The Great Gatsby: Examining the Introduction
1. Work in small groups on the following discussion questions about The Great Gatsby. Post your answers in a comment for credit (include the names of the people in your group).
Gatsby Discussion Questions
1. In the beginning of Chapter I, the narrator of the novel, Nick Carraway, reflects on the concept of judgment while providing the reader with information about his personal history. As Nick writes, "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. 'Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages you've had'" (Fitzgerald 1). Is Nick consistent on this point? Would you consider him a reliable narrator?
2. As Nick reflects on the concept of judgment in the early portion of the first chapter, he provides some information about his family history and personal background. Ironically--even though Nick is the narrator--this is some of the most in-depth information that the reader will get about Nick's history. Why do you think Nick provides so little information about himself? What does he focus on instead of himself? What effect does this have on the reader?
3. How does the novel characterize the idea of East v. West? Discuss this both in terms of East and West Egg (if you are not sure what these are, you may want to search for them) as well as in terms of the East and West of the United States. For what does each become a symbol?
4. Discuss the imagery that you see in the first chapter of the novel. Discuss both the imagery used to describe the mansions (that of Gatsby and that of the Buchanans) and the imagery used to introduce the various characters. When it comes to the characters, how does this imagery shape the reader's opinion of them?
5. Specifically consider the introduction of Daisy. What is Daisy like? Do her actions and words deserve the praise with which Nick showers her? Why or why not?
West Egg versus East Egg
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ReplyDelete3. Most of the events in the book take place in the "West Egg" or "East Egg" of Long Island. The West Egg, is where Nick Carraway and Gatsby live. It's made up of self-made people who seem to control their own fortunes and work hard to keep their own wealth. It is the "less fashionable of the two" The East Egg represents the old aristocracy. It's refined, but has undertones of "garishness" expensive taste. People on the East Egg do not have to work to preserve their situation. This relates to the United States, where the West is raw and unpolished, while the East has high energy/spirit. Tom Buchanan, even comments that he'd never leave the East Egg.
ReplyDelete1. I think he's a thorough and aware narrator, and although he's inwardly critical of most of his surroundings, he's outwardly placid, and doesn't actually criticize everyone.
ReplyDelete2. Nick's lack of self-reflection forces the reader to learn about him through his observations and thoughts, much like Holden in The Catcher in the Rye.
3. Both East Egg and the eastern United States are characterized as more lavish than their respective wests. Nick's western family took time to ponder sending him east, whereas people already established in the east throw their money about however they please. Everyone in East and West Egg is at least moderately wealthy, but those living in West Egg have generally worked hard to earn their money from simple backgrounds, whereas those in East Egg inherited money, whether or not they live off of it.
4. Nick's description of Gatsby's mansion is relatively straightforward, except for the "thin beard of raw ivy," but he's much more metaphoric in his description of the Buchanan mansion, and compares the lawn to a runner overcoming the obstacles that are the lawn decorations. In his descriptions of people, Nick generally compares them to objects, or incorporates figurative objects. For instance, Daisy and Jordan are "buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon," and Jordan sits "with her chin raised a little as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall."
5. According to Nick, she has a personality and behavior that allow her to hold the attention of others, but she seems inwardly distracted and oblivious to what others have to say.