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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Daisy’s condition the day before her wedding?

2. What type of house do the narrator’s old friends live in?

3. What does Nick observe from his home as he gazes at Mr. Gatsby’s mansion during summer days?

4. What does Nick see in Gatsby’s smile?

5. Why does Gatsby drift toward strangers?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Nick see in Gatsby’s smile the first time they meet?

2. What does Gatsby tell Nick about his life as they drive to lunch?

3. What does Catherine, Mrs. Wilson’s sister, tell Nick about Gatsby?

4. Where did Nick Carraway attend college and what profession does he plan to pursue?

5. What are three of the stories Nick hears about Gatsby’s past while he is at Gatsby’s mansion?

6. What is Daisy’s emotional and physical condition on the day she married Tom Buchanan?

7. How did Nick first meet Tom’s mistress, Myrtle Wilson?

8. Where does Nick Carraway move to when he finds a job in his chosen profession?

9. What is Catherine’s opinion of Tom’s and Myrtle’s marriages?

10. How does Nick describe the Valley of Ashes?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Dr. Eckleburg’s billboard watches over the “valley of ashes.” How do Dr. Eckleburg’s watchful eyes condemn the morally corrupt lives of the spiritually barren and overindulgent characters in the novel? Compare the “valley of ashes” to the lives of these materialistic characters.

Essay Topic 2

The character of Jay Gatsby consists of many contradictions. Discuss these contradictions with regard to the guests who come to his parties, his family in North Dakota, his lifestyle while employed by Dan Cody and his attitude toward women.

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the resolution of the story as it relates to each of the main characters in the novel. Explain the metamorphosis each character experiences in the final three chapters. Describe how Nick’s words ” So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”, relate to Jay Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Nick.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 618 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample