The Great Gatsby, Chapter 4 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Gatsby claim as his hometown when Nick asks what part of the Midwest he is from?

   • Chicago
   • Correct answer: San Francisco
   • Minneapolis
   • Santa Barbara

   Gatsby says 'San Francisco,' which is on the West Coast and not in the Midwest at all, revealing a crack in his fabricated backstory.

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2. 2

   Question 2. What inscription appears on the medal Gatsby shows Nick?

   • Correct answer: For Valour Extraordinary
   • For Heroic Conduct
   • For Military Excellence
   • For Distinguished Service

   The medal from Montenegro reads 'Orderi di Danilo' on one side and 'Major Jay Gatsby — For Valour Extraordinary' on the other.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What are Meyer Wolfshiem's cuff buttons made of?

   • Polished bone
   • Ivory tusks
   • Correct answer: Human molars
   • Mother of pearl

   Wolfshiem proudly identifies them as 'finest specimens of human molars,' a grotesque detail that signals his connection to violence.

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4. 4

   Question 4. According to Gatsby, what did Meyer Wolfshiem do in 1919?

   • Assassinated a political figure
   • Smuggled liquor from Canada
   • Robbed a bank in Manhattan
   • Correct answer: Fixed the World Series

   Gatsby reveals that Wolfshiem is 'the man who fixed the World's Series back in 1919,' referring to the Black Sox scandal.

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5. 5

   Question 5. How does Gatsby react when Nick introduces him to Tom Buchanan at the restaurant?

   • He confronts Tom about his treatment of Daisy
   • He confidently shakes Tom's hand and makes small talk
   • Correct answer: He becomes visibly embarrassed and then vanishes
   • He pretends not to hear and walks away slowly

   A 'strained, unfamiliar look of embarrassment' comes over Gatsby's face, and when Nick turns back a moment later, Gatsby has disappeared entirely.

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6. 6

   Question 6. According to Jordan Baker, where did Gatsby and Daisy first meet?

   • New York City
   • Correct answer: Louisville, Kentucky
   • Chicago, Illinois
   • West Egg, Long Island

   Jordan saw Daisy with a young lieutenant named Jay Gatsby in Louisville in October 1917, when Daisy was eighteen.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What did Daisy try to do the night before her wedding to Tom Buchanan?

   • Correct answer: Return Tom's pearl necklace and call off the wedding
   • Write a letter to Gatsby confessing her love
   • Confront Tom about the chambermaid in Santa Barbara
   • Secretly pack her bag and elope with Gatsby

   Daisy got drunk, clutched a letter (presumably from Gatsby), and told Jordan to return the $350,000 pearls, crying 'Daisy's change' her mine!' She was sobered up and went through with the wedding.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Why did Gatsby buy his mansion in West Egg?

   • Daisy's cousin Nick was already renting the house next door
   • It was the most fashionable address on Long Island
   • Meyer Wolfshiem recommended it for business purposes
   • Correct answer: It was directly across the bay from Daisy's home in East Egg

   Jordan reveals that 'Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay,' and his parties were staged hoping she might wander in.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually happened in this chapter?

   • Gatsby shows Nick a photograph of himself at Oxford holding a cricket bat.

     Happened

     Gatsby does show Nick a photograph 'of half a dozen young men in blazers loafing in an archway,' with Gatsby holding a cricket bat, taken at Trinity Quad.

   • Meyer Wolfshiem tells Nick that he personally shot Rosy Rosenthal at the old Metropole.

     Didn't happen

     Wolfshiem tells the story of Rosy Rosenthal being shot, but he was not the killer. He was present the night Rosy was called outside and shot three times by others. He recalls trying to prevent Rosy from leaving.

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10. 10

    Question 10. In the sentence 'Mr. Wolfshiem swallowed a new sentence he was starting and lapsed into a somnambulatory abstraction,' what does 'somnambulatory' most closely mean?

    • Gloomy and deeply sorrowful
    • Able to walk around unassisted
    • Alert and fully attentive
    • Correct answer: Sleepwalking-like and dreamy

    'Somnambulatory' derives from Latin roots meaning 'sleep-walking.' Nick describes Wolfshiem as falling into a detached, dreamlike state of distraction.

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11. 11

    Question 11. When Nick describes Gatsby's 'punctilious manner,' he means Gatsby is:

    • Correct answer: Carefully formal and correct in behavior
    • Punctual and never late for an appointment
    • Careless and casual about proper manners
    • Restless, fidgety and constantly moving

    'Punctilious' means showing great attention to proper behavior and etiquette. Gatsby maintains a carefully polished manner, though his restlessness constantly breaks through it.

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12. 12

    Question 12. Nick says he managed to restrain his 'incredulous laughter' during Gatsby's story. 'Incredulous' means:

    • Uncontrollable and hysterical
    • Gullible and overly trusting
    • Correct answer: Disbelieving and skeptical
    • Astonishing and wonderful

    'Incredulous' means unwilling or unable to believe something. Nick finds Gatsby's rehearsed tale of living 'like a young rajah' so unbelievable that he struggles not to laugh.

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