The Great Gatsby

Based on the portrayal in ch 4 what you already know about the characters, why might Daisy feel compelled to stay with Gatsby?

Nick goes to Gatsby’s house for another party.
II. Nick gives a detailed account of all the people in attendance and tells what kind of people 
they were.
III. One afternoon, Gatsby’s car pulls up in Nick’s driveway; he tells Nick they are going to 
lunch.
IV. Gatsby tells Nick his background:
a. Comes from a wealthy family from the Midwest, “San Fransisco”
b. His parents died and left him a lot of money
c. Went to the war and lived in all kinds of cities across Europe
d. Attended Oxford College
V. Nick is skeptical, but Gatsby shows him a picture of himself at Oxford and a medal he 
received from the war.
VI. Gatsby asks Nick if he will talk to Jordan later. Nick is confused.
VII. They lunch with Meyer Wolfsheim (Nick later learns that he fixed the 1919 World Series and 
is a gambler).
VIII. Wolfsheim is one of Gatsby’s business associates. What might that tell you, the reader, about 
Gatsby?
IX. Nick then goes to meet Jordan for tea. Jordan tells Gatsby her history:
a. she got to know Daisy when they were younger in Louisville.
b. Daisy spent a lot of time with a young soldier, who Jordan now realizes was 
Gatsby.
c. He had to go to war, and Daisy ends up marrying Tom.
d. Jordan was in the wedding; Daisy has a panic attack before the wedding over 
a mysterious letter.
e. She gets married anyway.
f. Soon after, Daisy is pregnant.
X. Nick points out the “coincidence” of them living so close together now; Jordan says it is 
anything BUT a coincidence.
XI. Gatsby bought the house to be close to Daisy; now Gatsby wants Nick to set up a meeting for 
the two

questions

1. What does Gatsby tell Nick about himself?

2. What accomplishments of Meyer Wolfshiem’s does Gatsby describe to Nick? How does Nick react?

3. According to Jordan, what did Daisy do on her wedding way? Why?

4. Why does Gatsby want to have tea with Daisy in Nick’s house? Why doesn’t Gatsby ask Nick for this favor himself?

5. What does Tom do when he and Daisy return from their honeymoon?

6. Aside from the improbability of his story, what other evidence is there that Gatsby is lying when he tells Nick about his background?

7. What does Gatsby’s friendship with Meyer Wolfshiem imply about his own background?

8. How does Daisy behave after Gatsby goes overseas? What does her behavior show about her feelings for Gatsby?

9. After Jordan tells Nick the story of Gatsby and Daisy, Nick says that Gatsby “came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor.” How does the metaphor of birth explain what Gatsby’s behavior had meant to Nick previously?