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Discussion Questions for Chapter Four of The Great Gatsby
Where are the people when the Church bells are ringing on Sunday morning? What might this tell you about their morality? (65)
They are still at Gatsby’s party. Fitzgerald does this to tell us their spiritual or community values are not nearly as important to them as having a good time and partying.
What is the next piece of gossip we hear about Gatsby’s possible career? (65)
He is a bootlegger.
According to one of the young ladies at the party, to whom is Gatsby a nephew? (65)
Von Hidenburg.
According to this same woman, to whom is Gatsby second cousin? (65)
The devil.
Nick accounts that “Mrs. Ulysses Swett’s automobile ran over his [Ripley Snell’s] right hand.” What was Mr. Snell’s condition? (66)
He was drunk.
Why do you believe Nick blames the automobile and not Mr. Snell or Mrs. Swett? What does giving responsibility to a car for hurting a human being say about these characters’ values? (66)
He blames in inanimate object rather than the person driving it. It allows the people involved to not take responsibility for their actions, like saying “I didn’t shoot him, the gun did.”
Based on the list of people who attend Gatsby’s parties, how would you describe these people?
Answers may vary, but may include: they are all wealthy and famous, or infamous.
What does Mr. Klipspringer become known as and why? (67)
The boarder; he was there so often and for so long it was as if he had moved in.
Gatsby arrives at Nick’s house early one July morning. What is his purpose? (68)
To have lunch with him.
Gatsby’s car is something to admire. What might his car be symbolic of? (68)
Wealth.
What disappoints Nick about Gatsby? (69)
Gatsby always had little to say; he’s not living up to his (Nick’s) first impression of him as a man of importance.
What replaces Nick’s first impression of Gatsby? (68)
Gatsby had become the proprietor of an elaborate roadhouse next door.
Does Gatsby know about all of the rumors about him? (69)
Yes.
What, exactly, does Gatsby reveal to Nick about himself? (69)
He is the son of some wealthy people in the middle-west, brought up in America and educated at Oxford.
What does Gatsby do that makes Nick believe he may be lying about his past? (69)
He looked at Nick sideways, and hurried through or choked or swallowed the phrase “educated at Oxford” as if it bothered him.
From what part of the ‘middle-west’ does Gatsby claim to be? (70)
San Francisco.
Do you believe Gatsby? Why or why not?
Answers will vary.
Where does Gatsby say his money comes from? (70)
When his family died he inherited all their money.
What simile does Nick use to describe his fascination? (71)
It was like skimming hastily through a dozen magazines.
What proof does Gatsby offer Nick that he was in the army and involved in Montenegro? (71)
A medal slung on a ribbon with his name inscribed on the back along with For Valour Extraordinary.
What does Gatsby carry as proof of his education at Oxford? (71)
A photo of half a dozen men in blazers, standing under an arch with spires visible in the distance.
What do the two pieces of physical evidence do as far as Nick’s belief in Gatsby’s story? (71)
Suddenly Nick believes Gatsby’s story.
Why does Gatsby say that he surrounds himself with strangers? (71-72)
He is trying to forget the sad thing that once happened to him.
How does Gatsby’s character change as he nears the city? (72)
He grows more correct.

What do Nick and Gatsby pass through on their way to the city? (72)
The Valley of Ashes and Port Roosevelt.
What does Gatsby’s waving off of the policeman with a supposed card from the commissioner suggest about his character? (73)
That he is powerful and influential; or at least, that he derives power and influence from those who are powerful or influential themselves.
Whom do we meet at lunch with Gatsby? (73)
Mr. Wolfshiem.
Meyer Wolfshiem is a foreshadowing of Gatsby’s past. What do you infer Mr. Wolfshiem to be involved in based on his fragmented conversations with Gatsby?
Wolfshiem is most likely a gangster and/or bootlegger.
Juxtaposition is when two episodes, characters, or remarks are placed together in order to draw attention to them. Wolfshiem juxtaposes his story of the deaths of five men involved in illegal action with his statement “I understand you’re looking for a business gonnegtion.” What could this suggest about Gatsby’s tie to Wolfshiem?
They are both involved in organized crime.
What are Wolfshiem’s cuff buttons made of? What does this further tell you about this man? (77)
Human molars. He is a dangerous man.
Wolfshiem turns the conversation away from his cuff buttons to Gatsby’s relations with women. About what does he assure Nick regarding Gatsby? (77)
Gatsby would never look at a friend’s wife.
What is ironic about this statement?
Gatsby is trying to reunite with the wife of a “friend” of his.
If Wolfshiem has cuff buttons made of human molars, and points this out to Nick, and then immediately proceeds to say that Gatsby would never look at a friend’s wife, and we know Wolfshiem is probably involved in organized crime, what is implied about where he got those human molars?
He probably got them from someone (perhaps a friend) who dared to look at his wife. This implies he either killed the guy (or had him killed) and took his teeth, or just pulled them out (perhaps with pliers) while the guy was still alive.

What occupation does Gatsby attribute to Wolfshiem? What scandal does Gatsby link to Wolfsheim? (78)
He’s a gambler, and he fixed the 1919 World’s Series baseball game.
What happens to Gatsby’s face when he meets Tom? (78)
He looks strained and embarrassed.
When Nick turns to acknowledge Gatsby, what has happened? (79)
He was gone; Gatsby had run out.
The word Fay is synonymous to fairy. Daisy’s maiden name symbolizes her free spirit. What color (that many people associate with innocence or purity) do we seem to most often associate with Daisy?
White.
Who does Jordan meet for the first time in 1917? (79-80)
Daisy Fay.
In whom was Daisy interested when Jordan first met her? (79-80)
A young lieutenant, who, it turns out, was Jay Gatsby.
What rumor circulates about Daisy in 1917? (80)
She tried to run away one winter night to join the soldier who was shipping out to the war front.
How does Jordan know details of Daisy’s wedding day? (81)
She was a bridesmaid.
What two items are in Daisy’s hands as she lies drunk on her bed a half and hour before her bridal dinner? (81)
A bottle of sauterne in one hand and a letter in the other.
Based on what you have learned about the events of 1917, who wrote and sent her that letter?
Gatsby.
What newspaper-worthy event happens that foreshadows the disaster of Tom and Daisy’s marriage? (82)
Tom got into a wreck in his car and a hotel chambermaid who was with him was hurt.
What is Gatsby’s reason for purchasing his house in West Egg? (83)
So he can be right across the bay from Daisy.
What then, in addition to the green light, was Gatsby reaching out to and trembling for at the end of chapter one? (26)
Daisy.
What does Gatsby want Nick to arrange for him? (83-84)
A meeting between him and Daisy.
Why is it important that Daisy and Gatsby reunite at Nick’s home and not at Jordan’s or elsewhere?
Because it’s right across the way from his place and he wants to be able to take her across to show her his mansion and his enormous wealth to win her over.
Why has Gatsby taken and read a Chicago paper for years? (84)
For a chance to catch a glimpse of Daisy’s name.
What is developing between Nick and Jordan? (85)
Answers will vary.
What phrase rings in Nick’s ears? (84-85)
There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.
Something to think about: is Daisy worth it?
Answers will vary.