THE GREAT GATSBY STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Explain Nick Carraway’s conflict and how it is resolved.

2. Give examples of Nick’s morality and conservatism in the book

3. Describe Daisy Fay Buchanan. How did Gatsby meet her and why is he so attracted to her?

4. When, how, and why does Jimmy Gatz get the name of Jay Gatsby?

5. Explain Jay Gatsby’s conflict and how it is resolved.

6. Compare and contrast East Egg and West Egg.

7. Who is Meyer Wolfsheim?

8. There are many parties in the book. Describe each of them and explain how each of them ends.

9. What is the Valley of Ashes and how is symbolic? Contrast the description of it to the description of New York City.

10. Who is T.J. Eckelberg? What is his significance to the novel?

11. Describe Myrtle Wilson and what happens to her.

12. What is the significance of automobiles to the story?

13. Compare and contrast Tom Buchanan and George Wilson.

14. Why is Gatsby never really corrupted by his money?

15. How does Nick judge Gatsby at the end of the book and why is it significant?

16. Describe Jordan Baker. How does Nick set things right with her before he leaves New York. Why is this important to him?

17. What is ironic about the fact that it is Wilson that murders Gatsby?

18. Describe Gatsby’s funeral. Why does it help to convince Nick he has made the correct decision about returning to the Midwest?

19. What does Fitzgerald say about the American Dream in the novel?

20. Are there any parallels in the book between any of the characters and Fitzgerald and/or Zelda?

21. What things are learned through flashback in the novel?

22. How is the plot unified in spite of the many plots/sublplots and various flashbacks?

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUIZ

1. Nick Carraway was born --
A. in the Northeast
B. in the Midwest
C. in the South

2. The character who first appears "in riding clothes... standing with his legs apart on the front porch" is --
A. Gatsby
B. Tom Buchanan
C. George Wilson

3. The pretentious expression, "I'm p-paralyzed with happiness," is spoken by --
A. Jordan Baker
B. Daisy Buchanan
C. Gatsby

4. James Gatz is --
A. Daisy's cousin
B. Gatsby's piano player
C. Gatsby's real name

5. Nick Carraway recalls a story which implied that Jordan Baker once --
A. betrayed a close friend
B. stole some money
C. cheated at golf

6. Gatsby shows a police officer --
A. a fifty dollar bill
B. a Christmas card from the police commissioner
C. the damage done to the front fender of his car

7. The character who hangs up the phone in Nick's ear "with a sharp click" is --
A. Gatsby
B. Tom Buchanan
C. Jordan Baker

8. When Nick tells Gatsby, "You can't repeat the past," Gatsby replies --
A. "Of course you can."
B. "After all I've done? That's nonsense."
C. "I'd never thought of that before, Old Sport."

9. Doctor T. J. Eckleburg becomes a symbol of --
A. Gatsby's "romantic readiness"
B. Nick's friendship for Gatsby
C. the lack of morals prevalent in the East

10. Myrtle Wilson's nose is broken by --
A. Gatsby
B. Tom Buchanan
C. George Wilson

11. The expression "and the holocaust was complete" refers to --
A. Myrtle's death
B. George Wilson's death
C. Gatsby's death

12. Nick left his home to come to New York in an effort to --
A. make money
B. meet new people
C. locate Gatsby

13. The character who has "one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four of five times in life" is --
A. Daisy Buchanan
B. Gatsby
C. Jordan Baker

14. The character who, according to Gatsby, "fixed the world series" is --
A. Wolfsheim
B. Klipspringer
C. Owl Eyes

15. Apparently, most of Gatsby's money, has come from --
A. drug sales
B. bootlegging
C. bond investments

16. When Myrtle Wilson is killed, the car that hit her was driven by --
A. Gatsby
B. Daisy
C. Tom

17. "The promise of a decade of loneliness" is sensed by --
A. Nick
B. Gatsby
C. Dan Cody

18. The most significant change in Daisy's life since before the war is that she now --
A. has a child
B. loves Gatsby
C. likes having money

19. "That ashen, fantastic figure gliding toward him through the amorphous trees" is --
A. George Wilson
B. Gatsby
C. Tom Buchanan

20. A symbol of the human capacity for hope is --
A. Gatsby's immense mansion
B. the green light at the end of Daisy's dock
C. Owl Eyes

ANSWER KEY

1.) B

2.) B

3.) B

4.) C

5.) C

6.) B

7.) C

8.) A

9.) C

10.) B

11.) B

12.) A

13.) B

14.) A

15.) B

16.) B

17.) A

18.) A

19.) A

20.) B

Privacy Policy
All Content Copyright©TheBestNotes. All Rights Reserved.
No further distribution without written consent.
212 Users Online | This page has been viewed 24732 times
This page was last updated on 5/11/2008 8:46:36 PM