Introduction to the Great Gatsby

The Valley of Ashes symbolize

• Gatsby's dream

• God

• Moral decay of the 1920s

• Old money

Which quotation from the text best shows why Nick is "inclined to reserve all judgments"?

• "I was unjustly accused of being a politician"

• "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone...just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages that you've had"

• "Gatsby had an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found"

• "And after boasting this way of my tolerance, I come to the admission that it has a limit"

The quote, "I'm glad it's a girl...I hope she'll be a fool-that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool"

• is said by Tom and means that he is glad he can cheat because women are fools

• Is said by Nick and means that he thinks Daisy is a fool for not leaving Tom

• Is said by Daisy and means that she hopes her daughter will be a fool

• Is said by Daisy and means that at this time, Daisy didn't see any alternative futures for women other than being beautiful enough to marry a rich husband and fool enough to stay with him

Because of the 1st person narration, what do we not know?

• How Daisy and Gatsby met

• Why Daisy was invited to Nick's

• How long it's been since Daisy and Nick have seen each other

• What is said between Daisy and Gatsby in private

Why might Nick be considered an unreliable narrator?

• The story is all told in 1st person point of view, from his perspective.

• There are many lies he tells about all of the characters.

• Nick has a bad reputation for writing false information in the paper.

• The story is narrated in 3rd person point of view so he is always referring to himself by name.

What is significant about Nick's invitation to Gatsby's party?

• It was written by Gatsby, himself.

• Nobody else is ever formally invited to Gatsby's parties.

• The delivery method was extravagant with flowers and confetti

• The invitation was never sent by Gatsby.

Why did Daisy marry Tom?

• She loved him

• Gatsby went off to war and Tom had money and status

• They had a daughter and she did not want to be ruined

• Tom threatened Daisy into marriage

What does the green light symbolize for Gatsby?

• hopefulness, dreams, the future

• friendliness, happiness

• ambition, money

• family, ancestors

What would be the best two colors to symbolize Myrtle?

• Red (danger, blood, passion) and Black (deception, death)

• Blue (hopefulness, strength) and Orange (friendliness, happiness)

• Yellow (cheerfulness, caution) and Green (money, nature)

• Purple (royalty, power) and Pink (softness, compassion)

inclined to reserve all judgments . . . privy to the secret griefs of wild,  unknown men

• Gatsby

• Nick

• Tom

• Daisy