Gatsby Study Guide
Chapter 1-4
These ideas, events, and characteristics will be in a Multiple Choice or True/False format
Nick Carraway narrates the story and is also a participant in the action.
Jay Gatsby is the neighbor of Nick Carraway.
The setting of the story is East (Tom and Daisy live here) and West Egg
(Gatsby and Carraway), as well as New York City.
- Valley of Ashes – Myrtle and George Wilson
Nick is saddened and rather disgusted by the fact that people often feel a
need to confide in him.
- He wants to be left alone
- Doesn’t take a side
Nick and Tom were at Yale together.
Tom Buchanan seems to be an aggressive, controlling person.
- Breaks Myrtles’ nose
Daisy seems to enjoy tormenting her husband.
- Brings up his past/prejudice
Tom Buchanan is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson.
George Wilson is described as a weak (let’s wife run around/unaware), vaguely handsome man, who has financial problems.
- Anemic/Gray
Nick seems to have a memory of something unpleasant he has read in the news regarding Jordan.
- True. She cheated at tournament moving a ball
- Driving badly- borrow car in the rain and lied
Jordan is described as having a slender, athletic build.
There is an air of mystery about the identity of Gatsby--- no one actually knows the truth about his background.
- True. People go off rumors (Ex. He killed someone)
The man in Gatsby’s library was amazed that all of Gatsby’s books were authentic, and actually had pages in them.
Nick met Gatsby during a conversation in which he was talking to a supposed stranger about having never met the host. The “stranger” was Gatsby.
At the end of the evening, one of Gatsby’s drunken guests caused traffic jam for departing guests when he had a car wreck.
Nick described that Jordan Baker was “incurably dishonest.”
- She is a woman and expect her to be truthful
- You can forgive that
Be able to answer the following in COMPLETE SENTENCES, using novel details for support:
Why did Tom break Myrtle’s nose?
Tom told her not to say “Daisy,” but Myrtle kept saying it before he hit
her. (Similar to Daisy saying “milking” but didn’t hit her)
What two-word term did Gatsby address friends as?
“Old Sport”
Describe the three different settings described in the novel so far.
- West Egg- Gatsby/Nick “Newly Rich”
- Valley of Ashes – Wilson (Gray/TJ Eckleburg sign)
- East Egg – “Old Rich” Buchanans/Jordan
- New York City – Buchanan and Myrtle “Love Nest”
Write three specific facts about one of the following characters:
- Daisy
- Nick’s cousin
- Only married Tom for the money
- Involved with Gatsby prior to the war, but he was not rich
- Not a drinker
- Colorless (white)
- Myrtle
- She lives with her husband at a gas station
- Tom Buchanan’s mistress
- Animated, physical, colorful
- Big boned girl
- Tom
- Disregard for safety of women (hit Myrtle, hurt Daisy’s finger)
- Very physical- leading Nick around an apartment
- Lives a public lifestyle – parties, outings
- George
- Myrtle’s husband who is a mechanic and gas attendant
- Wants a car from Tom Buchanan
- Nick
- Involved with the war
- Living in Gatsby’s guest house
- Narrator of the story