The Great Gatsby
Jack Clayton (director): The Great Gatsby (1974) og Baz Luhrmann (director): The Great Gatsby (2013)
James Gatz, a poor soldier in the Great War, has reinvented himself as the flamboyant Jay Gatsby. His newfound wealth has given him the courage to look up the love of his youth, the superficial Southern Belle, Daisy, despite the fact that she is now married to someone else.
- Is Gatsby portrayed as an anti-hero or a hero?
- What is Nick Carraway’s part in the film(s)?
- Are the films loyal to the novel or are they free adaptations of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work?
- Think of reasons why the new version leaves out Gatsby’s father whereas the old one does not?
- Is Daisy likeable in Mia Farrow’s version? And in Carey Mulligan’s?
- How can you tell that the films are set in the Roaring Twenties?
- How do they tell the story of America?
Chap. I
- How does the narrator introduce Gatsby to the reader? And himself? (pp. 7-8)
- How does East Egg differ from West Egg?
- Account for Daisy and Tom’s lifestyle.
- Comment on Tom’s idea of civilization. (p. 18 in particular)
- What is your first impression of the Buchanan marriage?
- What does Daisy mean when she says, ’’I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.’’? (p. 22, ll. 6-8)
- Who is Jordan Baker?
- Comment on Nick’s first glimpse of Mr Gatsby and the possible significance of ’the green light’.
Chap. II
- Compare the environment described in the beginning of chapter II to the environment of chapter I.
- Who or what is Doctor T. J. Eckleburg?
- Mr and Mrs Wilson depend on Tom for different reasons. How?
- Why is Myrtle attractive to Tom? And why is Myrtle attracted to him? (Find examples from the text)
- What is said about Gatsby in this chapter?
- In what way is this chapter about class-consciousness?
- What is Myrtle and Tom’s argument about?
Explain Tom’s reaction.
Chap. III
- Describe Gatsby’s parties. Do the words lavish, extravagant or depraved apply?
- How does Nick Carraway describe Gatsby’s guests? Or more specifically
the (flapper) girls?
the young Englishmen?
the prosperous Americans? - What does his descriptions reveal about his attitude towards the whole scenario? And towards Gatsby?
- In what way(s) does Gatsby try to appear as an educated and cultured man? Does he succeed?
- Describe Nick Carraway’s first encounter with Gatsby.
- How does the phrase old sport sound to you in the mouth of an American?
- What do Nick and Gatsby have in common?
- In the end of this chapter, Nick reveals that he is quite an observer of people and also of human character? Whom does he observe in New York City? And what does he reveal about Jordan Baker’s character?
- What according to himself is his cardinal virtue?
- Why is that particular virtue an important one, considering that Nick is the narrator of the story about Gatsby?
Chap IV
- Comment on the following line: ’’He’s a bootlegger,’ said the young ladies, moving somewhere between his cocktails and his flowers. ’One time he killed a man who had found out that he was nephew to Von Hindenburg and second cousin to the devil. Reach me a rose, honey, and pour me a last drop into that there crystal glass.’ (p. 60, ll. 4-8)
- What does Gatsby tell Nick about his past?
- Does Nick believe him?
- Explain the incident with the policeman.
- Characterise Mr Wolfshiem.
- How does Gatsby react to meeting Tom?
- Sum up Jordan’s story.
- What is Gatsby’s hidden agenda?
Chap V
- Why does Gatsby call on Nick?
- What is a go-between? And is Nick one?
- How does Gatsby behave before Daisy’s arrival?
- In what sense is their meeting ’a dream come true’?
Chap VI
- What is the truth about Gatsby?
- How does Daisy like Gatsby’s party? And Tom?
- In what way does Gatsby live in the past?
Chap. VII
- How does Gatsby react to seeing Daisy’s daughter? And why is that?
- What does Gatsby mean by saying that Daisy’s voice ’..is full of money’ (p. 115, l. 4.)
- The symbolic meaning of cars.
Why does Tom want to switch cars with Gatsby?
Why does he want to sell his own car to Mr Wilson all of a sudden? - Comment on Tom and Daisy’s falling out on pp. 124-129. What does it tell you about their relationship? And how is it disillusioning to Gatsby?
- How does Tom fight Gatsby in their battle for Daisy? And what is Gatsby’s respond?
- Who wins?
- What happens on their way home?
- What does Nick observe as he watches Tom and Daisy at the end of this chapter?
Chap VIII
- How does Gatsby see things? And Nick?
- Account for Mr Wilson’s understanding of his wife’s fate.
- What does Doctor T. J. Eckleburg mean to Mr Wilson?
- How does chapter VIII end?
- What is the meaning of the last line of the chapter?
Chap. IX
- Comment on the behaviour of
Tom and Daisy
Wolfsheim
Mr Gatz
Klipspringer - Consider what is said about being careless people on p. 170 and what Jordan Baker said on the subject on p. 59.
- In what ways has meeting Gatsby changed Nick?
For the Overall Interpretation
What is The Great Gatsby about from an overall perspective? What are the major themes of the novel?
In order to answer the question, consider the following aspects:
- Gatsby as a literary persona, as a(n) (anti-)hero
- Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby as representatives of the Lost Generation
- The Roaring Twenties aka the Jazz Age
- The meaning of ’the green light’
- The concept of ’the Southern Belle’ and Daisy
- The novel as a testimony of America and the American dream
