The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Book Club Discussion Questions
- Favorite character? Favorite scene/chapter?
- Which character needs the most therapy?
- Describe Nick as a narrator. In what ways does he sound reliable or unreliable? How do his qualities as a character affect his narration? Why does the author choose to narrate through Nick, rather than another character, or even a form of third person?
- Discuss Gatsby’s character as Nick perceives him throughout the novel. In what ways is he “great”? More pointedly, in what sense(s) is "great" used in this context? In what ways is he not?
- How does Gatsby fit the definition of a “self-made man”? In what ways does he take it too literally? Do you consider Gatsby to be a good portrayal of achieving the American Dream? What does the novel have to say about the condition of the American Dream in the 1920s?
- The green light is one of the novel’s most famous symbols. At first, the green light seems to symbolize hope and possibility. By the end of the novel, does it still hold that meaning?
- Writer and journalist Kathryn Schulz wrote of Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship as “one part nostalgia, four parts narrative expedience, and zero parts anything else.” Fitzgerald himself admitted that he gave no real account of their emotional connection. Is this novel a love story at all?
- Why are the women in The Great Gatsby so frequently labeled as “unlikable”? Does the novel invite this response, or does it expose how women are punished for the same moral failures that men are allowed to indulge? What role do women ultimately play in sustaining—or revealing—the corruption of Gatsby’s world?
- Numerous scholars have argued that Nick Carraway (and possibly Gatsby) can be read as gay or sexually repressed. Do you agree with these interpretations? Why or why not?
- The Great Gatsby has been banned on the grounds of sex, language, and alcohol several times. Are there other reasons for it being banned? In what ways does The Great Gatsby challenge the status quo, even today?
- Ultimately, Nick confesses to having disapproved of and harbored a bad opinion of Gatsby from the beginning, as well as having only ever paid him one compliment. Is Nick truly a friend to Gatsby?
- Did the novel end the way you expected? How does the ending reinforce or complicate the book’s central themes—such as the American Dream, illusion versus reality, and moral responsibility? Why do you think Fitzgerald chose such a quiet, morally heavy conclusion rather than a dramatic or redemptive one?
- What do you believe is the true message of The Great Gatsby, and why do you think it’s so often misunderstood? Popular “Gatsby” or 1920s-themed parties—and even the modern film adaptation—tend to celebrate wealth, glamour, and excess. In what ways do these interpretations miss or distort the novel’s moral center? What does this widespread misreading reveal about how people engage with the story, and what parallels do you see between Gatsby’s world and our own today?
Posted Feb 26, 2026, 3:21 AM UTC
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