Vocabulary
This adjective describes Gatsby’s careful attention to small social details (Gatsby’s precise appearance and manners).
Vocab. Words: dilatory, sauntered, turgid, vestige, defunct, juxtaposition, punctilious
punctilious
Which friend/associate first fills in Nick about Gatsby’s old romance with Daisy and supplies background details?
Jordan Baker
Who insists that the past can be fully recovered, famously longing to “repeat the past”? Also, which character claims the past cannot be repeated.
In Chapter 4, Gatsby gives Nick a ride and lists acquaintances; later, Jordan reveals a key relationship that explains Gatsby’s motives. What does Jordan tell Nick about where Gatsby met Daisy?
Louisville (or they met before the war in Louisville)
What distant object across the water stands for Gatsby’s longing and becomes less symbolic once Daisy returns?
The green light.
This noun names a remaining trace or sign of something lost (used to describe something left from Gatsby’s past).
Vocab. Words: dilatory, sauntered, turgid, vestige, defunct, juxtaposition, punctilious
vestige
Which character’s speech patterns (mispronunciations) and business ties give readers the strongest hint of Gatsby’s criminal associations?
Meyer Wolfsheim
Gatsby tells Nick he will restore things “just the way they were before.” What core belief about Daisy underlies that claim? (short phrase)
He believes Daisy can be made to leave her marriage for him OR Daisy can say that she never loved Tom.
Why did Gatsby buy his mansion directly across the bay from Daisy’s home?
To be physically near Daisy or to be able to see the green light and position himself close to her (to reunite).
Which color/metal in the reading guides represents wealth and a false gleam that can’t last? (Think about the vanity and bathroom items that Daisy finds in Gatsby's house).
gold
This noun names an instance of placing two contrasting things side by side to highlight differences (used when comparing East Egg and West Egg, or wealth vs. loneliness).
Vocab. Words: dilatory, sauntered, turgid, vestige, defunct, juxtaposition, punctilious
juxtaposition
Which character’s reaction at Gatsby’s party best reveals the social distance between East Egg and West Egg values? This character sees the guests as "vulgar" and the atmosphere as distasteful.
Daisy
"He was never quite still; there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand." What does this quote say about Gatsby's emotional state? Why is he like this?
Gatsby feels restless or anxious; he is worried about recapturing his love with Daisy
What arranged event finally leads to Gatsby and Daisy meeting face-to-face after years apart?
The planned reunion at Nick’s house (tea at Nick’s)
The contrast of empty crowds versus Gatsby’s solitude is an example of what rhetorical device is listed in the vocabulary?
juxtaposition
This adjective means swollen or overblown in language or style—used to describe overly ornate speech.
Vocab. Words: dilatory, sauntered, turgid, vestige, defunct, juxtaposition, punctilious
turgid
Explain in one sentence what Daisy’s reaction to Gatsby’s shirts reveals.
Daisy's reaction shows how moved she is by wealth/luxuries, or she cries over what she missed out on by marrying Tom.
Fill in this key quote and state who says it: “There are only the _______, the ________, the busy and the tired.”
"pursued" "pursuing" Nick says this. He says this in reference to Gatsby and Daisy's relationship.
Explain at least one possible symbolism of the pearls that Daisy has on her wedding day
Tom’s financial and emotional control, the choice for Daisy to marry Tom over Gatsby, or Daisy putting her wealth/status above her happiness or love.
Objects like shirts and pearls in these chapters most directly signify what larger social idea?
material wealth / social status
This adjective describes someone delaying or slow to act; Gatsby’s careful timing contrasts with this trait.
Vocab. Words: dilatory, sauntered, turgid, vestige, defunct, juxtaposition, punctilious
dilatory
According to the text, why is Nick "amused" by seeing a limousine "driven by a white chauffeur, in which sat three modish negroes”?
This would not at all be normal considering the racial dynamics during this time period. It would be more likely for a black chauffeur to drive a white person around.
Nick describes Gatsby as “running down like an overwound clock” when Gatsby and and Daisy first reunite at his house. What kind of literary device is this and what does it mean?
It is a simile, and it means that Gatsby has wound himself up with years of hope and expectation, and when the reunion finally happens, he nearly collapses under the pressure of it.
By Chapter 6, readers learn Gatsby’s birth name. What is it? Why did he change his name primarily?
James Gatz. He changed himself to reinvent himself into the person he desired to become.
FINAL JEPORADY
Explain how the symbolism of the green light shifts by the end of Chapter 5, and argue whether that change makes Gatsby’s goal more or less attainable. You must include evidence to back up your answer. If the answer is logical and well-supported, it will be accepted.
Answers will vary, but must make a clear statement about the shift in meaning, whether it is more or less attainable, and provide evidence to support the reasoning.