The Great Gatsby Test

What career does the narrator pursue after he returns from the Great War?

Bond Business

How is Gatsby FIRST introduced in the novel?

He is mentioned in a conversation between Nick and Jordan. Later that night Nick sees him on his dock reaching for something in the darkness.

What unexpected common bond do Gatsby and Nick share?

Nick and Gatsby fought in the same battle in World War I.

What kind of person is Daisy?

She’s accustomed to the finer things in life. She loves Gatsby but as soon as she discovers his success is tainted by illegal activity, she retreats back to the safety and security Tom can provide.

Nick says, “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.  It had gone beyond her, beyond everything.  He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way.” Nick’s insight suggests…

Gatsby built Daisy up in his mind so much that Daisy herself could not live up to those expectations.

Where does Nick first meet Tom’s girlfriend?

George Wilson’s garage

What word would best describe Gatsby’s initial emotions on the day he reunites with Daisy for the first time in five years?

Nervous

Gatsby tells Nick: “Can’t repeat the past? ...Why of course you can!” This demonstrates

Gatsby’s unfaltering optimism for reaching his vision.

The detailed description of the parties that happen at Gatsby’s house best serves the purpose of

revealing the extravagance, wealth, and excess that the 1920s is famous for.

In Chapter 4, as Gatsby is driving Nick in his car, the “truths” that we find out about Gatsby from Gatsby’s story about his life include…

• He studied at Oxford.

• He is the son of wealthy, deceased parents.

• He is a war hero.

What relation did Nick have to Daisy

He was Daisy’s cousin.

When did Jay Gatz change his name to Jay Gatsby?

He changes his name at 17 after meeting Dan Cody.

How does Daisy behave the night of her wedding to Tom?

She gets drunk, becomes hysterical, and almost calls off the wedding after receiving a letter from Gatsby.

In Chapter 9, why is the book that Gatsby's father shows Nick important to the novel?

It shows Gatsby's desire to get ahead and strive for improvement every day.

At the end of Chapter 8, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the expression "and the holocaust was complete" to describe Gatsby's death scene. Why does Fitzgerald most likely use the word “holocaust” to describe this scene?

The author wants to bring an image of destruction or slaughter on a mass scale because many people, hopes, and dreams have been destroyed in a short period of time.

Initially, what had the green light on the dock symbolized to Gatsby?

It stood for his vision of his future with Daisy.

A symbol for the human capacity for hope and for dreams is

the color green

East Egg and West Egg represent

People who inherited their wealth versus people who only recently came into money.

In Chapter 7, when Gatsby briefly meets Daisy’s little girl, he is somewhat unnerved. Symbolically, what does the little girl represent?

The physical proof that Daisy has built a life with Tom, making it impossible for Gatsby to fully reclaim the past.

In Chapter 8, Gatsby asks the groundskeeper not to drain the pool because he realizes the entire summer season has passed and he hasn't once taken a swim in his own pool. How is this scene symbolically meaningful?

The pool represents Gatsby’s resistance to change and his clinging to the past, even as time inevitably moves forward.

How does The Great Gatsby portray the theme of wealth and social class?

Social class divisions create barriers that cannot easily be crossed.

Which statement best represents the theme of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby?

The pursuit of the American Dream can lead to corruption and disillusionment.

When Nick says, “I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known,” what important theme is revealed in the novel?

People often fail to recognize their own hypocrisy.

Which theme from The Great Gatsby is best represented by this quote, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made…”?

Money cannot buy happiness, but it can buy the privilege of not having to face consequences.

In Chapter 6, Gatsby says, “I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before… She’ll see.” In Chapter 7, Nick observes, “Afterward [Gatsby]  kept looking at the child with surprise. I don’t think he had ever really believed in its existence before.” In Chapter 8, Gatsby says, “‘I suppose Daisy’ll call too.’ He looked at me anxiously as if he hoped I’d corroborate this.” What important theme do these instances reveal?

Obsession can lead to delusion.

“I hope she’ll be a fool--that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

Daisy Buchanan

“I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife… Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions and next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white.”

Tom Buchanan

“They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth the whole

damn bunch put together.”

Nick Carraway

“Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.”

Meyer Wolfsheim

“I married him because I thought he was a gentleman. I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe.”

Myrtle Wilson

Nick Carraway comes from this Midwestern state before moving to New York, emphasizing his outsider perspective on wealth and excess.

Minnesota