Study Guide for The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter Two (27-42) (more than a month later, just a few days before the 4^th of July)

The Valley of Ashes (27-28)

What is on the billboard overlooking the Wilson garage in the valley of ashes? (27-28) What do you make of the symbolism Fitzgerald is using here? How is it related to his overall purpose in the novel?

Describe Tom Wilson. Does he realize that Myrtle is having an affair with Tom? (29-30)

Note the manner in which Myrtle makes her entrance (29-30)

I heard footsteps on a stairs, and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering. She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye. Then she wet her lips, and without turning around spoke to her husband in a soft, coarse voice:

"Get some chairs, why don't you, so somebody can sit down." (29-30)

What does Tom buy for Myrtle when they get to New York City? (31-32)

Party #2: The Mid-Afternoon Drunk at Myrtle’s New York Apartment (33-42)

How has Myrtle decorated her flat? How does the décor reflect her character?

Why does Tom insist that Nick accompany him to Mytle's flat? What kind of time does Nick have at the party that ensues?

What is Myrtle’s sister Catherine like?

Why have the McKees come?

How does Myrtle get to behave in her apartment?

What has Tom told Myrtle is the reason why he will not divorce Daisy and marry her? (38)

How does Gatsby’s name come up? What kind of rumors are attached to his name? (36-37)

How did Myrtle meet Tom? (40)

Why does Nick stay at the party? (40) (What danger is he in?)

Why does Tom break Myrtle’s nose? (41) [What rule about infidelities among the rich and famous does she just not understand? What political point is being made?]

Paragraph: What do you make of the symbolism Fitzgerald uses in his depiction of the Valley of Ashes? How is the Valley connected to the opulent life on East Egg and West Egg? How is Myrtle an appropriate match for Tom?  How does this sad, drunken binge fit into Fitzgerald’s overall purpose in the novel?