Here's what I've been thinking about:
1. For a good description of The Valley of Ashes reread the first paragraph. Pay particular attention to the word choices to get an understanding of what that place is like!
2. Be sure to understand what you can about T.J. Eckleburg and the idea that he is a god-figure in this chapter.
3. Pay attention to how the colors have changed from chapter one. Be sure to look at all of the colors in chapter one.
4. Compare and contrast the dinner party with Tom and Daisy with the cocktail party with Tom and Myrtle. Try to figure out what it tells you about what’s happening.
5. If you read carefully, you will discover that Myrtle changes her dress in this chapter three times. Why might Fitzgerald have her do that?
6. Explore what these images show the reader in this chapter:
A. Nick uses the word “ectoplasm,”
B. the photos are out of focus,
C. “People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost each other, searched for each other, found each other a few feet away.”
7. Can we trust that Nick as the narrator remembers and reports things accurately?
Quotations:
“Throwing a regal homecoming glance around the neighborhood, Mrs. Wilson gathered up her dog and her other purchases, and went haughtily in.”
“Daisy was not a Catholic, and I was a little shocked at the elaborateness of the lie.”
“I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon…”
