Vocabulary
Feigned
To make believe; pretend
The narrator of the story and neighbor to Jay Gatsby
Nick Carraway
“A cheerful red & white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay.”
Buchanan’s House
What are the guests like from the party scene
The guest do not acknowledge him, the host, and are only there to have a good time.
Gatsby's materialism
Gatsby is materialistic because Americans do not have many other alternatives.
Vitality
Liveliness; energy
Married to Tom, in love with Gatsby
Daisy Buchanan
“Across the courtesy bay, the white palaces of fashionable glittered.” “Old money”
East Egg
What is the mood of the Party Scene
The mood is carefully analyzed by Nick as he notices the luxurious environment he's around.
Gatsby's morality
He cannot discriminate morally between the transfiguring vision of a unified self and the savage world of finance in which he seeks to express that self
Toiled
Hard work
Having an affair with Tom Buchanan
Myrtle Wilson
“A factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy.”
Gatsby's House
What were the rumors made about Gatsby and what does this say about his personality
Rumors were that he was a German spy, he killed someone and he went to Oxford, indicating that he has a suspicious and skeptical personality
Tony Tanner on Gatsby's theatrical lifestyle
'His ostentatious house and expensive parties are an elaborate advertising display designed to impress Daisy'
Rajah
An Indian king, prince or chief
Business associate with Gatsby
Meyer Wolfsheim
“The less fashionable of the two, and not a little sinister contrast between them.” “New money”
West Egg
When Nick meets Gatsby how is Gatsby characterized (both directly and indirectly)?
Nick mistakes Gatsby for another guest and indirectly states “a quality of eternal reassurance” when referring to Gatsby's welcoming smile but directly pinpoints his “elaborate formality of speech” indicating that he is dishonest.
Nick's desires in society
'Nick is a spectator in search of a performer'
Obliged
To place under a debt of gratitude for some benefit, favor, or service.
The girlfriend of Nick and friend of Daisy's
Jordan Baker
“A fantasie farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hill”
Valley of Ashes
What kind of image does the author use to describe Jordan Baker? What does this mean?
The author uses descriptive words such as intriguing, beautiful, and uptight person when referring to Jordan. This can suggest that Jordan Tom has an interest in her person even though she seems durable to those trying to get in her way.
Nick's views of Myrtle
'Myrtle's 'lower class pretensions appear comic to Nick because he judges them from a position of social superiority