The Chosen and the Beautiful Quiz: 20 Questions on Nghi Vo's Gatsby Retelling

This quiz covers the full arc of Nghi Vo's The Chosen and the Beautiful, from Jordan Baker's first glimpse of Gatsby's parties to her final departure from West Egg. Questions test plot sequence, character motivation, recurring symbols, and larger thematic connections. Use the chapter outline as your reference; each answer is explained in the key below.

Quiz Questions

Plot & Sequence (Questions 1–8)

In Chapter One, what banned substance do the characters drink at the Buchanans' dinner?
- A) Absinthe
- B) Demoniac
- C) Laudanum
- D) Moonshine
In Chapter Two, what does the young narrator (Jordan) create with her scissors that turns threatening?
- A) A paper dragon
- B) A paper lion
- C) A paper bird
- D) A paper flower
In Chapter Four, what does Daisy reveal to Jordan on the bluff?
- A) She is planning to leave Tom
- B) She has missed two periods
- C) She has fallen in love with Gatsby
- D) She has been gambling heavily
In Chapter Eight, what does Gatsby ask Jordan to do?
- A) Persuade Nick to bring Daisy to West Egg
- B) Convince Daisy to leave Tom
- C) Arrange a meeting at the Cendrillon
- D) Deliver a letter to Nick
In Chapter Thirteen, what happens when Gatsby arrives at Nick's house for the tea?
- A) He knocks a clock off the mantel
- B) He breaks a vase
- C) He spills tea on Daisy's dress
- D) He faints from the heat
In Chapter Eighteen, what does Tom reveal about Gatsby's success?
- A) Gatsby inherited a fortune from Dan Cody
- B) Gatsby sold his soul to Hell
- C) Gatsby won money in a casino
- D) Gatsby married a wealthy heiress
In Chapter Twenty-Two, what does Daisy confess to Jordan about the accident that killed Myrtle?
- A) Tom was driving the car
- B) Gatsby was driving the car
- C) Daisy herself was driving
- D) The car was stolen
In Chapter Twenty-Three, what does Jordan discover about Nick's true nature?
- A) He is a ghost
- B) He is a paper construct
- C) He is Gatsby's brother
- D) He is a demon in disguise

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

Why does Gatsby want Jordan to arrange a meeting between him and Daisy? (Short answer)
Why does Daisy marry Tom Buchanan instead of waiting for Gatsby? (Short answer)
Why does Jordan initially agree to help Gatsby, despite her reluctance? (Short answer)
Why does Nick agree to invite Daisy to tea, knowing Gatsby will be there? (Short answer)
Why does Jordan decide to leave New York at the end of the novel? (Short answer)

Theme & Symbol (Questions 14–17)

In the novel, what does the green light on Daisy's dock most directly symbolize for Gatsby?

A) Wealth and social status
B) His unattainable dream of Daisy
C) The promise of a new life in the West
D) The power of demoniac

What does the recurring motif of paper-cutting represent in Jordan's story?

A) The fragility of social connections
B) The power to create and destroy identity
C) The wastefulness of the wealthy
D) The art of deception in politics

What do the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg on the billboard come to symbolize in the novel?

A) The watchful presence of God
B) The indifference of the upper class
C) The surveillance of the Manchester Act
D) The emptiness of commercial advertising

What does the drink demoniac represent throughout the novel?

A) The corruption of the American Dream
B) The allure of forbidden pleasure and damnation
C) The healing power of magic
D) The bond between Jordan and Daisy

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

How does Jordan's identity as a person of Vietnamese heritage complicate her place in the world of East Egg and West Egg? (Short answer)
In what ways does the novel reimagine the character of Nick Carraway from Fitzgerald's original The Great Gatsby? (Short answer)
What does the novel's ending suggest about the possibility of reinvention and escape from the past? (Short answer)

Answer Key

1. B) Demoniac — In Chapter One, the characters drink cocktails laced with demoniac, a banned substance smuggled from Italy. It recurs throughout as a symbol of infernal influence.

2. B) A paper lion — In Chapter Two, Jordan cuts a paper lion that comes to life, grows, and turns threatening, leading to a fire and Daisy's tears.

3. B) She has missed two periods — In Chapter Four, Daisy reveals she is pregnant and asks Jordan to help her obtain an abortion, which they do at Fulbright's.

4. A) Persuade Nick to bring Daisy to West Egg — In Chapter Eight, Gatsby threatens Jordan to secure her help in arranging a meeting between him and Daisy at Nick's house.

5. A) He knocks a clock off the mantel — In Chapter Thirteen, Gatsby's nervousness causes him to knock a clock from the mantel, which he catches—a moment of awkwardness and symbolic disruption.

6. B) Gatsby sold his soul to Hell — In Chapter Eighteen, Tom reveals that Gatsby made a pact with Hell, becoming a way station for infernal activity and a linchpin for Hell's expansion.

7. C) Daisy herself was driving — In Chapter Twenty-Two, Daisy confesses that she was driving the car that struck Myrtle, and that Gatsby cast a spell to conceal them.

8. B) He is a paper construct — In Chapter Twenty-Three, Jordan cuts open Nick's chest and finds a paper heart, revealing that the original Nick died in a car accident and this Nick is a magical creation.

9. Gatsby wants to rekindle his romance with Daisy and believes that if she sees him again, she will leave Tom for him. He has idealized her for years and sees the meeting as a chance to reclaim the past.

10. Daisy marries Tom because he offers wealth, stability, and social standing, and because Gatsby's absence during the war made her doubt his return. She is also pressured by her family and the expectations of her class.

11. Jordan agrees because Gatsby threatens her, and she also feels a sense of curiosity and obligation. She is drawn into his orbit despite her misgivings, and she wants to see how the reunion unfolds.

12. Nick agrees because he is intrigued by Gatsby and wants to help him, and because he is also attracted to Jordan and wants to spend time with her. He is complicit in the orchestration, even if he later regrets it.

13. Jordan leaves because she has lost faith in the world of East Egg and West Egg, and because she is offered a chance to travel to Shanghai and Vietnam. She also realizes that her love for Daisy and Nick is not enough to keep her there, and she seeks a new identity beyond the constraints of her past.

14. B) His unattainable dream of Daisy — The green light represents Gatsby's longing for Daisy, a dream that remains just out of reach, as seen when he reaches toward it across the Sound.

15. B) The power to create and destroy identity — Paper-cutting allows Jordan to create a paper double of Daisy, to cut a lion that comes alive, and ultimately to replace Nick's heart. It symbolizes the ability to shape and unmake selves.

16. B) The indifference of the upper class — The billboard eyes watch over the valley of ashes but do nothing, reflecting the moral blindness and detachment of the wealthy characters who cause destruction without consequence.

17. B) The allure of forbidden pleasure and damnation — Demoniac is a drink that grants altered perception and is tied to infernal bargains. It represents the seductive danger of excess and the cost of indulgence.

18. Jordan's Vietnamese heritage marks her as an outsider in the white, wealthy society of East Egg, even though she passes as American. Her identity is complicated by her adoption by Eliza Baker and her ambiguous origins, and she faces prejudice and exclusion, as seen in the Manchester Act and the attitudes of Aunt Justine's friends.

19. The novel reimagines Nick as a paper construct, a magical creation who is not the original Nick Carraway. He is also revealed to be queer and in love with Gatsby, and his role as narrator is subverted when Jordan discovers his artificial nature. This reimagining challenges the reliability of the original story and adds layers of identity and performance.

20. The ending suggests that reinvention is possible but requires leaving the past behind. Jordan cuts away her old attachments, gives Myrtle's ghost money to go to Barcelona, and drives west toward a future in Shanghai and Vietnam. The vision of Gatsby's house decaying and being replaced by new buildings under foreign stars implies that change is inevitable and that one can create a new self, even if it means abandoning the familiar.