Name:
English 11/ Pierce
Date:
Period:
“He’s just a man named Gatsby.” (48)
DIRECTIONS:
Now that you’ve read chapters 3 and 4, some of Jay Gatsby’s past has come into the open. Use this
worksheet to help you determine who Jay Gatsby is based on his past.
1. Fill in the chart below to show the differences between what Gatsby’s party guests think he is like as compared
to the real events from Gatsby’s past that Jordan tells Nick during their lunch together.
Speculation on Gatsby’s past
(gossip from party guests)
p. 32
p. 44
p. 44
p. 44
p. 44
p. 47
p. 49
p. 61
p. 61
p. 61
Gatsby’s real past
His own self-history
(p. 64-67)
Gatsby’s real past
“the sad thing that happened to me”
(p. 74-77)
2. Nick says, “But young men didn’t – at least in my provincial inexperience I believed they didn’t – drift coolly out
of nowhere and buy a place on Long Island Sound” (49). Gatsby has clearly made his money somehow, and by
making inferences, you can figure out how Gatsby became rich. Use the details below to determine how Gatsby
made his money.
a. Who calls at midnight?
b. Who calls at 2am?
c. How does Gatsby react to these phone calls?
d. What is the story Meyer Wolfsheim finishes as Nick joins them? (p. 69)
e. What happened to Rosy Rosenthal?
f.
What does Wolfsheim ask Nick? (p. 70)
g. Why would Gatsby cut off conversation about a “business gonnegtion”?
h. What are Wolfsheim’s cufflinks made of?
i.
What did Wolfsheim do in 1919 that “staggered” Nick?
j.
As per Gatsby, how did Wolfsheim accomplish this feat?
k. What is Wolfsheim’s occupation?
How did Gatsby make his money?