The Great Gatsby

Front 1

What was Gatsby's background?

Back 1

He rose from an impoverished childhood in rural North Dakota to become wealthy.
He achieved this by participating in organised crime- distributing illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities.
He dropped out of St. Olaf's college as he could not bear his janitorial job which was paying his tuition.
He fell in love with Daisy in 1917 as a young military officer in Louisville before leaving to fight WW1.

Front 2

What is the significance of the quote: "so we beat on, against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past".

Back 2

-Move on but don't forget the past.
-The fight against the class struggle
- The finality of death and how everything moves on afterwards- Gatsby's lifestyle.
Nick suggests that the universal problem is that we all try to fight against the current of time.

Front 3

Why does Fitzgerald use the technique of delayed character revelation?

Back 3

-Gatsby does not appear in a speaking role until Ch3.
-He propels the novel forward through the early chapters by shrouding Gatsby's background and the source of his wealth.- we learn about this in Ch6+7.
-emphasises the theatrical quality of Gatsby's approach to life- he literally created his own character.
This talent for self-invention gives Gatsby his quality of "greatness".

Front 4

How does Fitzgerald use the novel to make a commentary on the 1920s societal values?

Back 4

Implicitly suggests that the American Dream is an unworthy goal.
He reveals the corruption that wealth causes and how the American dream crumbled in the 1920s. America's powerful optimism, vitality and individualism became subordinated to the amoral pursuit of wealth.

Front 5

What is the function of Nick Carraway as a narrator?

Back 5

The novel is a personal memoir of his experiences with Gatsby in the summer of 1922.
He is tolerant, open-minded, quiet and a good listener- as he tells us in Ch1.
He functions as a mouthpiece to Fitzgerald's voice, as in his extended meditation on time and the American dream at the end of Ch9.

Front 6

How is Nick's inner conflict presented in the novel?

Back 6

On the one hand, Nick is attracted to the fast-paced lifestyle of New York. On the other hand, he finds that lifestyle grotesque and damaging.
This is symbolised by his romantic affair with Jordan Baker- he is attracted to her vivacity and sophistication just as he is repelled by her dishonesty and lack of consideration for other people
Nick states that there is a "quality of distortion" to life in New York- makes him lose equilibrium.

Front 7

What is the significance of the character Daisy?

Back 7

partially based on Fitzgerald's wife Zelda.
She chose to marry a man from a solid, aristocratic family who could promise her a wealthy lifestyle. Like Zelda, Daisy is in love with money, ease and material luxury.
To Gatsby, she represents the paragon of perfection.
She falls short of his ideals though- Nick characterises her as a careless person who smashes things up and then retreats behind her wealth.

Front 8

What were the social changes of the time?

Back 8

Fitzgerald coined the term "Jazz Age" to describe the 1920s.
It was a liberal, prosperous and hedonistic time.
Sexual ideals were changing. All this was a reflection of the American Psyche at the time after the war.
It was a Lawless decade.
Prohibition caused a massive influx in organised crime.
Society was more secular- diminishing values.

Front 9

What is the social significance of the characters?

Back 9

Tom and Daisy- The old rich (taste in art)
Jay Gatsby- The new rich (careless with money)
George Wilson- Poor (Buys and Sells cars)
They each represent different social classes.

Front 10

How does Jacques Chastenet describe the twenties in 'Purnell's History of the Twentieth century'?

Back 10

"An age anxious to enjoy itself, anxious to forget the past, anxious to ignore the future."

Front 11

What is the context of Fitzgerald and the Jazz age?

Back 11

He fell for a woman, Zelda Sayre, who was a product of the Jazz Age- she led him to everything he despised.
Though he was a part of the age, 'The Great Gatsby' is an open attack on it- yet done in an implicit way.
The paradox of the Jazz Age: seemingly complex characters shown up to be extraordinarily simple.

Front 12

How does Fitzgerald criticise the American Dream?

Back 12

In the Valley of Ashes- the American Dream is very much dead.
Brings to our attention if the American Dream is purely fictional. It is seen as something purely materialistic which all people strive for: WEALTH.
The Jazz Age shows us that even with money and material objects people are hedonistic to gain satisfaction from their shallow lives.
Gatsby believes in something deeper and is only a victim of his own innocence.

Front 13

What is the significance of the song 'Aint we got fun' in Chapter Five?

Back 13

The song jokes about the resilience of the working class using the argument that if you already have nothing, no one can take anything from you.
-An ironic commentary on Gatsby's meeting with Daisy
-highlights the excess and unhappiness of the wealthy Gatsby, who has everything except what he wants.

Front 14

What is the differences between the Man and the Act of Gatsby?

Back 14

Throughout the novel there are hints that Gatsby isn't who he claims to be, for example:

The Act: He was an "Oxford man"
The Man: He only attended Oxford for "five months".

The Act: He inherited money from his family.
The Man: He owned drug stores but "sold grain alcohol over the counter".

When he fails to understand etiquette: Mr Sloane doesn't want him to come for supper.

Front 15

How does Gatsby represent the corruption of the American Dream?

Back 15

He has to completely reinvent himself- changes his name to escape his past= 'Gatz' is German but 'Gatsby' sounds more English. He wants to belong to the upper classes not just be rich.
American Dream is not within everyone's grasp- you have to become someone else in order to achieve it.
His dream of obtaining Daisy fails because of his class which suggests that the American Dream is no longer feasible- corruption that money causes.

Front 16

How does Nick change over the course of the novel?

Back 16

At the beginning: very traditional, from a well-off family in the Midwest and is "privileged". His education and upbringing made him conservative.
-Highly moral and "honest" + open minded to the attractive Eastern life.
At the end: Nick is judgemental and condemns Tom and Daisy as "careless people" who "smashed up things".
He is careless and is accused by Jordan as being a "bad driver".
Morally ambiguous- he helps Gatsby to have an affair with Daisy.
Disillusioned- move back to traditional west- its hopeless to try and escape the past.

Front 17

How is Daisy presented as charming but also shallow and weak?

Back 17

She could be seen as a romantic idealist like Gatsby- she idealises the past.
She's selfish, shallow, weak and materialistic and does not seem worthy of Gatsby's affection and dreams.

Front 18

What is the significance of the colour white in association with Daisy?

Back 18

Daisy always wears white. This is an absence of colour so Fitzgerald could be implying that metaphorically she's a blank canvas that can be manipulated in any way that the other characters want.
She is also shallow in spirit and emotion.

Front 19

How is Daisy presented as an ambiguous character?

Back 19

Is she a weak victim or is she manipulative?
Her maiden name "Fay" is an old English word for 'fairy' but it also links her to Morgan le Fay, a legendary evil sorceress who tried to overthrow King Arthur.
EXAMPLE: Society wouldn't allow her to be with Gatsby, but approved of Tom as a husband. OR it could be interpreted that she chose Tom because she cared more about money than Gatsby

Front 20

How does Jordan contrast with Daisy?

Back 20

Unlike Daisy Jordan is independent, careful with words, direct and assertive, She looks forwards - she's practical and moves on from the past.
She does not hope and dream- she expects disappointment.
However she is just as bad as Daisy- acknowledges she is a "bad driver" but chooses not to change.

Front 21

How do the characters have different attitudes to money?

Back 21

Nick is confused about how to respond to wealth and decadence.
Daisy and Tom take their wealth for granted- he assumes it's his natural right to be at the top of society- "careless people"
Gatsby focused on financial gain but is indifferent to his wealth- he sees it as a means to an end-Daisy.
Myrtle- money buys happiness

Front 22

What are the different types of love that Fitzgerald portrays?

Back 22

Idealised love- Gatsby's obsession with Daisy transformed his memory of her into an image of perfection.
Unconditional love- Wilson loves myrtle and Daisy and Tom seem to be affectionate.
Material Love- Myrtle loves Tom because of the life he represents and what he can buy her.
wealth and class also play a big role for Tom + Daisy

Front 23

Explain how there is no traditional family structure in the novel.

Back 23

Several parents are mentioned but none act as a strong role model- distant/vague figures.
Daisy's treatment of her daughter indicates a lack of interest- she is just an object.
HOWEVER- Nick's father's advice suggests that family values are important to Nick- sets him apart.

Front 24

What are the differences between appearances and reality in the novel?

Back 24

Gatsby's envisions Daisy as perfect- se is shallow, disloyal and materialistic.
Wilson sees the eyes of Dr. T.J Eckleburg as the eyes of God- it is just an advertisement.
The reality of Gatsby's wealth is much larger than Mr Gatz comprehends.

Front 25

How is the Narrator's view of Reality confused by Appearances?

Back 25

Nick over dramatises the sound of the phone ringing in Ch1.
"life is much more successsfully looked at from a single window"- intentionally ignoring reality for the sake of a simpler picture.
Nick's concerned with others opinions- what people see is more important than what really happens.

Front 26

How can Gatsby be considered an illusion?

Back 26

Gatsby has a surface identity of inherited wealth to hide the reality of his impoverished past and criminal present.
He is introduced through gossip and speculation.
He is mysterious and no one knows much about him.
In trying to uncover the past- they add to the myth.
Nick's "platonic conception"- world of ideal forms.

Front 27

How has religion been replaced by consumerism and the pursuit of pleasure in the novel?

Back 27

The characters live aimless lives that revolve around pleasing themselves and acquring new possessions.
Conversation between Michaelis and Wilson Ch8: "you may fool me, but you can't fool God" - the eyes actually have no meaning except for what the characters give them. Reflects the feelings of the 'lost generation'.
Tom knows that Daisy will not leave him because of his affair as she is "Catholic".

Front 28

How could Gatsby be seen as a religious figure?

Back 28

Nick links Gatsby directly to God: "He was a son of god".
Like Jesus who tied himself to the sin of mankind and then sacrificed himself- Gatsby also ties Daisy's sins to himself and died because he took the blame.
A woman is responsible for the downfall of both Adma and Gatsby- Eve and Daisy respectively.