The Great Gatsby Discussion Guide for Chapters 1-3
Because you were here today, this will serve as your discussion guide. WRITE YOUR ANSWERS IN YOUR NOTES.
Answer all questions. This will be your participation sheet for the day.
It might be a good idea to write in the margins of your book your answers to some of the questions (or at least
the meaning you learn by answering the questions). They will come in handy at a later date.
Tasks:
1. Describe Nick (highlight or write down the short form of quotations for support)
2. Describe Daisy Nick (highlight or write down the short form of quotations for support)
3. Describe Tom Nick (highlight or write down the short form of quotations for support)
4. Describe Jordan Baker Nick (highlight or write down the short form of quotations for support)
5. Describe George Wilson Nick (highlight or write down the short form of quotations for support)
6. Describe Myrtle Wilson Nick (highlight or write down the short form of quotations for support)
7. Read the opening two paragraphs about Nick oat the beginning of chapter 1—what does this tell us
about Nick’s family’s wealth and what they think about judging other people?
8. In the third paragraph, Nick remembers how it is that he is told secrets. What is sneaky about the way he
learns things about other people?
 Note how Nick describes himself in the first pages of the novel. He tells us that he reserves judgment in
order to show the reader that he does not intend to make Tom and Daisy look bad in order to make
Gatsby look good. By doing this, we see that he is a narrator that is full of opinions and he may not
always be telling us the truth, but rather information as he knows it.
 Another thing to notice about Nick is that he is never fully described in any detail, other than by
himself. The reason for this is that he is not the focus of the book but rather the other characters and
their relationships. So, don’t be discouraged if you are not able to fully picture Nick in your mind.
9. Also, highlight what is it that Nick says about himself at the end of chapter 3. What has he just finished
telling us about (hint: it concerns more than one woman)? What do you usually know about people who
have to tell you how good they are at something or how wonderful they are (hint: there is an old saying
that goes, People know you not by what you say, but by what you do)?
10. Daisy and Jordan Baker are introduced on page 12. Notice that they are both wearing white when Nick
meets them. Here, the color white could be used to symbolize two different things. In your books,
highlight or underline the words Fitzgerald uses to describe Daisy and Miss Jordan Baker. On your paper,
write some of the adjectives he uses (you should list at least 5).
 Analysis:
a. The color white could be used to symbolize purity or innocence, or it could be used to symbolize
coldness. Keep in mind that people wear white in the summer because it is a cool, crisp color.
White, then, can also suggest the coldness of Daisy and Jordan’s hearts.
b. We have said that one of the themes of The Great Gatsby is the cruelty and destructiveness of
the rich.
11. Now look at how Nick describes Tom Buchannan’s body on pages 10-11. In your book, high light some of
the words Fitzgerald uses to describe him. On your paper, write some of the adjectives he uses (you
should list at least 5).
 Analysis:
a. Everything about Tom suggests enormous destructive power.
b. Find at least one more quotation from Chapter One that might suggest Tom’s cruelty.
12. What happens at the end of Chapter Two that once again shows just how cruel Tom is?
13. Who is Myrtle?
14. Why does Tom do this to Myrtle? What has she brought up that upsets Tom?
15. It is very obvious that Myrtle hates her husband, George Wilson—she never has anything nice to say about
him. Does it seem that Tom also hates his wife, Daisy? Why or why not?
16. Is what Myrtle’s sister said true (the reason why Tom and Daisy are not divorced because Daisy’ s a
Catholic)? What does this tell you about Tom and his relationship with both of the women?
17. Chapter Two begins on page 23 with a description of the road between West Egg and New York. What
are the differences between West and East Egg? What type f money is in West Egg? How about East?
 Notice the images of decay in this description:
a. The area is described as a "valley of ashes" with "grotesque gardens."
b. This is not the picture of the United States that we get when we think of the "American Dream."
c. In fact, this scene would suggest the failure of the "American Dream."
18. We have already spoken about the color white suggesting purity. But what happens to white clothing
that has become old? It turns yellow because it has begun to decay. Yellow, then, symbolizes decay.
 Notice that on page 27 the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg look over the "valley of ashes" through "a pair of
enormous yellow spectacles." This suggests that the vision of America, "the American Dream" has
begun to decay.
 This also represents the idea of God to modernists. The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg look over the land as
God looks over America. How is the look described? In your book, highlight how Fitzgerald describes
the gaze Dr. T.J. Eckleburg.
a. Fitzgerald uses the glasses to represent a God that has been neglected and has neglected the
world’s people. In this description, you see a non-intrusive, dead God.
19. On page 41, Nick says that when people arrived at Gatsby’s parties, "they conducted themselves
according to the rules of behavior associated with an amusement park" (45). The idea of Gatsby’s party
being like a night at an amusement park suggest that there is something unreal about Gatsby, that his life
and his wealth are really an illusion. Highlight or underline passages in your book that you see as if they
are at an amusement park and how people are acting at this party.
20. Highlight any descriptions Fitzgerald gives by using colors (do this only for chapter 2). What do you
notice? What colors are mentioned the most? What do you think this represents?
21. Even the guests at the party suggest that there is something unreal about Gatsby by guessing at his past.
Contrast this to what the "owl eyed" man tells Nick and Jordan about Gatsby’s books. Why is the "owl
eyed" man so surprised about the books?
22. We have said that cars are also used as symbols in The Great Gatsby. Look at the discussion Nick and
Jordan have about driving cars on page 62. What is it that they are saying?
23. What is Jordan’s profession?
24. What does Nick learn about Jordan Baker concerning the convertible car incident? What other incident
does this remind him of?
25. Nick states that Jordan does not like to hang around clever men—why? What does this say about what
Jordan thinks of Nick?
 It might also interest you to know that in the 1920s, there was an automobile called a Jordan, and that
the Jordan "Playboy" was advertised as being just the right car for a sporty woman.
26. Compare the two parties—the one Tom Buchannan threw in his apartment and the one Gatsby threw at
his mansion.
27. Jordan Baker makes the comment that she “like[s] large parties…They’re so intimate. At small parties
there isn’t any privacy” (54). What is ironic about this statement? Which of the two parties are more
intimate—hint: isn’t the absence of privacy result in intimacy?