Moral Decay
What events led to Gatsby participating in illegal activities?
Gatsby's strong desire to gain wealth caused him to participate in illegal activities.
Who was Tom's mistress?
Myrtle
Where does Gatsby live?
The West Egg, an area filled with people with new money.
What is the East Egg?
The East Egg was home to individuals who came from old money. These people were often looked up to by others in society due to their extreme wealth.
List the thing daisy value the most?
Money and material goods.
When did moral decay start to take place in Gatsby?
As soon as Gatsby started prioritizing gaining wealth over making genuine connections with his peers, his moral decay became apparent
What events led to Gatsby's death?
Gatsby took the blame after Daisy ran over Myrtle due to his undying love for her. Eventually, Wilson found out that he "ran over" Myrtle, so he shot him to death.
Who was at Gatsby's funeral?
Nick, Gatsby, and Owl-man
What kind of people were invited to Gatsby's parties?
Most of the people who attended Gatsby's parties were extremely wealthy or desired to climb the social ladder (the top being where the wealthiest people were).
what is Gatsby's goal in life?
to leave his Social class
What does Tom's infidelity suggest about his character? What is the author trying to prove when mentioning him and Myrtle's relationship?
Tom’s infidelity suggests his apparent moral decay by emphasizing his disregard for marital standards and loyalty. The author is trying to prove that Tom’s privilege has led to moral decay since he has little to no ethical values, which is shown through his relatively public affair with Myrtle.
Comepare and contrast Tom's relationship to Daisy and Gatsby's relationship to Daisy.
Tom's relationship with Daisy is much more superficial and formal; seeing as they married each other for wealth, and Daisy's relationship with Gatsby is more personal; since they both had a previous connection with each other.
What does Tom and Daisy's marriage suggest about Daisy's character? What is the author trying to prove by implying that Daisy does not truly love Tom?
Their marriage suggests that Daisy is driven by money and material objects, much like the other wealthy individuals in the area. The author wants to prove the destructive nature of money as many individuals would sacrifice real, personal connections for the pursuit of wealth.
What occurs when Tom and Daisy meet people from the West Egg at Gatsby's party? Compare and contrast the people from the West Egg to the people in the East Egg.
Tom and Daisy believe the people from the West Egg lack the class that people from the East Egg have. Individuals from the West Egg are generally more eager than the people from the East Egg since they desire to climb up the social ladder while people from the East Egg are seen as more sophisticated since they were born into wealth.
What was the main idea of tom's introduction?
To show off the nature of his social class, and describe his greatest flaw his fear of confrontation
What would happen to peoples' characters if material possessions weren't valued in their society?
People would participate in less immoral activities to gain more money, which would essentially end the destructive nature of wealth and moral decay. Not to mention, individuals would establish more personal connections with their peers because that's what would be valued in their society if material possessions were worthless.
Give an example of love or desire. Describe in your own words what love means in their society.
Tom's desire for power, Daisy's desire for money, etc.
Love in their society doesn't necessarily exist. Any form of 'love' was because of money or power.
What is suggested about Gatsby's character? What is the author trying to prove when he hints where he gained his wealth?
It's implied that Gatsby may be involved in some shady business. The author is trying to prove the corruption associated with money and materialism since Gatsby did some unethical things in order to gain the wealth he has.
Give me an example of Tom's behavior towards lower classes?
Tom exploited Wilson's vulnerability in order to be with his wife. He doesn't feel guilty for doing this because he considers Wilson beneath him since he's poor.
what other way could Myrtle's behavior be interpreted?
greedy and cocky because Myrtle believed that she can do anything like cheating and using tom to get money.
Predict what will happen to Daisy and Tom's relationship now that Gatsby is out of the picture.
Now that Tom no longer has to win over Daisy's love, he will become more abusive and controlling towards her. He only cares about money, so as Daisy becomes a more prevalent figure in his life he will increasingly become more annoyed and abusive towards her since he doesn't truly love her.
Could Daisy and Gatsby really have been together if Gatsby never died?
No, because Daisy values money and material possessions more than her relationship with Gatsby. Additionally, Gatsby only likes who Daisy was in the past, and he cannot accept who she is now.
Describe the events and interactions that occurred at Gatsby's parties.
At Gatsby's parties, his guests would enjoy the lavish services and items provided, but none of them would form any worthwhile relations. This shows the emptiness associated with wealth since everyone there had everything they could possibly imagine, but still had no genuine connections with anyone there. This is due to the fact that they prioritized gaining wealth over establishing worthwhile relations to others.
What does the author suggest about Tom's character at Gatsby's party? What is the author trying to prove when Tom seems unimpressed by the people of the West Egg?
The author suggests that Tom feels superior to others at Gatsby's party. Tom's disdain to the others there suggests that he believes people from the West Egg are not on the same social level as the people from the East Egg (thought people from the East Egg were better).
Could gatsby's obsession truly exist in the world today?
Yes, we see people today bend their back for barely any attention, and people fall in love with the ideas of toxic relationships.