Gatsby Characters and Key Themes: Vocabulary, Quotes and Reading Questions

People in the Story

Jay Gatsby

• He came from a very rich family.
• He was an officer during the First World War.
• He studied at Oxford.
• He drove a yellow car.

Nick Carraway

• He worked in an office in New York.
• He graduated from Yale University.
• He lived next to Gatsby near West Egg.

Daisy Buchanan

• She married a very rich man.
• She travelled around Europe with her husband.
• She and her friend Jordan grew up in the same town.

Myrtle Wilson

• She was married to a garage owner.
• She often went to New York, where her sister lived.
• She had a lover.

Tom Buchanan

• He was married to Daisy.
• He had a mistress called Myrtle.
• He had an apartment in New York.
• He wanted to marry Myrtle.

At Gatsby's Party

Complete the sentences with the correct words from the list below:

1 stared   2 host   3 smile   4 feel   5 interest   6 manners   7 butter   8 bowed   9 excuse   10 anything   11 educated   12 cares   13 parties   14 announced   15 play   16 alone

17 front   18 tanned   19 short   20 afraid

Who Said What?

• Nick: "Anything can happen in New York, anything."
• Tom: "Have I got to watch a nobody from nowhere make love to my wife and say nothing?"
• Gatsby: "You can't live forever..."
• Daisy: "I don't know, I am crying, but they're such beautiful..."
• Wolfsheim: "He is a gentleman to everyone, especially women..."
• Myrtle: "She has always had everything she has wanted..."

Making Sentences

1. Who did Gatsby want to come to his house?

Gatsby wanted Daisy to come to his house.

2. Where did Gatsby meet Daisy for the first time?

Gatsby first met Daisy in her hometown, Louisville.

3. Why did Tom keep an apartment?

Tom kept an apartment in New York to give parties.

4. Who had lunch with Gatsby?

Gatsby had lunch with Meyer Wolfsheim in New York.

5. How did Gatsby travel?

Gatsby travelled to New York by car.

6. What colour was Gatsby's car?

It was yellow and silver.

7. What did Myrtle hope?

Myrtle hoped that Tom would take her away from the garage.

8. Why did people think Gatsby lied?

No one cared that Gatsby was a liar.

9. Where did Gatsby's money come from?

People thought that Gatsby's money came from crime.

10. Who was the bridesmaid at Daisy's wedding?

Jordan was the bridesmaid at Daisy and Tom's wedding.