Name: ______________________________________ Period: ________ Date: ________________________________
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Chapter Five
1. Based on the information F. Scott Fitzgerald presents in this chapter, create a title that reflects the action and the
mood.
2. Key Symbols: Find the example(s) related to the following symbols. For each, explain the symbolic significance and
include one defining quote (with page number).
a. Clock
b. House
c. Light
d. Shirts
3. Gatsby’s Truths within the Myth: In this chapter there are multiple occasions where Gatsby’s “old money, upperclass” veneer is cracked with details that do not conform to Gatsby’s presentation of himself. Note those moments in
this chapter.
4. Key Passages: Below you will find key excerpts taken from chapter five. For each, explain the context and deeper
insights into Fitzgerald’s view of Gatsby’s world. In the parentheses, note the page number for the example.
“Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about
being peasantry” (
).
a.
“He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his
house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (
).
b.
c.
“Daisy put her arm through his abruptly, but he seemed absorbed in what he
had just said. Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light
had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from
Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a
star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted
objects had diminished by one” (
).
d.
“As I went over to say good-by I saw that the expression of bewilderment had come
back into Gatsby’s face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of
his present happiness. Almost five years! There must have been moments even that
afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams — not through her own fault, but
because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond
everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the
time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or
freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (
).