The Great Gatsby Socratic Seminar Questions
Name
1.
For 1-19, answer EIGHT in detail (be able to respond thoughtfully to the rest). Questions 19-21, answer TWO in detail.
For the Socratic seminar, be prepared to discuss and debate your ideas with the rest of the class.
Remember you must be able to support all statements with evidence from the novel.
Do you think Jay Gatsby was a “good guy” with morals? Explain.
2.
If Jay Gatsby came from a wealthy family, how would the story have been told differently?
3.
What do you think Nick actually thought of Gatsby? Explain.
4.
Would you like to have a friend like Gatsby? Why or why not?
5.
What do you think would have happened if a car had not hit Myrtle? Would Tom have continued his affair with Myrtle?
Would Gatsby and Daisy have gotten married? Justify your response.
6.
What do you think would have happened between Gatsby and Daisy if Nick didn’t live next door to Gatsby? Do you
think Gatsby and Daisy would have eventually met? Should Nick have agreed to the meeting?
7.
Gatsby dropped out of college because he felt that being a janitor to pay for college was beneath him. Could you
work at a job that you thought was beneath you if it meant you could earn a college degree? Explain.
8.
If Gatsby’s gardener had closed up Gatsby’s pool as planned, do you think Gatsby might have lived?
9.
Do you think Gatsby really loved Daisy? Explain.
10.
Do you think that perhaps Daisy is in some way responsible for Gatsby’s death? Why/why not?
11.
What is the significance of the novel’s title? Is Jay Gatsby truly great? Is he “worth the whole damn bunch put
together?”
12.
If you were to select one passage from the novel to represent one of the five major characters (Gatsby, Nick, Daisy,
Tom, or Jordan), which passage would best reflect that character’s personality and why?
13.
How is marriage depicted in the novel? How successful is the marriage between Daisy and Tom Buchanan? What
about the marriage between Myrtle and George Wilson?
14.
Compare Tom Buchanan’s relationship with his wife, Daisy, to his relationship with Myrtle Wilson. What does he want
from each woman? Be careful, does he love either of them?
15.
What is Gatsby’s dream? Does he ever see Daisy as she really is?
16.
How does Fitzgerald relate Gatsby’s dream to the American Dream? What seems to be his message about the
American Dream as expressed in the last two paragraphs of the novel?
17.
What does the novel say about materialism? What, if any, are the similarities between the 1920s American society and
the 21st Century American society with regard to materialism?
18.
Some critics suggest that although Gatsby is the principal figure in the action of the novel, Nick is the most significant
character because of his moral development. Exactly what does Nick learn from his experiences in the East?
CLOSING QUESTIONS
19. The critic Sven Birkerts says that the novel is about “disillusionment and hope.” What do you think?
20. Gatsby shows Daisy his mansion and his possessions, especially his shirts, to try to prove that with his current wealth he is
worthy of her. In what ways do people today try to impress others with material possessions? What things are considered
impressive? What do you think of impressing others through the acquisition of material goods? How is society affected by this
use of possessions?
21. James Miller writes, “Although The Great Gatsby is much more than a book about the 1920s, it remains solidly based in the
era and place that gave it birth. But it is not only based there: it also provides, in some sense, a commentary on our times.”
Birkerts maintains that “if the novel is indeed a cautionary tale, then it is really cautioning us against selling ourselves short,
against turning in fear or disappointment form the lyrical call of our nature. Gatsby was not a fool for dreaming, only for not
knowing how dreams intersect with realities.” Can you think of a time when you or somebody you know sold him or herself
short, did not pursue a dream for some reason? What was the dream? In what ways was the dream not acted upon? What
were the factors that kept the dream from being fulfilled?