The Great Gatsby quotes, explained for kids
The Great Gatsby is one of the most quoted American novels, mostly because F. Scott Fitzgerald could fit a whole feeling into a single sentence. Many of these lines are about hoping, wishing and looking back. The book itself is written for grown-ups, so with a 6–9 year old, start with a gentle retelling and use a line or two as a conversation starter. Ask what the green light might stand for, or whether you can ever really go back in time.
Every line is quoted word for word from the original 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Quote 1: “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.”
Nick Carraway, these are the very first words of the book, as Nick begins telling his story What it means: Nick is remembering something his dad told him when he was young. He has been thinking about it ever since, the way you keep a special stone in your pocket.
Ask your child: Is there something a grown-up told you that you still remember?
Quote 2: “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
Nick’s father, nick shares his father’s advice on the very first page What it means: Before you say something unkind about someone, remember that not everyone has had the same good luck or help that you have had.
Ask your child: Why might it be easier to be kind when you think about what someone else’s life is like?
Quote 3: “the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
Daisy Buchanan, at dinner on her first evening with Nick, Daisy tells him what she said when her baby daughter was born What it means: Daisy is sad. She thinks the world of her time did not let girls be clever, so she wishes her daughter could simply be pretty and not notice what was unfair. She is wrong, of course, and that is why the line is so famous.
Ask your child: Do you think a girl should be clever or pretty? Why is it a trick question?
Quote 4: “a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock.”
Nick Carraway, on his first night in West Egg, Nick sees Gatsby alone on his lawn, reaching out toward the water What it means: Across the bay there is one tiny green light. Gatsby is stretching toward it as if it were something he wants very much but cannot quite reach.
Ask your child: If you had a light across the water that stood for your biggest wish, what would it be?
Quote 5: “It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life.”
Nick Carraway, at one of Gatsby’s big parties, Nick finally meets his famous neighbor What it means: Gatsby has a smile that makes you feel safe and liked, a smile so special you might only see one like it a few times in your whole life.
Ask your child: Who do you know with a smile that makes you feel good?
Quote 6: “Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!”
Jay Gatsby, late one night, Nick tells Gatsby he cannot make things exactly the way they were five years ago What it means: Gatsby truly believes he can make time go backward and make everything just like it used to be. Most of us know that time only goes forward.
Ask your child: If you could go back to one happy day and live it again, which would it be? Could it ever be exactly the same?
Quote 7: “Her voice is full of money,”
Jay Gatsby, on a hot summer afternoon, Nick and Gatsby talk about what makes Daisy’s voice so charming What it means: Gatsby means Daisy’s voice sounds rich, as if it jingled like coins. He is admitting that part of what dazzles him about Daisy is her wealthy, glittering world.
Ask your child: Can a voice sound happy, sad or rich? What does your favorite voice sound like?
Quote 8: “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy”
Nick Carraway, after the summer is over, Nick looks back and thinks about how Tom and Daisy behaved What it means: Nick means Tom and Daisy broke things, and hurt people, without caring, then left other people to fix the mess.
Ask your child: What does it mean to be careless? How can you show you are careful with other people’s feelings?
Quote 9: “Gatsby believed in the green light,”
Nick Carraway, on the last page, Nick thinks about Gatsby and the light across the bay one more time What it means: Gatsby always believed his biggest wish was waiting for him if he just kept reaching. Nick admires that hope, even though it was hard to reach.
Ask your child: Is it good to keep hoping for something, even when it is far away?
Quote 10: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
Nick Carraway, these are the very last words of the book What it means: Nick imagines people as little boats rowing hard toward the future, while the water keeps pushing them back toward their memories.
Ask your child: Do you ever feel like a boat rowing against the water? When?
Questions about The Great Gatsby quotes
- What is the most famous quote from The Great Gatsby?
- The best known is the final line, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock and Gatsby’s cry “Why of course you can!” about repeating the past are close behind.
- What does the green light mean in The Great Gatsby?
- The green light shines at the end of Daisy’s dock across the bay. For Gatsby it stands for his dream of winning Daisy back, and for many readers it stands for any big hope that seems close but stays just out of reach.
- Who says “old sport” in The Great Gatsby?
- Jay Gatsby says it, over and over, to Nick and to almost everyone he meets. It was an old-fashioned, upper-class way of saying “my friend,” and Gatsby uses it to sound grand.
- Who said “Can’t repeat the past?” in The Great Gatsby?
- Jay Gatsby says it to Nick after Nick warns him that you cannot repeat the past. Gatsby answers, “Why of course you can!”, which shows how strongly he wants to bring back the old days with Daisy.