The Great Gatsby
Chapter 2
Questions
1. What stylistic means create the ghastly atmosphere of the first passage?
2. What is the symbolic meaning of ashes?
3. What philosophy is there behind the “eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg”, that “look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a nonexistent nose”?
4. Starting with the beginning of the chapter and till the sentence “There is always a halt there of at least a minute, and it was because of this that I first met Tom Buchanan’s mistress” find the vocabulary with negative connotation. What stylistic effect does it create?
5. Translate: “Though I was curious to see her, I had no desire to meet her - but I did”.
6. What specific implicit meaning is conveyed by the Past Indefinite tense in “…the third was a garage - Repairs. GEORGE B. WILSON. Cars bought and sold”?.
7. What stylistic means does the author employ to indirectly characterize George D. Wilson through his possessions? (“The interior was unprosperous and bare…”).
8. Find the element of the following dialogue that demonstrates concealed rivalry between Tom Buchanan and George Wilson:
“Hello, Wilson, old man,” said Tom, slapping him jovially on the shoulder. “How’s business?”
“I can’t complain,” answered Wilson unconvincingly. “When are you going to sell me that car?”
“Next week; I’ve got my man working on it now.”
“Works pretty slow, don’t he?”
“No, he doesn’t,” said Tom coldly. “And if you feel that way about it, maybe I’d better sell it somewhere else after all.”
9. In the paragraphs indicated below we find the characterizing description of Mrs. Wilson:
“His voice faded off and Tom glanced impatiently around the garage.”, “She had changed her dress to a brown figured muslin…”, “Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before…” What are the main principles on which her image is built? What analogy can be drawn between Mrs. Wilson and a fairy-tale character? What stylistic tools does the author employ to build it up?
10. How does the author create the humorous effect in the scene of buying a dog: “I want to get one of those dogs,” she said earnestly….”
11. What ideas about Mrs. Wilson does the interior of her flat imply?
12. “The sister, Catherine”: 1) Why doesn’t the author twice in the text of the chapter omit the definite article? 2) Where does she live? 3) Translate the following paragraph: “The sister, Catherine…”
13. The McKees: 1) Mr. McKee is characterized through the names of the photos he makes. Does he have talent? 2) Mrs. McKee is said to be “shrill, languid, handsome, and horrible” – what stylistic device does the author employ here? 3) What is the story of the friendship between Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. McKee?
14. How is the suit, borrowed by Mr. Wilson to marry Myrtle connected to the dress suit of Tom’s in: “It was on the two little seats facing each other that are always the last ones left on the train. I was going up to New York to see my sister and spend the night. He had on a dress suit and patent leather shoes, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, but every time he looked at me I had to pretend to be looking at the advertisement over his head. When we came into the station he was next to me, and his white shirt-front pressed against my arm, and so I told him I’d have to call a policeman, but he knew I lied. I was so excited that when I got into a taxi with him I didn’t hardly know I wasn’t getting into a subway train. All I kept thinking about, over and over, was ‘You can’t live forever; you can’t live forever.’”
15. Why does the author in this chapter pay so much attention to the way people look and are dressed?
16. “Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing, in impassioned voices, whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy’s name. “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” shouted Mrs. Wilson. “I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai - - ” Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand”. – Why doesn’t Tom allow Myrtle pronounce Daisy’s name? Why, according to Catherine, cannot Tom and Myrtle get married?
17. What can you say about the composition of the chapter?
18. What is its main topic?