Chapter 1

Questions

1.  What essential piece of advice did Nick’s father give him?
2.  Name one negative thing we learn about Tom in this chapter.
3.  What is the difference between West Egg (where Nick lives) and East Egg (where Tom and Daisy live)?
4.  What is Nick's family's socioeconomic background?
5.  How does Nick know Daisy?
6.  What can you infer about Fitzgerald's motives for dressing Daisy in white and giving her a peculiar, little voice?
7.  What differences exist between Nick and Tom?
8.  What differences exist between Daisy and Jordan?

Answers

1. "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, remember that not all people in this world have had the advantages you’ve had."
2.  Tom bruised Daisy's hand (she calls him a "brute"); he believes white people are the "dominant race"; Tom is having an affair.
3.  West Egg is less fashionable and expensive than East Egg.
4.  Nick’s family comes from a line of prominent, well-to-do families in the Midwest for three generations.
5.  They are cousins.
6.  Because she is supposed to be seen as so special, she is given a unique way of talking, and because she is supposed to be so angelic, she is dressed in all white.
7.  Nick is described as a man who listens to other people's problems and doesn't judge. Tom is described as a brute who is very aggressive and has affairs.
8.  Daisy seems to wish that she, too, was a "beautiful little fool." She feels like the victim in her life. Jordan is a professional athlete who is unmarried and seems to take care of herself more.