumors have been told about Gatsby? Why does Fitzgerald reveal rumors rather than fact? What does this tell us about the 1920s?
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4. What does Nick think of Gatsby after meeting him?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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5. How is Gatsby different from his guests?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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6. Nick thinks that he (Nick) is one of the few truly honest people he knows. Why? Do you think he is honest? What does this say about the people he is surrounded by in East Egg and West Egg?
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7. Catherine tells Nick that she had attended one of Gatsby’s parties. What does this seem to imply about Gatsby and his popularity?
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8. What arrives at Gatsby’s every Friday? What happens to it on Monday? What causes this?
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9. Nick calls the groups of people, “swirls and eddies of people I didn’t know” (42). What could he mean with this metaphor?
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10. Several women at the party recognize and seem to have met Jordan at some of Gatsby’s other parties. What does Jordan’s inability to recognize or remember these people say about the relationships established at these lavish parties? What is ironic about that?
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11. What is the owl-eyed man in the library most surprised about? What does his astonishment tell you about the society of the day?
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12. Gatsby receives a message from his butler that “Chicago is calling on the wire” (48). Based on prior knowledge of Chicago and the 1920s, what might you assume about Gatsby?__________________________________________________________________________
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13. What causes Nick to remember a story about Jordan’s past? What about her past nearly reached a scandal?
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14. If you could give this chapter an official title, what would you choose? Why would this be an appropriate title for this chapter?
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What is the significance of this quote? Why is it important?The Great Gatsby Text Analysis –
Chapter IVDirections: Answer the following questions WITH TEXTUAL EVIDENCE. After you answer the
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questions, choose a quote (or quotes if instructed) from the chapter and analyze it by explaining why it is important to the context of the chapter and to the novel as a whole.
1. List all of the rumors told about Gatsby._________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. Why does Fitzgerald list all of Gatsby’s party guests? What could this be an allusion to, and how can it also be an example of irony? (hint: the Bible)
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3. What does Gatsby tell Nick about his life? Do you believe Gatsby? Why or why not? Does Nick believe Gatsby? Why or why not?
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4. What role does Meyer Wolfsheim play in the novel? Why is there so much focus on his nose (hint: stereotypes), and what does that tell you about Fitzgerald’s political and personal beliefs?
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5. What does Jordan’s story of Daisy’s marriage reveal about Daisy? Why do you think she did not wait for Jay? What does this say about the time period of the novel?
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6. Why did Gatsby want Daisy to see his house? What then, in addition to the green light, was Gatsby reaching out to and trembling for at the end of Chapter I?
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7. Nick says, “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired” (79). What does Nick mean? How does each character in the novel fit into this schema?
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8. In 5 – 8 sentences, describe the flashback that Jordan tells Nick on pages 74 – 77.
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9. What does Gatsby’s car symbolize? This is foreshadowing and a motif in the novel. What did the automobile represent during this time period? Think back to the car incident in Chapter III.
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10. The word, “fay,” is synonymous to “fairy.” Daisy’s maiden name symbolizes her free spirit. What color do we seem to most often associate with Daisy? Why?
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11. What phrase rings in Nick’s ears? Translate that phrase to mean something to you.
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12. If you could give this chapter an official title, what would you choose? Why would this be an appropriate title for this chapter?
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What is the significance of this quote? Why is it important?The Great Gatsby Text Analysis –
Chapter V
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Directions: Answer the following questions WITH TEXTUAL EVIDENCE. After you answer the
questions, choose a quote (or quotes if instructed) from the chapter and analyze it by explaining why it is important to the context of the chapter and to the novel as a whole.
1. Why does Gatsby deliver so many goods and services to Nick’s house? Why might Gatsby want to meet Daisy at Nick’s house and nowhere else?
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2. Describe the effect of rain to the plot. Focus specifically on the imagery used.
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3. Why does Gatsby offer Nick work? How does Nick feel about this?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. Explain the significance of the green light._________________________________________________________________________________________
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5. Why does Gatsby get so many phone calls? What does this say about him?
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6. What colors make up Gatsby’s attire? What do these colors symbolize?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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7. What surprises Nick on his reentry into his living room? What description does Nick give of Gatsby standing at his door? Can you relate to this, and it is an accurate description?
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8. What is the atmosphere in the room when Daisy and Gatsby first reunite? What change occurs in Daisy’s character upon Nick’s reentry into his house? What change has occurred in Gatsby’s character upon Nick’s reentry into his house?
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9. What, according to Nick, are Americans occasionally willing to be? What does he mean by this statement? Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?
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10. A house and especially a bedroom is supposed to be a true revelation of who you are. Why is Gatsby so insistent on Daisy seeing both the outside and inside of his house? What does Gatsby’s bedroom say about him?
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11. What happens to Daisy when Gatsby threw the shirts down from his upper bedroom? Daisy justifies this action by saying, “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such – such beautiful shirts before” (92). Why is she really doing this action?
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12. Nick says, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbles short of his dreams – not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (95). Has Gatsby made Daisy out to be more than she really is?
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13. We don’t know what happened in the exchange between Gatsby and Daisy while Nick stands in the rain outside of his home. What things do you believe might have been said? Remember, Nick returns to find Daisy’s face streaked with tears.
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14. If you could give this chapter an official title, what would you choose? Why would this be an appropriate title for this chapter?
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Quote: “____________________________________________________________________________
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What is the significance of this quote? Why is it important?
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The Great Gatsby Text Analysis – Chapter VI
Directions: Answer the following questions WITH TEXTUAL EVIDENCE. After you answer the
questions, choose a quote (or quotes if instructed) from the chapter and analyze it by explaining why it is important to the context of the chapter and to the novel as a whole.
1. How truthful was Gatsby when he relayed the story of his life to Nick? Why does Fitzgerald wait until this point of the story to tell the story of Jay Gatz?
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2. Describe the meeting of Tom and Gatsby. What does this meeting reveal about them? How does it correlate with their meeting earlier in the novel?
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3. When Nick tells Gatsby, “You can’t repeat the past” (110), Gatsby replies with, “Why of course you can” (110). Do you agree with Nick or with Gatsby? Why?
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4. In 5 – 8 sentences, tell the story of Gatsby’s life by answering the following questions:
a. What was Gatsby’s legal name?b. At what age did he change his name?c. What event initiated the changing of his name?d. Who created Jay Gatsby?e. What had James Gatz been doing before he met Dan Cody?
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f. What was James Gatz’s financial state?g. What does Gatsby do for Dan Cody?h. What happens to Dan Cody?i. What does Cody leave to Gatsby? Why does he not get it?
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5. What does Dan Cody’s yacht represent to Gatz?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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6. What adjectives does Fitzgerald use to describe Tom’s eyes? What do these word choices reveal about Tom’s character?
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7. What does Gatsby say about Daisy’s opinion of the night after the party? What does Gatsby want of Daisy? What does he plan to do to gain her favor?
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8. Why is it so important for Gatsby to impress Daisy? What does this say about her character, his character, and the time of the 1920s?
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9. If you could give this chapter an official title, what would you choose? Why would this be an appropriate title for this chapter?
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The Great Gatsby Text Analysis – Chapter VII
Directions: Answer the following questions WITH TEXTUAL EVIDENCE. After you answer the
questions, choose a quote (or quotes if instructed) from the chapter and analyze it by explaining why it is important to the context of the chapter and to the novel as a whole.
1. Describe Daisy’s and Gatsby’s new relationship. What do they have to do to be together?
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2. Compare George Wilson with Tom Buchanan. What does each man learn about his wife, and how do they react?
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3. Describe the fight between Gatsby and Tom. What do these men think of each other? How are they similar, and how are they different?
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4. What was significant about Nick’s 30th birthday? How does he feel about it?
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5. Do you think that Tom knew Daisy was driving the “death car”? Why or why not?
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6. As a class, we will look at Trimalchio, the protagonist of the story, Satyricon, by Petronius. Compare this protagonist to Jay Gatsby.
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7. Nick says, “So the whole caravansary had fallen in like a card house at the disapproval in her eyes” (114). Why has Gatsby made all of these changes in his home?
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8. What simile does Fitzgerald use to describe how Daisy and Jordan are laying on the couch? What colors are mentioned? What is important about these colors?
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9. Gatsby stands on the crimson carpet as he learns that Tom is in the house. What might the color of the carpet and the placement at his feet symbolize?
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10. Jordan says, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall” (118). How is Jordan’s statement ironic? (Hint: think about what happens in nature in autumn.
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11. What does Gatsby recognize Daisy’s voice as being full of? What does this say about Daisy’s character?
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12. Who is Myrtle really watching from the window? Whom does she believe this person to be? Why does it upset her about whom she is with and where they are going?
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13. What is happening beneath the parlor suite at the Plaza Hotel as Tom’s and Daisy’s marriage is dissolving? What literary device is being employed here?
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14. What, specifically does Gatsby want Daisy to tell Tom? What confuses Gatsby about Daisy’s love for him? What can Daisy not say about her love for Tom? Why does this shock Gatsby so much?
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15. Why does Fitzgerald write about Gatsby’s outburst as being the equivalent of “him killing a man” (134)? What does this mean for his future with Daisy? Why?
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16. Once again, we have the possible allusion to the Garden of Eden. Nick notices in Gatsby’s face “the babbled slander of his garden” (134). What has happened to Gatsby’s dream?
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17. What adjective does Fitzgerald use to describe Gatsby’s dream? Why is this adjective so appropriate to the story?
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18. Why is there so much detail given about Myrtle and her running into the street? Do you think she subconsciously wanted to die? Why or why not?
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19. A “well dressed Negro” (139) identifies the car which killed Myrtle. What color does he say the car is? Using inference skills, who are the two possible murderers?
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20. Who was driving the “death car”? How does Gatsby describe Myrtle’s approach to the car?
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21. Fitzgerald writes, “They weren’t happy, and neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale – and yet they weren’t unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together” (145). Now, think about these words carefully. Do Tom and Daisy love each other? Explain your answer in detail.
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22. If you could give this chapter an official title, what would you choose? Why would this be an appropriate title for this chapter?
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23. In the lines below, write your own ending to The Great Gatsby. Why would you end it like this?
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What is the significance of this quote? Why is it important?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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The Great Gatsby Text Analysis – Chapter VIII
Directions: Answer the following questions WITH TEXTUAL EVIDENCE. After you answer the
questions, choose a quote (or quotes if instructed) from the chapter and analyze it by explaining why it is important to the context of the chapter and to the novel as a whole.
1. How does Fitzgerald achieve a melancholic mood in the beginning of this chapter?
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2. How are seasons used in constructing this novel?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. How does Nick’s statement to Gatsby that he is “worth the whole damn bunch put together” (154) show a change in Nick from the beginning of the novel?
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4. How does T.J. Eckleberg affect George Wilson? What does this advertisement represent, and why is that ironic given where the advertisement is located?
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5. What increases Daisy’s value in Gatsby’s eyes?
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6. When does Gatsby find out that Daisy has moved on? How does she notify him?
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7. Who is Michaelis, and how does he advance the plot in this chapter? _________________________________________________________________________________________
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8. Michaelis tells George, “You ought to have a church, George, for times like this” (157). How is this, and George’s reply, a commentary on the morals of this society?
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9. What does George find that proves to him that Myrtle was cheating? Why is this symbolic of the relationship they had and the extra-marital affair that Myrtle had with Tom?
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10. What does Gatsby do that he hasn’t done all summer?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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11. What happens between George and Gatsby? What completed George’s “holocaust” (162)?
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12. In literature, water can symbolize many things. It most often symbolizes baptism, a cleansing, and a rebirth. Gatsby has “paid a high price for living too long with a single dream” (161). What could his death in a pool of water signify about the man and his life?
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13. What could the pool raft that Gatsby is lying on when he is shot represent? Why is this significant?
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14. If you could give this chapter an official title, what would you choose? Why would this be an appropriate title for this chapter?
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Quote #1: “____________________________________________________________________________
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What is the significance of this quote? Why is it important?
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The Great Gatsby Text Analysis – Chapter IX
Directions: Answer the following questions WITH TEXTUAL EVIDENCE. After you answer the
questions, choose a quote (or quotes if instructed) from the chapter and analyze it by explaining why it is important to the context of the chapter and to the novel as a whole.
1. Why did Nick take care of Gatsby’s funeral?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. How was Jay Gatz’s childhood schedule consistent with the adult Gatsby’s behavior?
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3. Who attended Gatsby’s funeral? How and why is this significant? What does this say about the culture and people of this time?
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4. What is the purpose of Nick’s last meeting with Jordan?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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5. What do we find out Tom said to George? Why did he tell him what he did? What does this say about Tom and the ideology of the people during this time?
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6. How does Tom act when he runs into Nick for a last time? What happens to Tom and Daisy? Why does Nick call Tom and Daisy “careless people” (179)?
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7. What four adjectives does Nick use to describe the newspaper reports of Gatsby’s and Wilson’s deaths?
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8. What literary device explains this situation: Gatsby, a man who was always surrounded by people, dies with only Nick at his side.
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9. Who is Henry C. Gatz? Why is his appearance at this point in the novel so poignant and tragic?
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10. What rule does Wolfsheim live by concerning friends?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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11. What does Nick identify the middle-west as being to him?_________________________________________________________________________________________
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12. Nick says, “I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all – Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly inadaptable to Eastern life” (176). What does Nick mean by this observation?
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13. What does Nick believe Gatsby believed in? What meaning did the green light hold for Gatsby?
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14. Explain what Nick means by his closing statement: “Tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…And one fine morning – So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (180).
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15. If you could give this chapter an official title, what would you choose? Why would this be an appropriate title for this chapter?
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The Great Gatsby Text Analysis – Post-ReadingDirections: Answer the following questions WITH TEXTUAL EVIDENCE. After you answer the
questions, choose a quote (or quotes if instructed) from the chapter and analyze it by explaining why it is important to the context of the chapter and to the novel as a whole.
1. Does this novel have heroes and villains? Why or why not? If yes, who fits into these categories and why?
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2. Discuss Nick Carraway’s character. How reliable is he as a narrator? What aspects of his character make him an effective narrator?
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3. Why are we still reading a book written in the 1920s? What gives this book its longevity?
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4. An epigraph is a quotation at the beginning of a work that reflects on that work. How does the epigraph to the novel reflect on Gatsby’s story?
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5. How does Fitzgerald use Gatsby’s parties to present a satirical portrait of the Roaring Twenties?
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6. How would you describe the theme of this novel?_________________________________________________________________________________________________
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7. Gatsby’s tragedy is that he chooses the wrong dream (Daisy). Has he been corrupted by society, or is his choice an indication that he is part of the corruption?
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8. One critic has written that “the theme of Gatsby is the withering of the American Dream.” What evidence is there from the novel which supports this contention?
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