Potential Questions for the Gatsby Exam

The written Great Gatsby exam will require you to answer two questions, each in a well-developed essay with a thesis and 2-3 strong, detailed paragraphs. An excellent answer will demonstrate knowledge of the text, classroom discussion and the notes we’ve discussed. If you choose the discussion text, you will need to be able to cite passages from the novel, thoughtfully discuss the text, and respond to your classmates.

1. Scott Fitzgerald famously said that “there are no second acts in American lives.” Do the life and death of Jay Gatsby demonstrate this claim or refute it? Does the novel ultimately argue that one can never re-invent himself?
2. Point of View is one of the most powerful techniques of The Great Gatsby. Explain how Fitzgerald’s use of a ‘witness’ point of view impacts the reader and allows Fitzgerald to develop his themes. Why does he occasionally transgress this point of view, and with what impact?
3. What is ultimately the most to blame for the tragic end of the novel: Gatsby’s nostalgic desire for the past, Daisy’s selfishness, or Nick’s silence?
4. Fitzgerald is known as the preeminent chronicler of the Jazz Age, perhaps better depicting its excesses and virtues better than anyone. How does Nick Caraway demonstrate both attraction to and repulsion from the lives of the incredibly rich inhabitants of Long Island?
5. Does the novel argue that Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero responsible for his own downfall or is it a critique of a society in which romanticism is no longer allowed/permitted?