What Does Tom's Behavior Reveal About His Character

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Chapter 1 1. Notice how many times Fitzgerald uses the words hope or dream. Why does he do this? One of the main themes of the novel is the meaning of a person’s “dream” or the “American Dream.” By continuously using the words hope and dream he is putting emphasis on them and foreshadowing the story-line. (p. 3, 4, 20,) 2. Nick starts the novel by relaying his father’s advice: “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had.” List Nick’s advantages. Does he reserve judgment in the novel (so far)? He comes from a well-off family, he attended Yale. Nick tries to reserve judgement and mostly does, but at times fails. (“It seemed to me that the thing for Daisy to do was to rush out of the house, child in arms-...” p. 23), (“ I wrote a series of very solemn and obvious editorials for the…show more content…
What does Tom’s behavior reveal about his character? He is prideful, careless, abusive, and just plain rude. (“‘Never heard of them,’ he remarked decisively. This annoyed me.” p. 13) (“We all looked- the knuckle was black and blue. ‘You did it, Tom,’ she said accusingly. ‘I know you didn’t mean to but you DID do it.’” p. 15) Chapter 2 1. Describe the “valley of ashes.” What does it look like and what does it represent? The “valley of ashes” is a dumping ground for trash. It is dirty and “bounded up on one side by a small foul river…” (p. 27). It represents the broken American Dream and the hopelessness of society slowly rotting away from the materialistic pleasures of life, like the dump. 2. Describe Mr. Wilson and Myrtle. Do they seem to fit into the setting? Mr. Wilson and Myrtle have much less many than any of the previous characters, as well they are not dressed as nicely, and compared to the other woman, Myrtle is not as attractive. It is said that Myrtle’s face “contained no facet or gleam of beauty…” (p. 28). They do not fit into the setting of the rich and glamorous or the “American

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