SECTION B: NOVEL
Answer EITHER QUESTION 7 (essay question) OR QUESTION 8 (contextual question).
QUESTION 7: THE GREAT GATSBY ESSAY QUESTION
“Women in The Great Gatsby are consigned to minor roles, in which their major function is to entice and
subvert men.”
Comment critically on Fitzgerald’s portrayal of women in the novel.
[25]
OR
QUESTION 8: THE GREAT GATSBY CONTEXTUAL QUESTION
Read the extracts below and answer the questions that follow.
EXTRACT A
Miss Baker nodded.
“She might have the decency not to telephone him at dinner time. Don’t you think?”
Almost before I had grasped her meaning there was the flutter of a dress and the crunch of
leather boots, and Tom and Daisy were back at the table.
“It couldn’t be helped!” cried Daisy with tense gaiety.
She sat down, glanced searchingly at Miss Baker and then at me, and continued: “I looked
outdoors for a minute, and it’s very romantic outdoors. There’s a bird on the lawn that I think
must be a nightingale come over on the Cunard or White Star Line. He’s singing away ——”
Her voice sang: “It’s romantic, isn’t it, Tom?”
“Very romantic,” he said, and then miserably to me: “If it’s light enough after dinner, I want
to take you down to the stables.”
The telephone rang inside, startlingly, and as Daisy shook her head decisively at Tom the
subject of the stables, in fact all subjects, vanished into air. Among the broken fragments of the
last five minutes at table I remember the candles being lit again, pointlessly, and I was conscious
of wanting to look squarely at every one, and yet to avoid all eyes. I couldn’t guess what Daisy
and Tom were thinking, but I doubt if even Miss Baker, who seemed to have mastered a certain
hardy scepticism, was able utterly to put this fifth guest’s shrill metallic urgency out of mind.
To a certain temperament the situation might have seemed intriguing — my own instinct
was to telephone immediately for the police.
8.1
10
15
Refer to lines 1 – 2: ‘Miss Baker ... dinner time.”
Describe carefully what Jordan Baker is alluding to in these lines.
8.2
5
(2)
Carefully examine lines 3 – 4: ‘Almost before I ... back at the table.’
Discuss the appropriateness of the imagery used to describe Daisy and Tom in these lines.
(4)
8.3
Refer to line 6: ‘She sat down, glanced searchingly at Miss Baker and then at me...’
(3)
8.4
Comment critically on the friendship between Daisy and Jordan Baker, referring to the first
five chapters of the novel.
Study carefully lines 6 – 9:’ I looked ... It’s romantic, isn’t it, Tom’.
Account for Daisy’s comments in these lines.
(2)
8.5
Refer to lines 12 – 15: ‘The telephone rang … avoid all eyes.’
Discuss how the diction in these lines reveal an underlying menace in the society inhabited by
Tom and Daisy.
(4)
AND
EXTRACT B
I’ll tell you God’s truth.” His right hand suddenly ordered divine retribution to stand by.
“I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West – all dead now. I was brought up
in America but educated at Oxford, because all my ancestors have been educated there for
many years. It is a family tradition.”
He looked at me sideways – and I knew why Jordan Baker had believed he was lying. He
hurried the phrase “educated at Oxford”, or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it had
bothered him before.
And with this doubt, his whole statement fell to pieces, and I wondered if there wasn’t
something a little sinister about him, after all.
“What part of the Middle West?” I inquired casually.
AND
“San Francisco.”
“ I see.”
“My family all died and I came into a good deal of money.”
His voice was solemn, as if the memory of that sudden extinction of a clan still haunted
him.
For a moment, I suspected that he was pulling my leg, but a glance at him convinced me
otherwise.
“After that, I lived like a young rajah in all the capitals of Europe – Paris, Venice, Rome –
collecting jewels, chiefly rubies, hunting big game, painting a little, things for myself only,
and trying to forget something sad that had happened to me long ago.”
With an effort, I managed to restrain my incredulous laughter. The very phrases were worn
so threadbare that they evoked no image except that of a turbaned ‘character’ leaking sawdust
at every pore as he pursued a tiger through the Boisde Boulogne.
“Then came the war, old sport. It was a great relief, and I tried very hard to die, but I seemed to
bear an enchanted life.
8.6
Place this extract in context.
8.7
Refer to lines 2 – 4: ‘I am the son ... family tradition.’
8.8
8.9
5
10
15
20
25
(2)
Explain why Gatsby describes these details to Nick.
(3)
In your opinion, explain why Gatsby chooses to tell Nick that both his [Gatsby’s] parents are
dead (line 13).
(2)
Nick describes himself earlier in the story as someone that is “inclined to reserve all judgements”.
Using this extract, critically discuss the validity of his assertion.
(3)
[25]
TOTAL SECTION B :25
QUESTION 7
“Women in The Great Gatsby are consigned to minor roles, in which their major function is to entice
and subvert men.”
Comment critically on Fitzgerald’s portrayal of women in the novel.
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Fitzgerald portrays all of the female characters in a predominantly negative light.
He portrays women as superficial and materialistic
Daisy and Myrtle commit adultery
Daisy is unworthy of Gatsby’s dream: she is careless and self-indulgent.
Jordan Baker is a cheat and is referred to as dishonest
Myrtle is different and deserving of more sympathy than the other two, as she is a working class
victim and they are careless drivers
Myrtle is vital / energetic / passionate and wants to break out of the bleakness and hopelessness of
her husband’s world (is she not similar to Gatsby in some regards?)
Myrtle’s attempts to behave in an upper-class manner are presented as amusingly absurd
While there are patriarchal elements suggested (both Tom’s treatment of his mistress and his wife)
through the objectification of women, there is also an idealization (as seen in Gatsby’s Cinderella
dream)
This could connect with the growing emancipation of women (socially and economically)
The “girls” at Gatsby’s parties (and indeed Tom’s “my girl” in describing Myrtle) suggest an age old
myth of owning “girls” (diminutive element important here)
However, men also disempowered (Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy) (George Wilson’s loss of vitality and
loss of Myrtle to Tom) (Nick’s inability to relate to Jordan on an equal basis)
Is Fitzgerald critical of male power (Tom not described in a positive light at all) AND critical of
female complicity (seen in Daisy and Jordan)
Sadly, Myrtle’s ‘independence’ (both sexually and economically), she is still “owned” by Tom and
framed within the a marriage to George
Daisy, too, chooses to stay with Tom for financial reasons over an independent choice of being with
someone who loves her
QUESTION 8
8.1
The affair that Tom and Myrtle have in New York
As Myrtle has just phoned him during dinner time, it would suggest that the affair is open
(2)
“flutter of a dress”
dress could connect with the aura of charm; flutter suggests a quick light flapping of the wind
Daisy’s behavior very much like a flutter: nervous / restless / shallow / fickle
“crunch of boots”
onomatopoeic sound suggests heaviness and power / aggressiveness / dominance
Connects with Tom who is a bully / is aggressive / domineers over his women / controls though
economic and physical force
(4)
[Credit clear, well-substantiated responses]
8.3
Jordan and Daisy similar – they both wear white dresses at the first dinner and represent the
shallowness upper class values of the bored and the rich
Jordan speaks behind Daisy’s back
Jordan in on the affair between Gatsby and Daisy later but at this stage we will see her involvement
at
Gatsby’s party –
Jordan is a cheat and is hollow / Daisy much the same in some ways – they both don’t seem to have
much understanding or any understanding of relationships
[Credit clear, well-substantiated responses]
(3)
8.4
Daisy clearly idealizes a dream world of romantic gestures with song-like soundtracks
She is unhappy in her marriage to Tom and this sidestep from reality (Tom’s mistress is phoning
him!)
indicates her resolve to stay in a relationship because of the socio-economic status it guarantees
(2)
[Accept other valid responses]
8.5
The world in the East Egg, despite its alluring appearance, in reality is a place where unhappy
relationships (relationships as trophies) prevail:
“all subjects, vanished into air” – adultery + no real quality of dinner talk
“the broken fragments” too points at broken relationships etc
“the candles being lit again, pointlessly” indicates a lifelessness and futility ; an emptiness behind the
grand appearance of success
“the fifth guest’s metallic urgency” – despite the telephone being a status symbol, it here represents
the
connection Tom has with Myrtle (of the Valley of the ashes) and so takes on sordid connotations
[Accept other valid responses]
(4)
8.6
Nick describes a trip that he took to New York with Gatsby to eat lunch.
8.2
As they drive to the city, Gatsby tells Nick about his past
(2)
8.7
He knows that Nick is Daisy’s cousin, twice removed. He therefore knows that the
information he imparts to Nick might well reach Daisy’s ears.
Furthermore, Gatsby is well aware of the speculation and interest that surrounds him (some false,
some true) and wishes to steer Nick in a direction away from unpleasant realities.
(3)
[Look for good ideas around these points]
8.8
Firstly, he is attempting to explain where he gets his money from as Nick might wonder how he
comes to afford a mansion on West Egg. Secondly, he ensures that no-one can ever delve into his past by
asking to meet his parents or looking them up and establishing that he is a poor farm boy.
[Any ONE idea, well-substantiated should be credited]
(2)
8.9
Look for discussions around the following:
Nick acknowledges there are limits to when one reserves judgement (it can only be an ideal)
Nick IS judgemental here (look for substantiation from the text) …
The judgements remain valid: reliable and dependable in that he debates them / considers them fully
PLUS they are quite over-the-top narrations – most would respond in such a way to such descriptions
Credit clear, well-substantiated responses and accept other valid responses]
(3)