The Great Gatsby, Chapter 3 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. How does Nick receive his invitation to Gatsby's party?

   • Nick finds an engraved invitation slipped under his front door
   • Jordan Baker brings him a handwritten note from Gatsby
   • Correct answer: A chauffeur in a robin's-egg-blue uniform delivers a formal note to his lawn
   • Gatsby telephones Nick at the Probity Trust to invite him personally

   Gatsby's chauffeur, wearing a robin's-egg-blue uniform, crosses Nick's lawn on Saturday morning with a surprisingly formal written invitation.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What does Owl Eyes compare Gatsby to after examining his library?

   • Correct answer: A Belasco whose stagecraft achieves perfect realism
   • A Carnegie whose philanthropy masks deeper motives
   • A Barnum whose showmanship relies on pure deception
   • A Rockefeller whose wealth exceeds his taste

   Owl Eyes calls Gatsby "a regular Belasco," referring to David Belasco, the Broadway producer famous for extraordinarily realistic stage sets.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What subject do Nick and the unidentified man (Gatsby) discuss before Gatsby reveals his identity?

   • The rumors circulating about their mysterious host
   • The bond market and investment opportunities in New York
   • The quality of the champagne and the orchestra's performance
   • Correct answer: Their shared military service in France during World War I

   The man asks if Nick was in the Third Division during the war. They talk about "some wet, grey little villages in France" before Gatsby mentions his new hydroplane.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What detail about Gatsby's books surprises Owl Eyes the most?

   • They are all first editions worth a fortune
   • Correct answer: They are real books with actual pages, not cardboard fakes
   • They are all written in foreign languages he cannot read
   • They are all inscribed with personal dedications to Gatsby

   Owl Eyes expected the books to be "a nice durable cardboard" but discovers they are "absolutely real—have pages and everything." He notes, however, that the pages are uncut.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What scandal from Jordan Baker's past does Nick recall in this chapter?

   • She was accused of losing the golf finals on purpose the week before
   • She was rumored to have been a German spy during the war
   • Correct answer: She was accused of moving her ball from a bad lie during a golf tournament
   • She was accused of wrecking a borrowed car at a house party in Warwick

   At her first big golf tournament, there was a scandal suggesting Jordan had moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round. A caddy retracted his statement and it died away.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Jordan whisper to Nick after her private meeting with Gatsby?

   • Correct answer: That she has "just heard the most amazing thing"
   • That Gatsby confided his true identity and background to her
   • That Gatsby wants Nick to work for him in a business venture
   • That Gatsby has asked her to arrange a meeting with someone

   Jordan tells Nick, "I've just heard the most amazing thing," but says she swore she would not tell, leaving both Nick and the reader in suspense.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Where does Nick work and study during the summer described in Chapter 3?

   • He works at a publishing house in Midtown and reads novels at the public library
   • He works at a brokerage on Broad Street and takes finance courses at NYU
   • He works at a law firm on Wall Street and studies at Columbia in the evenings
   • Correct answer: He works at the Probity Trust and studies investments at the Yale Club library

   Nick works at the Probity Trust in lower New York during the day and studies investments and securities at the Yale Club library in the evenings.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What happens to the car that crashes after the party?

   • It collides with a tree and catches fire near the main road
   • Correct answer: It goes into a ditch and loses a wheel after hitting a wall
   • It rear-ends another vehicle while trying to leave the crowded drive
   • It rolls over into a swimming pool at the end of the driveway

   A new coupé ends up in a ditch "violently shorn of one wheel" after the sharp jut of a wall detaches it. Owl Eyes emerges from the wreck, but he was not the one driving.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of the following events actually occurs in Chapter 3?

   • Gatsby dances with Jordan on the canvas platform in the garden
   • Correct answer: A celebrated tenor sings in Italian and a contralto sings in jazz
   • Tom and Daisy arrive at the party and Tom confronts Gatsby publicly
   • Nick gets into a fistfight with Jordan's undergraduate escort

   The entertainment includes a celebrated tenor singing in Italian and a notorious contralto singing in jazz, between which guests perform "stunts" all over the garden.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of the following does NOT happen in Chapter 3?

    • Correct answer: Gatsby tells Nick directly about his past at Oxford
    • Two wives are "lifted kicking into the night" by their husbands
    • Lucille tells how Gatsby replaced a gown she tore at his party
    • Nick has a brief affair with a girl from Jersey City

    Gatsby never tells Nick about Oxford directly in this chapter. Jordan mentions the Oxford claim secondhand, and she herself does not believe it.

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11. 11

    Question 11. In the sentence "Laughter is easier, minute by minute, spilled with prodigality," what does "prodigality" most nearly mean?

    • Quiet dignity and understated grace
    • Careful restraint and measured control
    • Correct answer: Reckless extravagance and lavish excess
    • Remarkable talent shown at a very young age

    Prodigality means reckless extravagance or wastefulness. Fitzgerald uses it to convey how freely and abundantly laughter flows at Gatsby's party.

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12. 12

    Question 12. When Nick says "As our credulity switched back to her," what does "credulity" mean?

    • Boredom and loss of interest in conversation
    • Suspicion and deep-seated distrust of others
    • Anger and visible frustration with dishonesty
    • Correct answer: A willingness to believe things too readily

    Credulity means gullibility or a tendency to believe too easily. The guests shift their credulity between different rumors about Gatsby without questioning any of them.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does "subterfuges" mean in the passage about Jordan Baker dealing in them "when she was very young"?

    • Correct answer: Tricks or deceptions used to achieve a concealed goal
    • Financial investments managed through trusted advisors
    • Athletic competitions requiring physical endurance
    • Social gatherings among elite members of society

    Subterfuges are deceitful strategies or tricks. Nick observes that Jordan began practicing deception early in life to maintain her cool, insolent public image.

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14. 14

    Question 14. What behavior distinguishes Gatsby from his own party guests?

    • He greets every guest personally at the front entrance
    • He conducts the orchestra in Tostoff's Jazz History of the World
    • Correct answer: He does not drink and grows "more correct" as the revelry increases
    • He dances all night with the girls on the canvas platform

    Nick observes that Gatsby does not drink at his own party and becomes more formal and restrained as the guests grow wilder, setting him apart from the chaos around him.

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