Toms party

Gatsbys party

GATSBY

COMPARE THE TWO PARTIES THAT NICK HAS ATTENDED THUS FAR:

Would you feel just a little awkward at Gatsbys party if you were Nick?
What sense of decorum does Nick display?
How does this enhance characterization of Nick?

The guests at Gatsbys party conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with an
amusement park.
Provide quotes describing the carnivalesque atmosphere of Gatsbys party:

How is Jordan Baker further characterized in Chapter 3?

How is Gatsbys character revealed in this chapter? Distinguish between speculation and observation:
Ir

I heard
and I just

Ohnow I
can see
clearly

What might Owl Eyes represent? Why is he so fascinated by the real books?

the scene had changed before [his] eyes into something significant, elemental, and
profound. How does alcohol affect many aspects of this novel?

Nick asserts that Gatsbys smile said that it believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and
assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. What
does this statement reveal about Gatsby? What theme does it also illustrate?

Comment on Nicks credibility as a trusted narrator in this chapter.

What is Nicks assessment of Jordan in this chapter?

Quote Interpretation:

1. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the
whisperings and the champagne and the stars.
Most blues convey a sense of trust, hope, loyalty, cleanliness, and understanding.
On the other hand, blue evolved as symbol of depression in American culture.
Singing the blues and feeling blue are good examples.
Why does Fitzgerald describe Gatsby gardens as blue? Why are the guests
compared to moths? Why does he note the whisperings, the champagne, and the
stars?

2. It was testimony to the romantic speculation he inspired that there were whispers
about him from those who had found little that it was necessary to whisper about
this world.
What does this quote indicate about the character of Gatsby and the character of
the guests at his parties?

3. At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt haunting loneliness sometimes, and

felt it in others---poor young clerks who loitered in front of windows waiting until it
was time for a solitary restaurant dinner---young clerks in the dusk wasting the
most poignant moments of night and life.
Why is Nick lonely in a big city? How can one be lonely in a crowd? Is Gatsby
portrayed as lonely? Why does Nick think that he and others are wasting
important moments?

4. Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine:
I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.
The Cardinal virtues are a set of virtues recognized in the writings of Classical
Antiquity and in Christian
tradition. They consist of the following qualities:

Prudence : also described as wisdom, the ability to judge between actions with
regard to appropriate actions at a given time.

Justice: also considered as fairness, the most extensive and most important virtue.

Temperance : also known as restraint, the practice of self-control, abstention, and

moderation tempering the appetite.

Courage: also named fortitude, forbearance, strength, endurance, and the ability
to confront fear, uncertainty, and intimidation.

Why does Nick use the word suspects rather than attributes or ascribes?
What is the
connotation of the word suspect?

Why does Nick feel as if he is the only honest person that he knows? Is he honest?
Is he trying to
convince the reader of his honesty, or convince himself?

Which of the cardinal virtues would you associate with Gatsby? Why?

Which of the cardinal virtues would you associate with Daisy? Jordan? Tom?
Yourself?