Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby – Study Guide
Chapter 1 1. Why is Nick Carraway made the narrator? The device of giving Nick the function of narrator lends psychic distance from the story. Nick is part of the action, yet he is not one of the principals. He shares some of the emotions and is in a position to interpret those of the others. However, the happens are not center on him.
2. What kind of relationship exists between Nick and the Buchanans? It is completely superficial. He speaks of them as dear friends he barely knows. Actually, the relationship between Gatsby and his sponging guests is hardly less meaningful, and the comparison is a striking one.
3. Why does Daisy always speak in such exaggerated phrases? By overdoing her remarks she manages to minimize everything she says. If she describes something as utterly wonderful instead of merely nice, she makes it seem quite ordinary. She makes everything sound important which reveals nothing is important to her.
4. What is the significance of Tim’s reference to the book he is reading? First, the content of the book implies a certain lack of intellect on Tom’s part. Secondly, it reveals Tom’s belief that the dominant race must stay in control, that lesser races must be beaten off, an attitude he displays toward Gatsby, whose background places him in a different world.
5. Why does Daisy hope her child will be a beautiful fool? To her superficial appearance is all that matters, so beauty is a necessity. Intelligence, however, might be a hazard, for Daisy lives in a world that does not hold up under inspection, and if she really thought about her life, she might find it unbearable.
6. Why does Nick feel that Daisy is trying to show off her cynicism? This is a current upper-class pose and by adopting it Daisy not only identifies herself as part of a fashionable group, but disposes of the need to live a meaningful life, since life has no meaning anyway.
7. Why does Daisy
Chapter 1 1. Why is Nick Carraway made the narrator? The device of giving Nick the function of narrator lends psychic distance from the story. Nick is part of the action, yet he is not one of the principals. He shares some of the emotions and is in a position to interpret those of the others. However, the happens are not center on him.
2. What kind of relationship exists between Nick and the Buchanans? It is completely superficial. He speaks of them as dear friends he barely knows. Actually, the relationship between Gatsby and his sponging guests is hardly less meaningful, and the comparison is a striking one.
3. Why does Daisy always speak in such exaggerated phrases? By overdoing her remarks she manages to minimize everything she says. If she describes something as utterly wonderful instead of merely nice, she makes it seem quite ordinary. She makes everything sound important which reveals nothing is important to her.
4. What is the significance of Tim’s reference to the book he is reading? First, the content of the book implies a certain lack of intellect on Tom’s part. Secondly, it reveals Tom’s belief that the dominant race must stay in control, that lesser races must be beaten off, an attitude he displays toward Gatsby, whose background places him in a different world.
5. Why does Daisy hope her child will be a beautiful fool? To her superficial appearance is all that matters, so beauty is a necessity. Intelligence, however, might be a hazard, for Daisy lives in a world that does not hold up under inspection, and if she really thought about her life, she might find it unbearable.
6. Why does Nick feel that Daisy is trying to show off her cynicism? This is a current upper-class pose and by adopting it Daisy not only identifies herself as part of a fashionable group, but disposes of the need to live a meaningful life, since life has no meaning anyway.
7. Why does Daisy