"The Great Gatsby," Vocabulary from
Chapters 4-5 30 words
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April 10, 2013 By Vocabulary.com
As you read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s "The Great Gatsby," learn this word list that focuses on Gatsby and
Daisy. Here are links to all our word lists for the novel: Chapter 1, Chapters 2-3, Chapters 4-5, Chapters 67, Chapters 8-9
hospitality
kindness in welcoming guests or strangers
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
But I can still read the grey names and they will give you a better impression than my generalities of those
who accepted Gatsby's hospitality and paid him the subtle tribute of knowing nothing whatever about him.
resourcefulness
the quality of being able to cope with a difficult situation
NOTES:
Gatsby has a resourcefulness of movement that allows him to balance on the dashboard of his car, migrate
from North Dakota to New York, and transform himself from a poor soldier to a rich host. But he does not
have the inner resourcefulness to pay his way through college with janitorial duties or to earn his money
through legitimate, time-consuming work. A lucky meeting with Wolfsheim and a handsome face are the
resources Gatsby mined to become wealthy.
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He was balancing himself on the dashboard of his car with that resourcefulness of movement that is so
peculiarly American--that comes, I suppose, with the absence of lifting work or rigid sitting in youth and,
even more, with the formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games.
punctilious
marked by precise accordance with details
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
This quality was continually breaking through his punctilious manner in the shape of restlessness.
proprietor
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
So my first impression, that he was a person of some undefined consequence, had gradually faded and he
had become simply the proprietor of an elaborate roadhouse next door.
retribution
the act of correcting for your wrongdoing
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
His right hand suddenly ordered divine retribution to stand by.
sinister
stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or dishonorable
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
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.
valor
the qualities of a hero or heroine; exceptional or heroic courage when facing danger (especially in battle)
NOTES:
Gatsby's valorous actions in the war are most likely true; the fact that he carries the medal around to show it
off makes the valor seem less true. During the war, Gatsby wanted to die, yet displayed valor that killed
Germans, saved Allied lives, and earned him recognition; as a civilian, Gatsby gets his dream girl, but his
valor (in taking the wheel too late, assuming the blame for Myrtle's death, and keeping a vigil under Daisy's
window) is rewarded with abandonment and death.
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
"Major Jay Gatsby", I read, "For Valour Extraordinary".
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8.
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obscure
difficult to find
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
In a well-fanned Forty-second Street cellar I met Gatsby for lunch. Blinking away the brightness of the
street outside my eyes picked him out obscurely in the anteroom, talking to another man.
engrossed
giving or marked by complete attention to
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
They were so engrossed in each other that she didn't see me until I was five feet away.
aspire
have an ambitious plan or a lofty goal
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Then it had not been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night.
dispense
administer or bestow, as in small portions
NOTES:
Gatsby's parties did not have small portions (liquor was available from a bar and circulating trays; food was
on buffet tables and served in two suppers). In the phrase "dispensed starlight to casual moths", Nick is
emphasizing the deliberate, almost godly, way of Gatsby. The description also makes the guests seem less
like ungrateful leeches and more like carefree insects that Gatsby wanted to temporarily capture and display
to impress Daisy.
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He had waited five years and bought a mansion where he dispensed starlight to casual moths so that he
could "come over" some afternoon to a stranger's garden.
suppressed
held in check with difficulty
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He waited, looking at me with suppressed eagerness.
tactless
revealing lack of perceptiveness or judgment or finesse
NOTES:
Although Gatsby was trying to be grateful to Nick for agreeing to help him, his focus on money is tactless
because it would make Nick seem like he were pimping out his cousin Daisy. Also, if Nick had accepted
the offer, he might've ended up like Young Parke, who got picked up by the police for using stolen or
counterfeit bonds.
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
But, because the offer was obviously and tactlessly for a service to be rendered, I had no choice except to
cut him off there.
defunct
no longer in force or use; inactive
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
His head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock and from this
position his distraught eyes stared down at Daisy who was sitting frightened but graceful on the edge of a
stiff chair.
distraught
deeply agitated especially from emotion
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
His head leaned back so far that it rested against the face of a defunct mantelpiece clock and from this
position his distraught eyes stared down at Daisy who was sitting frightened but graceful on the edge of a
stiff chair.
abortive
failing to accomplish an intended result
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
His eyes glanced momentarily at me and his lips parted with an abortive attempt at a laugh.
conscientious
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27.
characterized by extreme care and great effort
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Gatsby got himself into a shadow and while Daisy and I talked looked conscientiously from one to the
other of us with tense unhappy eyes.
incredulous
not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
"She's embarrassed?" he repeated incredulously.
vestige
an indication that something has been present
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
They were sitting at either end of the couch looking at each other as if some question had been asked or
was in the air, and every vestige of embarrassment was gone.
confound
be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
But there was a change in Gatsby that was simply confounding.
exultation
a feeling of extreme joy
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and
filled the little room.
astounding
bewildering or striking dumb with wonder
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way as though in her actual and astounding
presence none of it was any longer real.
inconceivable
totally unlikely
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to
speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity.
colossal
so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever.
diminished
made to seem smaller or less (especially in worth)
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one.
defiantly
in a rebellious manner
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
There was a small picture of Gatsby, also in yachting costume, on the bureau--Gatsby with his head thrown
back defiantly--taken apparently when he was about eighteen.
gleaming
an appearance of reflected light
NOTES:
The image of Gatsby and Daisy being seen only by light that is reflected from the gleaming floor can be
interpreted several ways: 1) they chose the spot for a little privacy; 2) their relationship cannot, as with the
legally married Daisy and Tom, be framed in "a cheerful square of light"; 3) Gatsby's love of Daisy is a
reflection of his love of wealth and cannot withstand the glare of direct light.
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He lit Daisy's cigarette from a trembling match, and sat down with her on a couch far across the room
where there was no light save what the gleaming floor bounced in from the hall.
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28. bewilderment
confusion resulting from failure to understand
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
As I went over to say goodbye I saw that the expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby's
face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness.
29. vitality
the property of being able to survive and grow
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams--not through
her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion.
30. fluctuating
having unpredictable ups and downs
NOTES:
While Daisy's fluctuating voice is a deathless song that captivates Gatsby, her fluctuating nature, which
contrasts with his devotion, makes his efforts to be with her seem pointless and eventually leads to his
death.
EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
I think that voice held him most with its fluctuating, feverish warmth because it couldn't be over-dreamed-that voice was a deathless song.
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