THE GREAT GATSBY
Chapters 8 and 9 Discussion
CHAPTER 8 – SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Gatsby tells Nick he left Daisy’s house at four in the morning after she turned off the light. What
could turning off the light symbolize? (Fitzgerald 147).
“But he didn’t despise himself and it didn’t turn out as he had imagined. He had intended,
probably, to take what he could and go – but now he found that he had committed himself to the
following of a grail. He knew that Daisy was extraordinary, but he didn’t realize just how
extraordinary a ‘nice’ girl could be. She vanished into her house, into her rich, full life, leaving
Gatsby – nothing. He felt married to her, that was all” (Fitzgerald149).
What does Fitzgerald mean by “the following of a grail?”
What does Fitzgerald mean by “He felt married to her, that was all”?
Why didn’t Daisy wait for Gatsby when he went overseas for the war?
“’You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.’ I’ve always been glad I said that. It was the
only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him fro beginning to end” (Fitzgerald
154).
 Does Nick disapprove of Gatsby completely?
CHAPTER 8 – SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Do you think Myrtle was running from her husband or to the car Tom had been driving
earlier in the day?
Pgs 159-160 – What might the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg represent?
Why is it appropriate that George lives in the Valley of Ashes?
Pg 161 – What phone call is Gatsby waiting for? Why does Fitzgerald describe
George as an “ashen” figure right before he kills Gatsby?
CHAPTER 9 – SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Catherine lies to police saying Myrtle loved Wilson and never cheated on him. Nick
says this shows character. How? Is he right?
Contrast the number of people at Gatsby’s parties to the number of people who
attend his funeral. Who went to the funeral? What does this say about the people
from his parties?
Why do you think Daisy didn’t tell Tom that she was really the one driving the car
that day? Would you have told your spouse? What are the pros and cons of telling
or not telling?
In looking at the theme of materialism, do you think America’s early idealism (people
coming to America – the land of opportunity and freedom) is destroyed by its
involvement in materialism? What statement might Fitzgerald be making with the
novel?
P 180 – A FAMOUS ENDING
“And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder
when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a
long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could
hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere
back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic
rolled on under the night. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that
year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter – to-morrow
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”
(Fitzgerald 180).
What does the green light represent?
Write a theme statement for the novel. (Think about idealism, materialism, the
American Dream, love)