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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 career does the narrator decide to pursue after he returns from the Great War?

2. Why does Gatsby drift toward strangers?

3. What takes place at least once every fortnight at the Gatsby mansion?

4. What is Tom’s response when Nick asks if Mr. Wilson objects to Tom seeing Mrs. Wilson?

5. What comment does the stout, middle-aged man that Nick and Jordan meet in the library say about Gatsby’s books?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is it unusual that Nick was personally invited to one of Gatsby’s parties?

2. What does the man with the owl eyes reveal to Nick and Jordan when they meet him in Gatsby’s library?

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

4. How does Nick Carraway know Daisy and Tom Buchanan?

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

6. How does Nick describe the Valley of Ashes?

7. What does the narrator, Nick Carraway, reveal in the first chapter about how he judges other people?

8. What fascinates Nick on summer nights as he looks across at Gatsby’s mansion?

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

10. What is Tom’s reaction when Myrtle defies his command not to mention Daisy’s name?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Summarize how F. Scott Fitzgerald uses local color and imagery to describe Gatsby’s mansion. Cite descriptive examples of rooms, décor, landscaping, and his view of the harbor. Does the imagery Fitzgerald uses depict a clear and accurate picture of the mansion and the surrounding landscape?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Gatsby’s coming of age throughout the novel. What fears and emotions does he experience as he grows from a boy in North Dakota, a teenager, a soldier and a successful adult? How do his attitudes change as he develops from a young boy into a young man? Cite examples of the character changes Gatsby experiences from each stage of his life.

Essay Topic 3

Many of the characters in the novel experience culture clash as they interact with one another. Describe the culture clash between the Wilsons, the Buchanans, Jay Gatsby, James Gatz, and Nick. How is the clash evident throughout the novel and what are the results of this culture clash?

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