Question

Why does Gatsby receive so many phone calls? What does this show about him?

A) Gatsby receives many phone calls due to his social popularity and extravagant parties, revealing his desire for attention and recognition.
B) Gatsby receives numerous phone calls because he's involved in illegal activities, indicating his secretive and mysterious nature.
C) Gatsby receives constant phone calls from his family, highlighting his strong familial connections and responsibilities.
D) Gatsby gets many phone calls because he's a successful businessman, indicating his dedication to his career.

Answer 1

Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' receives many phone calls due to his involvement in illegal activities, reflecting the secretive and often corrupt nature of the 1920s, and serves as a critique of the American Dream.

Step-by-step explanation:

The reason why Jay Gatsby, a character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, receives frequent phone calls is not due to social popularity, a well-connected family, or a dedication to conventional business. Rather, it is because he is involved in illegal activities, which reflects the secretive and underground operations of the 1920s, such as bootlegging during the Prohibition era. This aspect of Gatsby's character showcases Fitzgerald's intricate portrayal of the 1920s society, where the pursuit of the American Dream often led characters down paths of dubious legality and morality.

Fitzgerald's portrayal of Gatsby is a critique of the American Dream and the decadence of the 1920s. It highlights how Gatsby's opulent lifestyle and mysterious wealth are not all they appear to be. Gatsby's numerous phone calls allude to his entanglement in the criminal underbelly that financed many of the era's fortunes, indicating his mysterious nature and distance from honest labor and traditional family values that are often associated with the American Dream.