The Great Gatsby – Luke's Online Journal

Chapter 1

Nick states that he is ‘inclined to reserve all judgments’ at the beginning of the chapter. What does this mean? How does this set him up to reliably tell the story? If Nick is reserving all judgments, this means he should have no bias on how he tells the story, and it should be mostly accurate to what really happened.
Describe your initial impressions of the following characters:

Nick: Quite a normal man, who is quiet and thoughtful
Tom: Loud, rude, and wealthy
Daisy: Sweet but seems unhappy on the inside
Jordan (Miss Baker) : More reserved and mysterious
Explain the relationship between Daisy and Tom. Explain what seems ‘wrong’ with their marriage. Tom seems controlling over Daisy, and it looks like Daisy doesn’t really love Tom.

Chapter 2

How does the scene at the apartment develop our perception of Tom? Tom is a wealthy party goer, who is having an affair with his wife, and isn’t a very good person in general.
Nick states that he “was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” What do you think he means by this? i think Nick meant he was fascinated by this type of lifestyle and enjoyed the fun moments it had, but at the same time was put off by the consequences of living like this.

The Valley of ashes

“…the motor road hastily joins the railroad… so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. This is a valley of ashes – a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens: where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of ash grey men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.”

Valley refers to ashes surrounding the place. Desolate and isolated. Poverty growing here. Lower class lives here. Ashes might be a metaphor for the lower class citizens as they are discarded and seen as useless.

“East egg condescending to West egg, and carefully on guard against its spectroscopic gaeity.”

Old money looks down on new money. New money flaunts wealth. Spectroscopic range of coloured light. Gaeity happy carlesss.

Chapter 4

Who is Meyer Wolfsheim and what do we know about him? Meyer Wolfsheim is a gambler who rigged the 1919 baseball world series.
What is weird about Nicks drive into New York with Gatsby? The drive is weird because Gatsby is constantly trying to tell Nick about his life and showing him evidence to support him as if he was lying. He also made a comment about he was from the middle west, San Fransisco specifically which is not in the middle west.
Do you think Daisy was genuinely interested in Gatsby? I do and I think the only reason they didn’t get married is that Gatsby had to go to war, and Daisy met and married Tom Buchanan instead.
What does Nick now realize about that night and about Gatsby’s house? Nick now realizes that Gatsby only bought that house to be across the bay from his love, Daisy Buchanan. When Nick saw Gatsby shining the green light towards Daisy’s house, it symbolized his dream of one day being with her again.

Chapter 5

Describe Gatsby’s feelings toward the meeting with Dasiy. Find two quotes to support your description. Explain why he might be feeling the way you have identified. Gatsby was extremely nervous just before Daisy arrived here are some quotes to support this: “I went out and opened it. Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes.” “He got up and informed me, in an uncertain voice, that he was going home.”
A new symbol becomes apparent in this chapter. Find three quotes which mention rain, the ocean, mist or water of some kind. Write them down and consider what connection they might have to Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship. It shows how Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship may seem to be getting better but eventually gets back to a stale reality that is it will always leave and return like the rain.
Discuss the connection between Gatsby and the clock that he breaks on the mantelpiece. A quote to help you understand this might be “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. Now, in the reaction, he was running down like an overwound clock.”- Nick, chapter five. Gatsby has been focused intensely on the clock just like he has been so focused on his dream for so long and is now going downhill.
Why do you think that Gatsby wants Nick to host this afternoon tea? How important is it to Gatsby that Daisy sees his house? He wants Nick to host because he wants to ‘randomly’ see Daisy, reconnect, and show off his house next door.
Why do you think Daisy cries over Gatsby’s shirts? Because she now realizes what she missed.

“The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg Long Island, sprang from his platonic( derived from the name of famous greek philosopher that believed that ideas are separate from reality.) conception of himself(the person he created: Jay Gatsby)… he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby a seventeen – year- old boy is likely to invent, and to this conception, he was faithful to the end.

Chapter 6

Give an overview of where Gatsby came from. How different is this to the rumors that we have heard about him? How true do you think his story about the war and Oxford is now? Gatsby had humble beginnings in North Dakota where he lived with his poor family on a farm. He created a whole new identity and made some money. Find two quotes that show us Gatsby ‘reinvented’ himself. “James Gatz – that was really, or at least legally, his name. He had changed it at the age of seventeen and at the specific moment that witnessed the beginning of his career. “Consider the quote “a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy’s wing.” What do you think this has to do with the idea that you can design your own reality? How do you think this applies to Gatsby? Gatsby’s life is founded on something that isn’t real: his identity.Describe Daisy’s reaction to the party. Find two quotes to support your observation. “But the rest offended her – and inarguably, because it wasn’t a gesture but an emotion, she was appalled by West Egg.” “Lots of people come who haven’t been invited.” These quotes show that Daisy wasn’t really enjoying the party, and didn’t like the way West Egg flaunted their new money Why is it significant that Daisy says “I’m giving out green” during the party? Because Green is associated with dreams, and Gatsby has been shining a green light out to Daisy’s house at night representing his dream to be with her,

Gatsby seems to think that Nick’s opinion that “You can’t repeat the past” is insane. Find his response to this line in the novel and write it down. Why do you think he needs to hold this opinion? “Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously ” why of course you can.” Because Gatsby is in denial about the fact that he cant be with Daisy and needs to believe this to keep going with his life. Without the illusion of being with Daisy again, he has no motivation or drive.

Chapter Seven

Nick observes that “the whole caravansary had fallen in like a card house at the disapproval in her eyes.” What do you think he means by this? Note: the quote relates to Gatsby and Daisy and is near the beginning of chapter one. Daisy is unimpressed by Gatsby’s parties and isn’t enjoying herself. 2. Why do you think Fitzgerald set the events of this chapter on the hottest day of the story so far? Consider how this might connect to the water symbolism. Because water evaporates in heat and the water is the gap between Daisy and Gatsby and now it’s gone. 3. Gatsby tells Nick that “Her voice is full of money” in regards to Daisy. Explain what this means. Because green represents money and hope and Daisy’s voice is full of hope. 4. High in a white palace, the king’s daughter, the golden girl”. This line appears as Nick is describing Daisy and her voice. Why do you think it is significant? What does it tell us about her? This shows that Gatsby values Dasiy higher than anyone else. 5. Comment on the situation at the palace hotel. Do you think Daisy ever had any intention of leaving Tom? Find a quote to support your answer. ‘Not that day I carried you down from the Punch Bowl to keep your shoes dry?’ There was a husky tenderness in his tone. ‘… Daisy?’ ‘Please don’t.’ Her voice was cold, but the rancour was gone from it.’ Break down the following quotation, as we have done as a class on the board. Explain what is revealed about ‘the dream’(Gatsby and Daisy being together) in this quote.“But with every word she was drawing further and further into herself(she was removed from the room and lost in her thoughts), so he gave that up, and only the dead dream(Gatsby and Dasiy cant be together.) fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, despairingly, towards that lost voice across the room.” 7. Reflect on the death of Myrtle Wilson and think about the fact that she was killed by a member of the ‘elite upper class’. Comment on what statement Fitzgerald is making about the privilege the very wealthy believe they possess. Gatsby and Daisy believe as they are upper class they can get away with anything, even murder.

Chapter 8

Comment on your reaction to Gatsby’s story about falling in love with Daisy. I was content with the story as it all lined up and it was interesting because it wasn’t your ordinary love story.
The idea of the golden girl is developed in this chapter. Comment on how the following quotes help us to understand Daisy’s status as the golden girl of the story: 1. It excited him, too, that many men had already loved Daisy- it increased her value in his eyes” Gatsby valued things that other people liked so he was especially attracted to Daisy. 2. He knew that Daisy was extraordinary, but he didn’t realize just how extraordinary a ‘nice girl’ could be.” Gatsby always saw Daisy as a nice rich girl but she also was extraordinary (crazy/dangerous) and would ultimately lead to Gatsby’s death. 3. Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor.” Daisy is much more powerful and rich than the poor and is seen as superior. 3. Nick says to Gatsby “They’re a rotten crowd…You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” Do you agree with Nick? Explain why/why not. I do and don’t agree with Nick as I think Gatsby has better morals than the others but is clouded by his dream of being with Daisy and can do bad things. 4. Nick tells us the story of Wilson- or at least the version that the media published. In it, the symbol of the eyes is developed further. What does Wilson say to his wife about her actions? Who does he believe is judging her? Do you think that the eyes really symbolize God in this text? Wilson thinks the eyes are God and I agree the eyes symbolize God as he is watching over everything. 5. Gatsby is shot and killed in his swimming pool. Comment on the significance of this particular setting in connection to Gatsby’s death. Think about the reason that Gatsby is killed and how this might connect with what we already know about the water symbolism. It’s significant as water is a recurring metaphor throughout the book. The water, in this case, represents how Gatsby’s past has finally caught up with him and he gets killed.