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Gatsby Study Guide/Discussion Questions
Chapter I
1. Nick Carraway is the
of the novel.
2. What advice had his father given him in his “younger and more vulnerable years”?
3. Describe Nick’s family background.
4. What are the recent events in Nick’s life that have most vividly affected his
personality? (before going East)
5. Why has Nick come East? What is he doing?
6. Where is Nick living? What are the differences between East Egg and West Egg?
Describe the geography…
7. Where do Tom and Daisy live? Describe their ‘estate’.
8. How does Nick know Tom? What kind of person is Tom? How is he described to
us? What specific words are used? (what is his history?)
9. What kind of person is Daisy? What aspects about her are paid special attention?
What is your impression? What impression are we supposed to get of her?
10. What do we learn about Tom and Daisy’s marriage? How does Daisy react to the
phone calls?
11. How is Jordan Baker described to us? How does Nick react to her? What kind of
person does she seem to be?
12. What does Daisy tell Nick about giving birth to a girl child? What does this suggest
about her views?
13. Pay attention to time… What time of year, day, etc. is it on the first night at Tom and
Daisy’s?
14. When we first see Gatsby, what is he doing? Take a guess at the meaning/purpose of
his actions.
15. How does Fitzgerald introduce the theme of superficiality? What specific instances,
people, etc. are used?
Chapter II
1. What kind of a place do you pass between while going from West/East Egg to NYC?
What is it called? Describe it.
2. Describe the billboard that presides over the valley. What might it signifiy?
3. Who are George and Myrtle Wilson? Describe them each…
4. Describe the changes in Myrtle’s personality that takes place when she goes from the
gas station to the New York apartment.
5. How does the get-together in the apartment highlight the theme of the American
Dream?
6. What reason does Myrtle give for marrying George?
7. Who is Catherine? Why, according to her, has Tom not left Daisy to marry Myrtle?
Why do you think Tom hasn’t done this?
8. What does Tom do to Myrtle when she mentions Daisy’s name? Why?
9. What does Tom’s abuse reveal about his character? How is this consistent with the
description of him in Ch. 1?
10. What more have you learned about Nick? Is he similar or different than the people
he spends his time with?
Chapter III
1. Why does Gatsby throw huge, expensive parties for people he doesn’t even know?
2. What symbolic correspondence is Fitzgerald asking us to make between the
preparations for Gatsby’s party and the arrival of the guests?
3. What kinds of people come to Gatsby’s parties?
4. What rumors have been told about Gatsby? Why does Fitzgerald reveal rumors
rather than fact?
5. Who is the ‘owl-eyed man’? What does he discover in the library that he finds
extraordinary?
6. How does Nick first meet Gatsby? Describe Gatsby the first time Nick sees him.
7. What does Nick think of Gatsby after meeting him? Do you see him as a ‘phony’?
8. How is Gatsby different than his guests?
9. Describe the accident that takes place in the driveway. What does the reactions of
the drivers suggest about the values of most of the people present?
10. What does Nick learn about Jordan after spending some time with her? What is
their relationship, and how is it changing/developing?
11. What is Jordan’s attitude about careless drivers? What does this show us about her?
12. What is the purpose of Fitzgerald including the two ‘digressions’? (Owl-eyes and
the car wreck)
13. Nick thinks he’s one of the few honest people he knows; why? Do you think he’s
honest?
Chapter IV
1. How do the names of Gatsby’s party guests reveal the type of people they are?
2. Who is Klipspringer?
3. List the rumors being told about Gatsby (look back at Ch. III also)
4. Describe the life-story that Gatsby recounts to Nick…
5. How does Nick know Gatsby is lying when he tells the story? What makes him
wonder if maybe it’s true?
6. Who is Meyer Wolfsheim? How does Nick meet him? (Why is there so much focus
on his nose? What does this tell us about Fitzgerald’s ‘politics’??)
7. What does Wolfsheim tell Nick about Gatsby?
8. What does Gatsby’s friendship with Wolfsheim imply about his own background?
9. What is Gatsby’s assessment of the type of person Jordan is? Is he accurate? Why?
10. Describe in detail the story Jordan recounts.
11. According to Jordan, what did Daisy do on her wedding day? What does this reveal
about Daisy?
12. What does Tom do when he and Daisy return from their honeymoon?
13. Why does Gatsby want to have tea in Nick’s house? Why doesn’t he ask Nick for the
favor himself?
14. Why does Gatsby want Daisy to see his house?
15. What is the essence of Gatsby’s materialistic dream? What symbolic value does
Daisy hold for Gatsby, and how is it/she the culmination of all his dreams?
Chapter V
1. What does Gatsby offer Nick in return for his cooperation in inviting Daisy to his
house?
2. Why does Gatsby send so many goods and services over to Nick’s house?
3. Describe the meeting between Gatsby and Daisy. Why is he so nervous?
4. How are Daisy and Gatsby different when Nick returns to the house after half an
hour?
5. What does Gatsby reply when Nick asks him how he makes his money? Why does
Nick find that significant?
6. Why does Gatsby want Daisy to see his house (and clothes)?
7. Why do you think Daisy sobs when Gatsby shows her his shirts? What is significant
about them?
8. What is the weather like in this chapter? How does it reflect the emotional climate
of Gatsby and Daisy?
9. In this chapter, Gatsby’s dreams seem to be fulfilled. What indications are there that
reality cannot satisfy his dream?
10. What had the green light on the dock meant to Gatsby?
11. How does Daisy begin to fail as Gatsby’s ‘dream-girl’?
12. Make some predictions about what turns you think the story will take now.
Consider all the characters…
Chapter VI
1. Why does Nick tell us the story of James Gatz now instead of earlier in the book?
2. What is the story of James Gatz?
3. Who is Dan Cody? What did he do for Gatsby?
4. How did the materialistic vision/dream get its start in Gatsby?
5. What parallel is suggested by the fact that Gatsby never got the inheritance
bequeathed to him by Cody?
6. How truthful was Gatsby when he relayed the story of his life to Nick before? Why
does Fitzgerald tell the story of Jay Gatz now?
7. What is Daisy’s opinion of Gatsby’s party? How does this affect him?
8. Describe the meeting of Tom and Gatsby. What does this meeting reveal about
them?
9. How does Gatsby measure the success of his party?
10. What does Gatsby want from Daisy?
11. What does Gatsby mean by his fierce reaction to Nick’s statement about not
repeating the past?
12. How do we see Nick’s coming to understand the totality of Gatsby’s vision? What
else is he beginning to realize about Gatsby?
Chapter VII
1. Why does Gatsby stop giving parties?
2. Why does Gatsby view Daisy’s child with surprise? Why does her appearance
(existence) disconcert him?
3. Why does Gatsby object to letting Tom drive his car?
4. What has Wilson done to Myrtle? Why?
5. Why is Myrtle upset when she sees Tom and Jordan?
6. What is Gatsby’s perception of Daisy’s relationship with Tom?
7. Why is Nick pleased with Gatsby’s honesty about Oxford?
8. What has increased Tom’s hatred of Gatsby?
9. Why does Tom’s defense of family life amuse Nick?
10. Why does Gatsby insist that Daisy say she never loved Tom?
11. Why does Tom refer to the liaison between Daisy and Gatsby in terms of
‘intermarriage’?
12. Compare George Wilson and Tom. What did each man learn about his wife, and
how did each react?
13. Why does Tom insist that Daisy and Gatsby drive home together?
14. What happens on the drive home from New York? How does Tom react?
15. Why does Gatsby take the blame for the accident?
16. Describe the fight between Gatsby and Tom. What do these men think of each
other? How are they similar? Different?
17. What do you think Tom and Daisy were saying to each other in the kitchen? Do you
think that Tom knew that Daisy was driving the “death car”? Why/Why not?
18. What is ironic about Gatsby’s watching the window for a signal, to make sure that
Tom is not abusing Daisy?
19. What is the true relationship between Daisy and Tom by the end of the chapter?
20. At this point, how would you end the novel?
Chapter VIII
1. What does Gatsby tell Nick about his past at this point? Is it true?
2. How did Gatsby deceive Daisy as a young serviceman?
3. Who is Dan Cody and what is his significance in Gatsby’s life?
4. How do you explain Gatsby’s remark about Daisy’s love for Tom being insignificant
because it was just ‘personal?’
5. According to Gatsby, why does Daisy marry Tom?
6. On this day, Nick makes a judgment of Gatsby and everyone else. What is it?
“You’re worth
.”
7. How does this statement show a change in Nick since the beginning of the novel?
8. How does TJ Eckleberg affect Mr. Wilson? To what is he referring when he says,
“God sees everything?”
9. What does Wilson believe about Myrtle’s death? Why does he think this?
10. What does Wilson do?
11. What is ironic about Gatsby’s demise?
Chapter IX
1. Why does Nick take the responsibility of taking care of all the funeral arrangements?
2. What does Nick learn when he calls Daisy to tell her the news of the death?
3. Why is the telephone call from ‘Slagle’ important? How does Nick respond to it?
4. What is Meyer Wolfsheim’s response to the happenings? What does he say about
being a man’s friend? Do you agree? Why/Why not?
5. What is the significance of Mr. Gatz’s arrival? Who is he?
6. What is the irony of Mr. Gatz’s admiration of the house?
7. What two emotions are pulling Mr. Gatz?
8. What do we learn about Gatsby’s dream-future in his ledger in the copy of the
Western novel?
9. How is the childhood schedule consistent with the adult Gatsby’s behavior?
10. Who is at Gatsby’s funeral? How is this significant? How does it make you feel?
11. What role did Tom play in Gatsby’s death? How does he feel about what he did?
12. What is the purpose of Nick’s last meeting with Jordan?
13. What does Nick say about people like Daisy and Tom? How are we to judge Nick’s
reaction to Tom and Daisy?
14. Where does Nick go after the funeral? (at the end of the novel)
15. Re-read the passage about the Dutch sailors and the boats going against the current.
What significance lies in this passage? What is Fitzgerald saying?
16. How does this book show the destructive power of the American Dream? What
other examples can you think of where a dream has corrupted a person, become
them, consumed them, etc.
17. Does this novel have villains and heroes? Who would you say are the protagonist and
antagonists? Are they people or forces? Do certain people fit into more than one
category?