Characters
Why does Tom slap Myrtle, breaking her nose?
She mentions Daisy's name over and over again.
What was going on when Nick said: “Yet high over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” ?
Nick was at Myrtle and Tom's apartment in NYC looking out at all the people in the city.
What is at least one of the rumors that Gatsby's guests discuss about him at his parties?
-he once killed someone
-he is cousins with the devil
-he is a german spy
What does Nick call the desolate area where the road meets the railroad tracks and is located between West Egg and New York?
The Valley of the Ashes
What was going on when Myrtle said: “The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake. He borrowed somebody's best suit to get married in, and never even told me about it, and the man came after it one day when he was out. Then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon.”
She was discussing how she felt when she married George!
What advice did Nick's father give him when he was a child that he still remembers as an adult?
Think before criticizing people because many may not have had the same advantages you have had.
What was going on when Tom says: "I found out what your 'drug-stores' were." He turned to us and spoke rapidly. "He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That's one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn't far wrong."
Tom was confronting Gatsby while the crew was at the Plaza, in an attempt to get Daisy back!
Why is Nick surprised when he enters his living room with Daisy?
What brings Nick to Gatsby’s mansion for the first time?
Gatsby's chauffeur hands him a handwritten invite (the only one!)
What did Gatsby mean when he said: "her voice is full of money?"
He means that he equates her voice with affluence. It's "inexhaustible charm" gives him excitement for the future.
What comment does the man in the library (Owl-Eyes)make about Gatsby’s books?
All the books are real, but they have not been read.
What is going on when Daisy says : "I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."
Daisy is talking to Nick about how she felt when Pammy was born.
What is Gatsby's birth name?
James Gatz
What do the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg represent?
God
What was going when Wolfsheim says: “Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.”
Nick and Wolfsheim are discussing Gatsby's death and funeral.
What infamous 1919 event was Wolfsheim involved in?
Fixing the World Series
What is going on when Nick says, "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning— "
Nick is reflecting on Gatsby's life and dreams after his death.
What does Gatsby want Daisy to tell Tom?
She never loved him.
What is the weather like on the day of Daisy’s luncheon?
Extremely hot
Why does Gatsby say: "Can’t repeat the past?’...Why of course you can!”
He is trying to repeat the past with Daisy!
What does Nick say to Gatsby about Daisy, Tom, and all their friends?
They are a rotten crowd.
What was going on when Jordan said "And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy."
Jordan is talking to Nick about her feelings about parties during Gatsby's first party.
How do the police and press refer to Wilson?
A madman.
What does the Green Light represent?
The American Dream...Daisy!
Why does Daisy say: “They’re such beautiful shirts,” she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. “It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such—such beautiful shirts before.”
She is mourning the life she could have had with Gatsby