The Great Gatsby Study Guide for Academic Decathlon 2025-26

Who is the author of The Great Gatsby?

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

Where was F. Scott Fitzgerald born?

St. Paul, Minnesota

What university did F. Scott Fitzgerald attend?

Princeton University

What significant event did Fitzgerald participate in during WWI?

Joined the U.S. Army

Who did F. Scott Fitzgerald marry?

Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante from Montgomery, Alabama.

What was Zelda Sayre later diagnosed with?

Schizophrenia

What was Fitzgerald's first major work?

This Side of Paradise (1920)

What literary movement is The Great Gatsby associated with?

The Lost Generation.

What year was The Great Gatsby published?

1925

What is the setting year of The Great Gatsby?

1922

From whose perspective is The Great Gatsby narrated?

First-person limited perspective from Nick Carraway.

What is Nick Carraway's relationship to Daisy Buchanan?

Daisy is Nick's second cousin (once removed).

What is Jay Gatsby's real name?

James Gatz.

What is Gatsby's primary goal in the novel?

To win back Daisy Buchanan.

How does Daisy Buchanan's relationship with Gatsby begin?

Daisy falls in love with Gatsby in 1917 when she is an 18-year-old debutante.

What tragic event does Daisy cause in the novel?

She accidentally kills Myrtle Wilson.

What is Tom Buchanan's background?

He is Daisy's husband, a Yale graduate, inherits significant wealth, and is a competitive polo player.

What does Myrtle Wilson represent in the novel?

She is Tom's mistress and symbolizes the consequences of infidelity and the American Dream's corruption.

Who is Meyer Wolfsheim?

A shady character who helps Gatsby become wealthy and is involved in gambling.

What does Nick Carraway do for a living?

He is a bond salesman.

What is the significance of the Plaza Hotel scene?

Gatsby confronts Tom and reveals that Daisy never loved him.

What happens to George Wilson at the end of the novel?

He kills Gatsby, believing Gatsby killed Myrtle.

Who is Pammy?

Pammy is the 3-year-old daughter of Daisy and Tom.

What role does Jordan Baker play in the story?

She is Daisy's best friend and has a romantic relationship with Nick.

What does Nick think of Gatsby by the end of the novel?

He admires Gatsby's hope and dreams despite the tragic outcome.

Who is Chester McKee?

A guest at Tom and Myrtle's party, photographer, known for a portrait of Myrtle's mother and for having a spot of shaving cream on his face.

What is Lucille McKee's notable characteristic?

Described as 'shrill, languid, handsome, and horrible,' she brags about her husband photographing her and makes an anti-Semitic remark.

Who is Owl Eyes?

A man in Gatsby's library who is amazed that Gatsby's books are real and is a passenger in a car crash at the end of Gatsby's party.

What role did Dan Cody play in Gatsby's life?

Gatsby's mentor for five years aboard his yacht, Tuolomee, who made his fortune in mining and left his wealth to his lover, Ella Kaye.

What did Ella Kaye inherit?

She inherited Dan Cody's millions, although Gatsby was supposed to inherit $25,000.

Who is Henry C. Gatz?

Gatsby's father from Minnesota, one of the few attendees at Gatsby's funeral.

What is Ewing Klipspringer's nickname?

Known as the 'boarder' because he is frequently at Gatsby's mansion and is a piano player.

What was Mrs. Eberhardt's profession?

She was a pedicurist who charged a high fee for looking at Myrtle's feet.

What does the chauffeur in robin's-egg blue do?

Delivers Gatsby's invitation to Nick to his party.

Who is the girl from Jersey City?

She works at Probity Trust in the accounting department and has a short affair with Nick.

What story does Katspaugh relate?

Wolfsheim tells a story about handing him money.

Who is Ferdie?

Daisy's chauffeur who drives her to Nick's house.

What is Sloan's relationship to Tom?

Sloan is a friend of Tom who rode to Gatsby's with him and a young woman.

What happens with the pretty woman in a brown riding habit?

She invites Gatsby and Nick for dinner, but Sloan refuses to allow it.

Who is Slagle?

One of Gatsby's business associates from Chicago who calls after Gatsby's death.

Who is Young Parke?

An associate of Gatsby and Slagle involved in their illicit bond sales ring.

What is the gypsy dancer known for?

She moves her hands like Frisco and is rumored to be Gilda Gray's understudy.

What does Lucille do at Gatsby's party?

She tore her gown at a previous party, and Gatsby delivered a new one to her; she also gossips about Gatsby.

What does the other girl in a yellow dress gossip about?

She claims Gatsby once killed a man and refutes the spy rumor because he was in the U.S. army.

Who is Mr. Mumble?

One of three related men at Gatsby's party who discusses rumors about Gatsby being a spy.

What is Vladimir Tostoff known for?

He is associated with a fictional piece of music called 'Jazz History of the World' performed at Gatsby's party.

What happens to the tall, red-haired young lady from a famous chorus?

She sings a sad song while weeping, apparently due to a fight with her husband.

What incident involves a drunk driver at Gatsby's party?

A 'pale, dangling, individual' crashes into a wall while leaving the party but is too drunk to notice.

Who is Miss Baedeker?

A drunk who gets her head dunked in the pool to sober up.

What does Doc Civet criticize?

He criticizes Miss Baedeker for her compulsive drinking.

Who is 'Blocks' Biloxi?

He fainted at Daisy and Tom's wedding and stayed at Jordan's house for three weeks.

What did Bill Biloxi gift Jordan?

He gifted her an aluminum golf putter.

Who brought 'Blocks' Biloxi to the wedding?

Asa Bird, according to Tom.

Who is Walter Chase in relation to Gatsby?

A friend of Tom's who needed money and went into business with Gatsby and Wolfsheim.

What role does Stella play in the story?

She is Wolfsheim's secretary who tells Nick in Chapter 9 that he is not in a.

Name one couple from East Egg who attended Gatsby's parties.

Mr. and Mrs. Leech.

Which guest from Gatsby's parties drowned in Maine?

Dr. Webster Civet.

What notable event happened to Edgar Beaver during a winter afternoon?

His hair turned white.

What is significant about Clarence Endive at Gatsby's party?

He only attends one party and fights with a bum named Etty in the garden.

Which couple from eastern Long Island went to prison shortly after Gatsby's party?

Mr. and Mrs. Ripley Snell.

What is the profession of Newton Orchid?

He controlled Films Par Excellence.

What does Clyde Cohen have to do with Gatsby's parties?

He is associated with the movie industry.

What happened to Henry L. Palmetto?

He killed himself by jumping in front of a subway in Times Square.

What year did Gatsby meet Daisy before going off to war?

1917

In what year does the novel take place?

1922

What is the significance of West Egg in the story?

It is where Nick and Gatsby live in a Georgian Colonial mansion and represents largely 'new' wealth.

What does East Egg represent in the context of the novel?

It represents largely 'old' wealth and is where Daisy and Tom live.

What is the body of water between Long Island and Connecticut called?

Long Island Sound.

Where did Nick and Tom go to college?

Yale University in New Haven, CT.

What year did Nick graduate from Yale?

1915

What significant event occurred in 1920 related to Daisy?

Daisy gives birth to Pammy and she and Tom leave for Europe for a year.

What happened to Gatsby in 1921?

He visited his father in the Midwest and bought him a house.

What year did Tom and Daisy marry?

1919

What is the relationship between Gatsby and Dan Cody?

Dan Cody took Gatsby around the world for five years on his yacht.

What happened in October 1919 involving Meyer Wolfsheim?

He led the ring that fixed the result of the World Series.

What is the significance of the year 1924 in the context of the novel?

It is the year that Nick narrates Chapter 9.

What is the Valley of Ashes?

A site of industrial dumping ground located in modern-day Flushing, NY in Queens.

Where did Gatsby spend a few months?

At Oxford, a university in England.

What is the significance of 158th St., west side in NYC?

It is the location of Tom and Myrtle's apartment.

What photographic studies did Chester McKee conduct at Montauk Point?

"Montauk Point-The Gulls" and "Montauk Point-the Sea."

What is Pennsylvania Station?

A huge train station in Manhattan where Nick waits to be transported back home to Long Island.

What is the Probity Trust?

A fictional business in Manhattan where Nick works as a bonds salesman.

What does Nick usually do at the Yale Club?

He eats dinner there and studies bonds upstairs in the library.

What major boulevard does Nick stroll along to observe women?

5th Avenue.

Which street does Nick walk along to reach Pennsylvania Station?

Madison Avenue.

What event takes place at Warwick?

A house party 50 miles northwest of NYC where Nick and Jordan attend.

What is Bois du Bologne?

A park in Paris where Nick imagines Gatsby chasing a tiger.

What fictional location is Port Roosevelt?

Located in modern-day Queens, east of the Valley of Ashes, where George Wilson walks.

What neighborhood in Queens do Gatsby and Nick drive through?

Astoria.

What does the Queensborough Bridge connect?

It connects Queens and Manhattan.

What is Blackwell's Island known as today?

Roosevelt Island.

Where do Nick and Gatsby have lunch?

42nd Street in midtown Manhattan.

What restaurant does Wolsheim prefer?

Metropole, a restaurant in Manhattan.

Where was Gatsby stationed during the war?

Camp Taylor, a military base in Louisville.

Where did Tom's wedding party stay in 1918?

Seelbach Hotel, Louisville.

Where do Tom and Daisy go on their honeymoon?

To the South Seas in the south Pacific.

What California town does Jordan see Tom and Daisy after their honeymoon?

Santa Barbara.

In which towns in France does Jordan see Tom and Daisy in 1920?

Cannes and Deauville.

What is the Plaza Hotel's significance in the story?

Located directly south of Central Park, where Nick and Jordan have tea and Gatsby confronts Tom.

What fictional location on Lake Superior is associated with Gatsby's mentor?

Little Girl Bay.