Daisy
“He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’” (109) Is this a reasonable thing for Gatsby to expect of Daisy? Does this thought/hope make him crazy? If you were Daisy what might stop you from saying this to Tom?
No, it is not reasonable. Daisy and Tom are married and although they have problems and they (gatsby and daisy) have a past together, it shouldn't be gatsby's expectation. However, although this expectation is unreasonable, this fantasy does not make Gatsby crazy.
If I were Daisy, it would be almost impossible for me to actually go up to Tom and say this. Marriage is a very big deal, and it is an even bigger deal to throw it all away.
‘I wouldn’t ask too much of her,’ I ventured. ‘You can’t repeat the past.’ ‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’ (110) Can or can’t you repeat the past? Do you agree with Nick or Gatsby? What aspect of the past does Gatsby want to repeat. Why is he not content with the present?
You can’t repeat the past exactly. In life, you are constantly changing as a person. Experiencing the past again is impossible since you are a different person.
What about Nick makes Gatsby feel like he can confide in him at the end of the party?
The reason Gatsby feels comfortable talking to Nick after the party is because he is related to Daisy. Nick is the only person who knows Daisy but is not romantically involved with her.
"‘Who is this Gatsby anyhow?” Demanded Tom. ‘Some bootlegger” (107). Why did Tom refer to Gatsby this way?
He is referring to Gatsby this way as he is jealous of Gatsby and wants to speak down on him. Tom assuming Gatsby is a bootlegger shows how he does not approve of him and how he thinks Gatsby did not get his money legally and thus is a criminal. This shows Tom's disdain towards Gatsby.
A daisy is a type of white flow, Daisy’s face is described as white, and she “blossomed for him like a flower for him” when she kissed Gatsby. What might the color white represent or signify, and what may this tell us about Daisy?
White can symbolize purity and innocence. Although Daisy hangs out with Gatsby, she is still loyal to Tom throughout the book.
“His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God.” (110) What does this tell us about Gatsby’s love for Daisy? How does this quote affect your view on Gatsby and Daisy's relationship?
Gatsby could be in love with Daisy because of her money and air of wealth not because he genuinely loves her. Kissing Daisy could show his willingness to do anything to achieve his goal of having a wealthy lifestyle.
“There were the same people, or at least the same sort of people, the same perfusion of champagne, the same many-colored, many-keyed commotion but I felt an unpleasantness in the air, a pervading harshness that hadn't been here before” (104) Why do you think Nick feels these ways about this party in particular? What is different about this part?
The presence of Daisy might affect how this part is. The whole point of this party is to please Daisy and she is not having fun.
Why does Tom not want to be called the polo player? At the beginning of the novel he was so proud, what changed?
Tom doesn't like that he is just thought of as the “polo player”, he wants to seem more important than that especially when being compared to Gatsby.