The Great Gatsby

Question 1

“It is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams” (Narration, Chapter 1)

Answer 1

Unusual noun phrase makes “foul” more emphatic.
Foul dust = corruption of society.

Question 2

“Spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy” (Narration, Chapter 1)

Answer 2

Gatsby wants it to seem authentic.
Youth and vulnerability.
Wish for concealment.
Ivy connotes poison

Question 3

“Sturdy… hard… supercilious… arrogant… dominance… aggressively… enormous… power… strained… muscle… enormous… contempt” (Narrative, Chapter 1)

Answer 3

Semantic field of strength.
Adjectives evidence Tom’s naughtiness

Question 4

“The telephone rang inside” (Narration, Chapter 1)

Answer 4

Metaphor for Myrtle’s presence
She wants people to know she exists

Question 5

“And I hope she’ll be a fool - that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Daisy, Chapter 1)

Answer 5

Daisy knows the misogynistic world she lives in.
Reflecting how she wants to be ignorant of Toms affair.
Reflects her own fixed mindset.
Epiphora

Question 6

“Silver pepper of the stars” (Narration, Chapter 1)

Answer 6

Sibilance
Seems relaxed however “pepper” suggests something isn’t quite right.
Celestial imagery

Question 7

“a single green light” (Narration, Chapter 1)

Answer 7

Green light motif
Green could mean jealousy or the American Dream.
Gatsby needs to be near the green light, symbolic of how he needs to be near Daisy.
The green light is separated from Gatsby by the lake

Question 8

The Valley of Ashes

Answer 8

Place of poverty
A dumping ground for waste
Inhabited by the lower classes

Question 9

“ashes grow like wheat” (Narration, Chapter 2)

Answer 9

Simile
Grows in abundance
Symbolic of the negative ash in comparison to the positive wheat

Question 10

Repetition of “and” (Narration, Chapter 2)

Answer 10

Repetition, listing highlight the scale of the decay.
Slows down the pace

Question 11

“The eyes of Doctor TJ Eckleburg. The eyes of Doctor TJ Eckleburg are blue and gigantic” (Narration, Chapter 2)

Answer 11

Realistic detail of a culture of consumerism in 1920s America.
Could by symbolic of the eyes of God.
Motif of vision
Reflection upon the loss of connection to god?
Anadiplosis

Question 12

“Wiping his hands on a piece of waste” (Narration, Chapter 2)

Answer 12

Symbolic of the American Dream
Wiping dirt with dirt in order to get clean
Drained of vitality, hope and health

Question 13

“I want to get one of those dogs” (Myrtle Chapter 2)

Answer 13

Possibly a display of wealth.
Dogs are symbolic of loyalty (ironic)
Could also be representative of Myrtle herself as the dog is just there for show - like she to Tom.

Question 14

“He wasn’t fit to lick my shoe” (Myrtle Chapter 2)

Answer 14

Verb choice indicates power difference.
Doesn’t endear the readers to her.
She feels superior to George and disrespects him greatly
Materialistic

Question 15

“Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (Narration Chapter 2)

Answer 15

Full name and matter-of-fact tone.
“open hand” reflects the aggressive nature of Tom
Repetition of “T” enhances the speed of the attack

Question 16

“Men and girls” (Narration Chapter 3)

Answer 16

The girls aren’t presented as women and therefore seen as naïve.
Representative of a new age of women, patriarchy and society
Implies weakness compared to men.

Question 17

“Came and went like moths” (Narration Chapter 3)

Answer 17

Simile
Attraction to the light symbolic of people’s attraction to Gatsby’s wealth

Question 18

“his” (Narration Chapter 3)

Answer 18

Repetition of the pronoun
They’re all using him but don’t know him.

Context:
Alcohol prohibition at the time
Turn a blind eye on Gatsby’s parties

Question 19

“If one brick was removed the whole library was liable to collapse” (Narration Chapter 3)

Answer 19

Symbolic of Gatsby, if he is found out in any way, his whore façade would collapse
Metaphor

Question 20

“Church bells rang in the villages alongshore, the world and its mistress returned…” (Narration Chapter 4)

Answer 20

Church bells connotes religion and moral purity
Mistress connotes dishonesty and impurity
Antithesis

Question 21

“His” (Narration Chapter 4)

Answer 21

Pronoun enhances how everything belongs to Gatsby, yet they all still gossip about him

Question 22

“It was like skimming hastily through a dozen magazines” (Narration Chapter 4)

Answer 22

Simile
Gatsby’s given Nick a lot of sensationalised information all at once.

Question 23

“I laughed aloud as the yolks of their eyeballs rolled towards us in haughty rivalry” (Narration Chapter 4)

Answer 23

Reversal of fortune
Uncomfortable description for modern audiences
Nick is ready for rivalry

Question 24

“We’ve slid over this bridge” (Narration Chapter 4)

Answer 24

Symbolic of optimism
For immigrants it represents the American Dream

Question 25

“It was coming to pieces like snow” (Narration by Jordan Chapter 4)

Answer 25

Simile
Daisy knows she has to let Gatsby go from her grasp
Clinging to what minimal she has left of Gatsby
Coming apart like her feelings to Gatsby

Question 26

“As if the house had winked into the darkness” (Narration Chapter 5)

Answer 26

Personification
Even the house seems to be conspiring in Gatsby’s façade

Question 27

“I went out of the room and down the marble steps into the rain, leaving them there together” (Narration Chapter 5)

Answer 27

Pathetic fallacy is foreshadowing their relationship, as it will bring them unhappiness
It is only passionate within Gatsby’s house
Outside it is raining and unhappy, inside it is exciting and loving

Question 28

“The clock ticked on the washstand” (Narration, Chapter 6)

Answer 28

The change in Gatsby troubled him
Gatsby is impatient, his dreams are slowly ticking away

Question 29

“The rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy’s wing” (Narration Chapter 6)

Answer 29

Link to Daisy’s maiden name (Fey) meaning fairy. Gatsby’s reality is built around her.
Contrasts the the solidity of rocks, reflecting their differences in comforts.
Past tense is foreshadowing of their downfall.
The wing symbolises vulnerability, it can shatter whenever

Question 30

“Discarded favours and crushed flowers” (Narration Chapter 6)

Answer 30

Motif of romance and flowers.
Love is crushed as won’t immediately leave Tom for Gatsby

Question 31

“Can’t repeat the past? … Why of course you can!” (Gatsby Chapter 6)

Answer 31

Gatsby’s stuck on this idea that he can rectify the past, however never mentions an apology he’d need to give.
His entire life is centered around Daisy - past, present and future

Question 32

“At his lips’ touch she blossomed for him like a flower” (Narration Chapter 6)

Answer 32

She = Passive
He = Active
Everything is centered around Gatsby
Flower is symbolic of Daisy’s virginity

Question 33

“The lights in his house failed to go on” (Narration Chapter 7)

Answer 33

Light = motif (hope)
Could represent love of Daisy and Gatsby, foreshadowing the end of their relationship

Question 34

“Daisy and Jordan lay upon an enormous coach, like silver idols” (Narration Chapter 7)

Answer 34

Almost ethereal like
Purity and innocence destroyed by wealth
Worshipped and have huge demands on anyone who wants to pursue them

Question 35

“Took the small reluctant hand” (Narration Chapter 7)

Answer 35

Gatsby didn’t believe in Pammy’s existence as she is evidence of Tom and Daisy’s marriage.
His delusional dreams are falling apart in front of him

Question 36

“Hot whips of panic” (Narration Chapter 7)

Answer 36

Metaphor emphasises his emotional pain
Whip implies shock and connotes punishment - is Tom being punished for his actions?

Question 37

“I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife” (Tom Chapter 7)

Answer 37

Bitter and angry tone
Men of Tom’s status would have genuinely believed Gatsby was a nobody as he doesn’t have old money

Question 38

“She never loved you, do you hear?” (Gatsby Chapter 7)

Answer 38

Tag question
Exclamatory
Depicting his desperation.

Question 39

“Knelt in the road and mingled her thick dark blood” (Narration Chapter 7)

Answer 39

Kneel = unnerving as the death position is unusual
She determined her death
Balanced by the passive form “extinguished”
Vivid description is emotive, however Myrtle is still sexualised even after her death

Question 40

“Then turned out the light” (Narration Chapter 8)

Answer 40

Light = final snuffing of Gatsby’s hope
Link to the green light

Question 41

“He found that he had committed himself to the following of a grail” (Narration Chapter 8)

Answer 41

Objectifying Daisy, but enhances her meaning to Gatsby
Religious connotations - Knights searched for the grail (the chalice used in the last supper)

Question 42

“You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together” (Nick Chapter 8)

Answer 42

Taboo represents Nicks anger towards Tom, and platonic love towards Gatsby
Nick sometimes feels morally superior to Gatsby

Question 43

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (Narration Chapter 8)

Answer 43

Our past defines the future and present.
Plosive are harsh, whereas sibilance is soft.
Seeking the American Dream
Aposiopesis reflects Gatsby and societies’ unattainable and unfinished dreams
Reflects humanities desire for more