Symbolism 1
An advertisement of a long vanished eye doctor on a billboard in the Valley of Ashes.
What are the "eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg"?
ID the speaker: "Daisy! Daisy! Daisy.....I'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy!"
Who is Myrtle Wilson?
He is the narrator of the story.
Who is Nick Carraway?
Gatsby is rumored to have been a spy and this.
What is a murderer (or bootlegger)?
What does the valley of ashes symbolize?
The gap between the rich and poor.
Social inequity
What does the color white symbolize?
Daisy and Jordan are often associated with the color white, which suggests innocence and beauty. However, as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that their purity is only on the surface, masking their selfishness and carelessness.
Why does Gatsby insist on showing Daisy his shirts?
To impress her with the wealth he’s acquired—symbolic of how he equates love with material success.
How does Daisy reveal her internal conflict through the way she speaks and behaves at dinner in Chapter 1?
She uses sarcasm and irony to mask her unhappiness and awareness of Tom’s infidelity.
His cuff links are made of human molars and he fixed the World Series of 1919.
Who is Meyer Wolfsheim?
What does Tom hitting Myrtle symbolize?
Lack of respect for women.
Upper-class dominance
Myrtle's lack of confidence and lack of self respect for herself because she did not fight back and accepted it.
What’s the significance of the weather during Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion?
The rain reflects tension and nervousness; it clears as their connection rekindles—then storms again later, suggesting emotional turbulence.
This is what Tom gifted Myrtle.
What is a dog?
Gatsby's reaction to the clock nearly falling during tea with Daisy symbolizes this.
What is his attempt to control time or repeat the past?
She plays golf and casually dated Nick while he was in NY.
Who is Jordan Baker?
How does Nick describe Tom?
Arrogant, old wealth, rich, does not respect women...
How does Fitzgerald use the Valley of Ashes to comment on the American Dream?
It shows the grim reality and moral decay beneath wealth and ambition.
What is the deeper irony of Gatsby’s quest to win Daisy back?
He wants to recreate a perfect past that never truly existed.
In what ways does Tom Buchanan reflect the anxieties of the old-money elite?
He’s racist, aggressive, and deeply insecure about the loss of traditional power structures.
Gatsby’s carefully curated lawn, which mirrors his neighbor’s, reveals his obsession with this.
What is social acceptance or status?
What does alcohol symbolize in this chapter?
What does Gatsby’s lavish party symbolize about the 1920s and the American Dream?
The party represents the excess and materialism of the Roaring Twenties, where wealth is displayed extravagantly but lacks deeper meaning or fulfillment.
When Myrtle is bleeding out in the New York Apartment, what does she spread over the tapestries?
The Town Tattle
Nick says Jordan once did this dishonest thing in sports.
What is cheat in a golf tournament?
What figurative language is this: “Men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.”
What does the green light symbolize?
Gatsby's desire to be with Daisy.