Gatsby Close-Read Answers:

Chapter 1:
1. What is the impact of Nicks fathers advice to him?
a. Page 1 turning over in my mind ever since long time for
i. meant a great deal more deeper meaning
ii. reserve all judgments which opens him up to all sorts of boring and crazy people
iii. unjustly accused of being a politician trying to please all, offend none
iv. confidences unsought not judging meant people he didnt want sharing everything with
him doing it anyway because he wont judge them
2. Describe Nicks feelings about the world when he returned from the war.
a. Page 2 - wanted the world to be in uniform orderly like during wartime
i. moral attention forever wants them to preserve their morals
ii. no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart wants no
more parties and loose morals
b. Page 3 - He feels restless - after the war, many felt this way called the lost generation
i. Nicks personalized version of the American Dream: in the Midwest, he is far away from
the area of America that is going through rapid social and economic development, which
was the East, and so he heads out in order to make a name for himself. Like him, many
thousands of people left small towns for big cities to see if they could make more money,
as money became a sizable factor in measuring success from one generation to the next.
ii. Nicks aunts and uncles werent eager for him to join the bond business and gave a
hesitant and halfhearted yes. Perhaps they are traditional Midwesterners, slightly
suspicious of the world of Wall Street (especially during the get-rich-quick 1920s).
3. What does Nick reveal about Gatsby early in the chapter?
a. Page 2 Gatsby is exempt from Nicks usual hatred of people like him inauthentic , loose
morals, undisciplined, etc.
i. Gatsby has heightened sensitivity to the promises of life romantic, the American
dream, hope for these things
ii. The foul dust that preyed on Gatsby, not the man, that depressed Nick
4. The setting includes the two islands, east and west egg. What are they, and what are the differences
between them?
a. Page 3 - The use of the word cardboard is an obvious hyperbole to emphasize the condition of
the bungalow. Also homeless people live in cardboard boxes, Fitzgerald is comparing Nicks
house to that of a homeless person. It also adds to the overall juxtaposition between Nick and Jay
Gatsby. Nick lives in a shack where Gatsby lives in a castle-like mansion.

b. Page 4 - The West and East Eggs in The Great Gatsby are fictional, but many consider Long
Island to be the basis for them. There may be some symbolism behind the name Egg. Egg
captures the spring-like newness, while also suggesting a certain sealed-off fragility. Eggs are
white (pure, innocent) on outside and yellow (danger/promise of new life) on inside

c. Page 5 - one of the strangest communities in North America because there is a unique dynamic
between the two wealthy areas. Although both areas are of the most elite and upper tier of the
upper class, one area (East Egg) is still considered superior to West Egg on the basis of the age
and social value of its wealth, while West Egg is equally as wealthy but newly so and therefore
inferior socially.

i. A clear and strange distinction between the two communities is the architecture. In East
Egg, the old wealth is in a sense symbolized by the traditional American architecture. In
West Egg, the architecture is much more flashy and European despite the fact that the
 homes are in the United States. The need to impress others with architecture typically
associated with European royalty is counterproductive to the intention of appearing to be
of old wealth.

ii. unusual formations of land. These jutted out parts of New York are unusual in their
ability to be so completely secluded to a world filled with lavish parties and nearly
immune to the troubles other people face, such as the people in the valley of ashes.

iii. great wet barnyard of Long Island Sound - Even in the 1920s, New York set trends for
the rest of America to follow. What started in Manhattan spread across the country in the
years to come. Long Island Sound more specifically, the land surrounding it, wasand
isa place for social and cultural experimentation, a wet barnyard. The world of
business was centered upon Wall Street and its affiliations. Here, people made money,
lost money, and took great risks in the bond market, rearranging the previously set social
strata. Moreover, it was a place where the American Dream was seemingly within reach.
People from different backgrounds and cultures also found their place in this crowded
world. Blacks, in some cases, were even treated as equals, a social revolution almost
unheard of a few years before.

iv. their physical resemblance must be a source of perpetual confusion to the gulls that fly
overhead - Nick suggests that in the natural and organic world, there is no difference
between East Egg and West Egg. The islands are essentially the same to birds because of
their similar physical resemblance[s]. However, in the social world, East Egg and West
Egg could not more different.

v. the less fashionable of the two West Egg, implying that old wealth or being born rich
is thought of as better. This is backwards from todays society where working and earning
your money is more respectable than inheritance. He uses the word sinister because of
people who received their money through corrupt or dishonest means.

vi. Gatsybys mansion in West Egg is a colossal affair and spanking new, but has older
looking ivy colored walls fake imitation of what he wants to be like East Egg. Ivy is
raw and only forms a thin beard, meaning its new like his money
vii. white palaces of fashionable East Egg it is more socially respected and superior
white represents the purity and innocence of the these people they dont throw flashy
parties because they dont need to show off like new money does

5. How does Nick describe Tom Buchanan, and what is the significance of what Nick reveals?

a. Page 6 one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven -Tom
Buchanan is physically a very strong and intimidating man, occupying a bully-like role in this
novel. However, this reference to his physical accomplishments and physical strength also gives
us a hint that Tom is also strong-willed and stubborn in character, much like his physique.

i. reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of
anticlimax - A traditional problem of high school/undergrad heroes and sports players
after a brief career in the limelight, everything afterwards seems pale in comparison.
 This is part of the reason why Tom cheats on Daisy: he is always looking to regain that
thrill he had in his younger days.

ii. polo ponies represent old money

iii. This was a permanent move, said Daisy over the telephone, but I didn't believe it--I had
no sight into Daisy's heart but I felt that Tom would drift on forever seeking a little
wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game Nick
believes that Tom wont stop searching and that he wont settle with Daisy like she wants
him to

iv. Fitzgeralds introduction of Tom sets the tone for what the audience is supposed to think
about him for the rest of the novel. Supercilious, arrogant, and aggressive are all
adjectives that evince Toms haughtiness, which is later revealed to stem from his firm
belief that the white race and the aristocracy are and should be at the top of the social
hierarchy. By painting Tom, the most recurrent old-wealth character in the book, as an
extremely shallow and contemptuous person, Fitzgerald is implying that the whole upper
class is guilty of these transgressions.

b. Page 7 -paternal contempt Tom likes to talk down to people/ belittle them

i. Tom Buchanans bragging on his own nice place instead of someone else complementing
it suggests that hes generally insecure. Because he lives reasonably close to the new
rich across the bay, he feels like he has to show off everything even though he comes
from old money. This might explain some of his public stunts, such as bringing a bunch
of polo ponies from Lake Forest just because. Secretly Tom isnt very sure of himself, his
image, or his status within this changing society. By complimenting himself on his own
house, he is giving himself assurance on his masculinity.

6. What is the first impression we get about Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker?

a. Page 8 - Here, Fitzgerald introduces Daisy for the first time and explicitly makes a connection
between the women and a sense of floating or flight. The weightless language such as buoyed,
fluttering, balloon, and flight suggest that the women are out of touch with reality because
their wealth does not allow them to be aware of any troubles

i. in white and motionless representing the purity of their wealth and social status as
old rich, sexual purity, and the innocence of the leisure class

7. What focus does Nick place on features or traits of Daisy? Be specific.

a. Page 8 leaned slightly forward, laughed, an absurd, charming little laugh, held my hand,
looking up into my face Daisy uses her charm and physical beauty to get attention she wants
seductive and manipulative
 i. conscientious way, which implies that all her motions are calculatedly controlled to the
point of being unnatural

ii. Fitzgerald employs adjectives connoted with daintiness and restrictiveness, such as
slightly and little, to show that all Daisys motions are attributed to the well-bred
characteristics society expects the upper class to have. Daisy is careful with her
mannerisms because the environment around her has taught her to be aristocratic, which
leaves no room for natural, emotional gestures

iii. Jordan Bakers chin raised a little shows her as feeling superior

b. Page 9 her face was sad and lovely with bright things in it, bright eyes and a bright passionate
mouth she is sad but covers it up she is seductive

8. What is the tone toward Toms questions, reading, and the phone call?

a. Page 10 This annoyed me Nick is annoyed with Tom for dismissing his bond company
because he hasnt heard of them Tom is too elitist

b. Page 12 Goddard - Odds are that the name Goddard is a combination of Madison Grant
and Theodore Stoddard, two proponents of racially discriminating - eugenics. By combining the
two, we can see that not only is Tom relatively well-read on the subject, hes also not intelligent
enough to remember their names. These books argue that mass immigration into the United
States is a peril to the white race. This was a common belief of the old money clan, that other
races and lower classes arent worthy.

c. Page 13 Scientific stuff - Tom puts all the blame for society going down the tubes on
minorities and the working class. He even says it is scientific to help give credence to his
misguided belief. But ironically, it was the rich white upper-class that really caused the loose
morals of the 1920s.

i. weve got to beat them down - Daisy is going along with Toms rant but making fun of
him at the same time. It seems like this isnt the first time shes heard him go on about
white supremacy.

ii. there was something pathetic in his concentration Nicks feelings towards Tom

d. Page 15 the telephone rings startlingly - the phone goes off while Toms mistress tries to
reach him. Everyone in the room knows what is really going on now, and it leads to a very tense
situation. Daisy usually puts up with Toms white supremacy rants and boasts about his polo
ponies. But even he knows better than to tick her off while the woman hes cheating on her with
calls him during dinner. Nick and Jordan are just the uncomfortable bystanders to Tom and
Daisys disagreement. Some people might have enjoyed watching all this tension and drama
going on, but Nick just wants to get out of there at this point.
 e. Page 17 Daisy hopes her daughter will be a beautiful little fool because she understands the
subordinate role that women especially wealthy women are expected to play. Among
other things, they are expected to quietly tolerate the extramarital affairs of their spouses. Of
course by revealing her opinion on the dynamics of gender and power, Daisy shows that she is
not the flighty fool she sometimes masquerades as.

9. What is Nicks attitude regarding wealth?

a. Page 17 - Daisys use of membership, distinguished and secret society highlights the gap
between the upper and lower social classes. Members of the lower social classes such as Myrtle
and Wilson will never become part of the aristocracy. This highlights the corruption and
hopelessness of the American Dream. Nick does not like her manipulation of him and feels like
an outsider a bit

b. Page 19 its a libel. Im too poor - The response of the narrator shows that the excessive
materialism was limited to the East Egg and that people from the Midwest lived in poverty so
much so that they couldnt afford marriage.

c. Page 20 Their interest rather touched me and made them less remotely rich nevertheless, I
was confused and a little disgusted as I drove away. Nick doesnt like the wealthy for their
ideas of superiority
10. Explain the significance of Jay Gatsbys behavior at the end of the chapter.

Page 21 - he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could
have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward and distinguished nothing except a single green
light, minute and far way, that might have been the end of a dock - This light is an important recurring symbol
in the novel. Green is often associated with envy, which makes sense considering the green light represents his
jealousy for Tom having Daisy. But the green light has most nearly come to represent the American Dream, and
the futility of chasing it. Literally, the light is located at the end of Daisy and Toms dock. And since that is all
that Gatsby can see of their house from where he is, he grows to associate that light with Daisy. The light is
often described as seeming so close, but always just out of reach, and that is also a good way of describing the
American dream itself.

Extra notes:

Chapter 1

a. page 3 -Nicks family - Nick is introducing his ancestry with a casual arrogance. The language of
this Middle Western city implies that the audiences are included in his circle, therefore are
supposedly educated, well-informed individuals worthy of his acquaintance. The specific details
about three generations, the Dukes of Buccleuch, and sent a substitute to war suggest that he
is from a family of nobility and long-lasting prosperity. However, the Carraways are at one point
immigrants to the States, and their wealth came from the development of the young country. The
 image of something of a clan actually serves to mislead their fellow Americans to respect them.
Perhaps, they believe that an image of aristocracy, founded in the classic roots of Dukes and
tradition, will levitate their social status to a more dignified class, increasing their respect within
society. When considered, however, why would an aristocratic history of old money be more
meaningful and dignified than their actual history? Why dont they reveal the true nature of their
wealth, with all the associated hard work, and with all the proven promise of the American
Dream? The contradiction between a desire for old wealth while actually possessing new
wealth surfaces numerous times.

b. When Nick says he graduated from New Haven, he really means that he went to Yale University.
He doesnt call it Yale because hes just too cool to use the mainstream name. His father went there
too, and its family legacy. Its all part of their whole faade of being old money rather than new
money.