general book overview

Question 1

describe the American dream

Answer 1

based on the assumption that each person no matter what his origins, could succeed in life on the sole basis of his or her own skill and effort.

Question 2

when did the American dream rise?

Answer 2

arose in the colonial period and developed in the nineteenth century

Question 3

what did the American dream embody

Answer 3

it embodied the ideal self made man

Question 4

what is the great Gatsby about?

Answer 4

about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s.

Question 5

give a generalization of the charecters

Answer 5

The characters are Midwesterners who have come east in pursuit of this new dream of money, success, fame, glamour and excitement.

Question 6

what was the American dream in the 1920s like?

Answer 6

a period when the old values that gave substance to the dream had been corrupted by the vulgar pursuit of wealth.

Question 7

what does Fitzgerald seem to be criticizing in the great Gatsby?

Answer 7

not the American dream itself, but the corruption of the the American dream.

Question 8

what is Fitzgerald’s critique of the dream of success developed mainly throught?

Answer 8

the five central characters and through certain dominant images and symbols.

Question 9

who is the author of the great gatsby?

Answer 9

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Question 10

the gap between the poor and rich

Answer 10

describes this gap by comparing the differences between the western united states and the eastern united states, or could be described as the difference between the West egg and the east egg

Question 11

what are the main themes in the book?

Answer 11

the decay of morals and values and the frustration of a ‘modern’ society, describes the decay of the American dream and the want for money and materialism.

Question 12

what was the western united states seen as having

Answer 12

traditional western culture

Question 13

what was the eastern united states seen as having

Answer 13

money obsessed values

Question 14

west egg?

Answer 14

the ‘new’ money

Question 15

east egg?

Answer 15

the ‘old’ money

Question 16

at the time what was the 1920s like for the united states and many other countries?

Answer 16

a time of corruption and the degradation of moral values

Question 17

After the world war one what was life like?

Answer 17

people were reveling in the materialism that came with the end of the war, new mass produced commodities such as motor cars and radios were filling peoples driveways and houses, money was more accessible (b4 the great depression)

Question 18

what were cars becoming in the 1920s?

Answer 18

they were becoming a social symbol as we can see with Gatsby five cars, one of which he gives to nick and one of which kills myrtle Wilson later on.

Question 19

what did Herbert hoover, the American president, say in 1925?

Answer 19

“we will root out poverty and put two cars in every garage”

Question 20

what were the parties that Gatsby held every week a symbol of?

Answer 20

of the carelessness of the time

Question 21

what would occur in these parties that Gatsby held?

Answer 21

Gatsby would hide in the house while the ‘guests’, most of which weren’t invited, would party, eat and drink until the early hours of the morning without even meeting Gatsby or knowing who he was.

Question 22

how are Fitzgerald’s negative views of society portrayed

Answer 22

his negative views of society are portrayed through his deception of certain guests Gatsby’s parties.

Question 23

what do the two women dressed identically in yellow at Gatsby party represent and how?

Answer 23

the values of the people of the 1920s, as the two women meet nick and Jordan at the party and are completely self involved and only concerned with what happens to them and the fun they have, not caring about the names of them two men they’re talking to so openly

Question 24

what is another sign of the fall of the American dream in the great Gatsby?

Answer 24

the way Gatsby makes his money

Question 25

how does Gatsby make his money?

Answer 25

he gets his fortune through the illegal sale of alcohol (bootlegging), and the sale of alcohol was prohibited in the united states in the 1920s.

Question 26

where did Gatsby come from?

Answer 26

the western united states where there was ‘old money’

Question 27

where did Gatsby meet dan Cody and what did he teach Gatsby?

Answer 27

met him in the western united states and taught him how to ‘bootleg’

Question 28

as Gatsby became richer where did he move to?

Answer 28

the west egg in new York

Question 29

describe gastby house

Answer 29

its a rather artificial place, and is furnished well with old looking ornaments and (probably) second hand antiques, the house also had a library

Question 30

why was Gatsby house originally built and what is it a sign of?

Answer 30

to impress daisy with his so called wealth and this is a sign of a corrupt way of ‘winning’ love through money and wealth.

Question 31

what are the books and antiques in Gatsby house purpose?

Answer 31

just his way to show of his wealth to others

Question 32

how do we know that Gatsby doesn’t really care for materialism?

Answer 32

because his bedroom, the only room he ever uses, is empty compared to the rest of the house

Question 33

when is the climax of the story?

Answer 33

when Gatsby tells tom that daisy never loved him

Question 34

what is Gatsby love life a sign of?

Answer 34

declining morals and also a sign of further corruption of the American dream.

Question 35

how is the fall of the American dream and corruption also evident?

Answer 35

in the position and treatment of children

Question 36

how is daisy and toms daughter, pammy treated?

Answer 36

as an object to show off rather than a child to love

Question 37

what is the great Gatsby a great portrayal of and what does it show us?

Answer 37

of the corruption of society and the fall of the American dream, it shows us the way people will fall into the hands of money, greed and power and get involved with illegal activities to get what they want

Question 38

what is the book a perfect example of?

Answer 38

the fall of the American dream in the 1920s