Question

Why did Gatsby drop out of college?

(A) He had an offer to go into the copper business with Dan Cody.
(B) He and Daisy were getting married, and he needed a job.
(C) He wanted to study Russian, but his college did not offer it.
(D) He was humiliated by having to work as a janitor to pay his tuition.

Answer 1

Gatsby dropped out of college due to the humiliation of working as a janitor to fund his tuition, which conflicted with his aspirations for wealth and status.

Step-by-step explanation:

The main answer to why Gatsby dropped out of college is found in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby. Gatsby dropped out of St. Olaf's College in Minnesota after only two weeks of attendance because he was humiliated by having to work as a janitor to pay his tuition. He found it degrading to his sense of self and his dreams of attaining wealth and class status. In Fitzgerald's narrative, this act becomes a critical stepping stone in Gatsby's life, propelling him towards his great pursuit of wealth and his idealized love for Daisy Buchanan. His disdain for the work foreshadows the lengths he would go to in order to transform his identity and succeed in his ambitions. Therefore, the correct answer is (D) He was humiliated by having to work as a janitor to pay his tuition.In conclusion, Gatsby's decision to leave college reflects his intolerance for a position he found demeaning and foreshadows his relentless pursuit of a more glamorous and wealthy existence, which ultimately becomes a central theme of the novel.