The Great Gatsby Book Club Questions

Ten discussion questions for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) - written for groups who have finished the book and want an argument, not a summary. Full spoilers ahead. The first six are anchored to this novel’s specific turns; the last four keep the room talking when the wine runs low.

Print questions

The Great Gatsby book club questions · readeasy.app/book-club-questions/the-great-gatsby/

1. 1. Nick claims to be honest and non-judgmental, then judges everyone. Is he a reliable narrator — or the novel's subject?

2. 2. Gatsby made his money for one person. Does that make him the most romantic figure in fiction or its emptiest?

3. 3. Tom and Daisy 'retreated back into their money.' What does the book say money is for?

4. 4. The green light, the eyes of Eckleburg, the valley of ashes — which symbol earns its keep best?

5. 5. Almost nobody comes to Gatsby's funeral. What did he actually build, if not friendships?

6. 6. 'You can't repeat the past.' 'Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!' — which line does the novel believe?

7. 7. On a scale of 'couldn't finish it' to 'immediately reread it', where does The Great Gatsby land for you — and what tipped it?

8. 8. Which character in The Great Gatsby changed the most in your eyes by the end, and which one refused to change at all?

9. 9. If The Great Gatsby were published today as a debut, how would it be received? What would the reviews get wrong?

10. 10. What did you believe about The Great Gatsby before reading that turned out to be false?

How to run the meeting

Don’t go in order. Open with whichever question matches your group’s mood - a quiet room starts with a character question, a lively one starts with an argument about the ending. Let one question run until it genuinely dies, then jump. Two rules keep it alive: every claim gets pointed at the text (someone will have the book on their phone), and “I hated it” counts as an opinion that must be defended like any other.

The Great Gatsby runs about 47,000 words - roughly 180 pages - so a month between meetings is comfortable at 30 minutes a day; the full session math is on the reading time page. For a quicker take on who actually finished it, open the meeting with the The Great Gatsby quiz - scores settle grudges faster than discussion. The book’s famous quotes make good meeting-openers too, and if the group wants a next pick built like this one, the books like The Great Gatsby list is the handout.

Taking the club through the whole author? Our F. Scott Fitzgerald books in order guide orders the full shelf.

Ground rules that save meetings

Three habits keep a club alive past the first bottle. First, the person who picked the book opens the discussion - they owe the group one sentence on why they chose it, which is usually the strongest prompt of the night. Second, silence is allowed to sit for a full ten seconds; the second answer is always better than the first. Third, end on the next pick while everyone is still arguing, because momentum is the only renewable fuel a book club has. The questions above are written to survive all three rules.

More book club question sets

To Kill a Mockingbird questions, The Scarlet Letter questions, Of Mice and Men questions, The Grapes of Wrath questions - or grab questions for all 133 classics. For the end-of-season meeting, the mixed-classics book quiz settles who read the most.

Frequently asked questions