The Great Gatsby: Chapter I
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VOCABULARY
1. bantering
2. bizarre
3. claret
4. coherence
5. contemptuously
6. corroborated
7. deft
8. ecstatic
9. effeminate
10. excursion
11. extemporizing
12. feign
13. fractiousness
14. incredulously
15. irrecoverable
16. languidly
17. levity
18. libel
19. peremptory
20. pungent
21. reproach
22. rotogravure
23. sedative
24. settee
25. sinister
26. supercilious
27. superficial
28. unobtrusively
29. unsought
30. wan
31. wistfully
QUESTIONS
32. Notice how many times Fitzgerald uses the words hope, or dream. Why does he do this?
33. Nick starts the novel by relaying his father's advice "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." List Nick's advantages. Does he reserve judgment in the novel?
34. Pay attention to time. What is the day and year during the first scene at Daisy's house?
35. Describe Nick. What facts do you know about him, and what do you infer about him? What kind of a narrator do you think he will be?
36. Look at the language Nick uses to introduce his first impression of Daisy and Jordan and the sitting room. How might you characterize it? What might this selection of words be describing about Nick?
37. What image does the author use to describe Jordan Baker? What might it mean?
38. How does Nick react to Jordan?
39. What does Tom's behavior reveal about his character?
40. How does Daisy’s attitude and behavior reveal her character? How is her voice described? What are some possible interpretations of these descriptions?
41. Where does all the alcohol come from?
NOTES
“Midas and Morgan and Mæcenas”
Midas, mythical King Midas of Crete who was blessed (cursed?) with the “Golden touch;” whatever he touched turned to gold. Morgan, John Pierpont Morgan, richest man in America, banking and railroad tycoon. Mæcenas, Gaius Mæcenas, advisor to Octavian, later Emperor Augustus; Mæcenas was known as the patron of the arts and supported numerous poets through gifts including entire villas and salaries enabling poets (such as Virgil and Horace) to devote all their efforts to writing; his name as become a byword for a “wealthy and connected patron” (Wikipedia).
Pair of enormous eggs
These are, of course, not real eggs, but a metaphor for the description of the land that juts out into Long Island Sound. Fitzgerald calls them “eggs” in The Great Gatsby, but in reality they were called the “Necks”—refer to the map on page 1.
“Jordan Baker”
Her name brings together two cars, the sporty Jordan & the conservative Baker electric.
Jordan Playboy Roadster (1920)
Baker electric (1914)
