The Great Gatsby, Chapter 8 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What was Gatsby doing all night before Nick arrives at dawn?

   • Correct answer: Watching Daisy's house from outside
   • Searching his dark rooms for cigarettes
   • Waiting by the phone for Daisy to call
   • Packing his bags for Atlantic City

   Gatsby stood watch outside the Buchanans' house all night, hoping Daisy would come out. He tells Nick she appeared at a window at four o'clock and then turned out the light.

   Read the passage
2. 2

   Question 2. Where does Nick suggest Gatsby flee to avoid being traced through the car?

   • Chicago or Detroit
   • Correct answer: Atlantic City or Montreal
   • San Francisco or Los Angeles
   • London or Paris

   Nick tells Gatsby to "Go to Atlantic City for a week, or up to Montreal," but Gatsby refuses because he cannot leave Daisy.

   Read the passage
3. 3

   Question 3. How did young Gatsby feel about the many men who had already loved Daisy?

   • It made him suspicious of her character
   • It made him jealous and insecure
   • Correct answer: It increased her value in his eyes
   • It convinced him to pursue other women

   Fitzgerald writes that "many men had already loved Daisy—it increased her value in his eyes," showing how Gatsby viewed Daisy partly as a prize to be won.

   Read the passage
4. 4

   Question 4. What military rank did Gatsby achieve during World War I?

   • Major, later promoted to Colonel
   • Colonel, later promoted to General
   • Private, later promoted to Sergeant
   • Correct answer: Captain, later promoted to Major

   Gatsby was a captain before going to the front and earned his majority (promotion to Major) and command of divisional machine guns after the Argonne battles.

   Read the passage
5. 5

   Question 5. What object does Wilson find in Myrtle's bureau that confirms his suspicion of her affair?

   • A love letter from Tom
   • Correct answer: An expensive dog leash
   • A small flask of perfume
   • A New York apartment key

   Wilson finds a small, expensive leather-and-silver dog leash wrapped in tissue paper. Tom had bought a puppy for Myrtle in Chapter 2, connecting the leash to the affair.

   Read the passage
6. 6

   Question 6. What does Wilson see when he looks out the garage window and declares "God sees everything"?

   • The ambulance driving off toward Flushing
   • A policeman's motorcycle coming down the road
   • A church steeple rising across the valley of ashes
   • Correct answer: The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg on a billboard

   Wilson conflates the giant spectacled eyes on the Eckleburg advertising billboard with the eyes of God, finding religious justification for his vengeful pursuit.

   Read the passage
7. 7

   Question 7. What does Nick shout to Gatsby across the lawn as he leaves for work?

   • Correct answer: "They're a rotten crowd. You're worth the whole damn bunch put together"
   • "I suppose Daisy'll call too"
   • "You ought to go away. It's pretty certain they'll trace your car"
   • "I'll call you about noon"

   Nick shouts this across the lawn as his final goodbye. He calls it the only compliment he ever gave Gatsby, and he says he has always been glad he said it.

   Read the passage
8. 8

   Question 8. Why is Gatsby's phone line busy when Nick tries to call him from the city?

   • The butler has left it off the hook so Gatsby can swim
   • Gatsby has been talking with Daisy all morning
   • Correct answer: The line is being held open for a long-distance call from Detroit
   • Jordan Baker is calling to say she has left Daisy's house

   When Nick tries to call Gatsby, the operator tells him the wire is being kept open for a long-distance call from Detroit, suggesting a business associate (possibly Wolfshiem) was trying to reach Gatsby.

   Read the passage
9. 9

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

   • True or false: Gatsby used his swimming pool frequently throughout the summer of his parties.

     Didn't happen

     Gatsby tells Nick he has never used the pool all summer. He swims in it for the first and only time on the day of his death, asking the gardener not to drain it yet.

   • True or false: Wilson drove a car while tracking down Gatsby across Long Island.

     Didn't happen

     The text specifies that Wilson "was on foot all the time." His movements were traced from the garage to Port Roosevelt, Gad's Hill, and finally West Egg, all on foot.

   Read the passage
10. 10

    Question 10. In the passage "he said wanly," what does "wanly" mean?

    • In a lively, bright, or energetic way
    • Correct answer: In a weak, pale, or exhausted manner
    • In a reckless, careless, or cruel way
    • With a forced and false cheerfulness

    Gatsby speaks "wanly" when telling Nick that nothing happened overnight—the word captures his exhaustion and fading hope after his all-night vigil.

    Read the passage
11. 11

    Question 11. What does "redolent" mean in the phrase "redolent of this year's shining motor cars"?

    • Correct answer: Strongly suggestive or reminiscent of
    • Opposed to or resistant to
    • Glowing red or flushed with bright color
    • Lazy, idle and unwilling to make an effort

    Fitzgerald uses "redolent" to convey how Daisy's world was saturated with the essence of wealth and modernity, making everything feel fresh and alive to the young Gatsby.

    Read the passage
12. 12

    Question 12. What does "holocaust" mean in the final sentence of Chapter 8?

    • A formal investigation into a death
    • A large public funeral for the dead
    • Correct answer: Complete destruction or devastation
    • A peaceful ending to a bitter conflict

    From the Greek for a burnt offering consumed entirely by fire, Fitzgerald uses "holocaust" to describe the total annihilation—Gatsby shot dead, Wilson a suicide, and all their dreams destroyed.

    Read the passage
13. 13

    Question 13. What does Nick imagine Gatsby may have realized in his final moments in the pool?

    • That Daisy was calling him on the telephone
    • That Daisy would leave Tom and come to him at last
    • That the roses and sunlight were more beautiful than ever
    • Correct answer: That he had paid a high price for living too long with a single dream

    Nick speculates that Gatsby "must have felt that he had lost the old warm world" and found the natural world around him suddenly grotesque and unreal, his sustaining dream finally gone.

    Read the passage