4.2.2

Jay Gatsby 2

Test yourself

Jay Gatsby - Public Image

Gatsby has gone to great lengths to blend into the high society of New York, and he wants people to see him as 'a man of fine breeding' (Chapter Two), as Wolfsheim puts it.

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Rolls-Royce and clothing

  • Gatsby drives a very expensive Rolls-Royce and wears the finest clothing.
  • Even the very wealthy Daisy claims she has 'never seen such beautiful shirts before' (Chapter Five).
  • Gatsby is rich, and he wants people to know it.
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Way of speaking

  • Gatsby tries to speak in a way which makes him seem upper class.
    • His frequent use of the term 'old sport' is an example of this.
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Mansion for show

  • When Owl Eyes is surprised to find out that all of the books in Gatsby’s library are real, we see that everything is Gatsby’s mansion is all for show: the library exists for the purpose of making Gatsby look intelligent, but the books are never read.
  • Owl Eyes calls Gatsby 'a regular Belasco' (Chapter Three), referring to a renowned theatre set designer.
    • Gatsby has painstakingly created his own 'theatre set’ of a house, designed to fool everyone into thinking he is someone he is not.
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Success in war

  • One thing that does seem to be true about Gatsby’s public image is that he 'did extraordinarily well in the war' (Chapter Eight) and ascended through the ranks during his time fighting in World War I.
  • This success in the military enabled him to work towards creating his new image as he could take advantage of a scheme which allowed him to spend five months at Oxford University, making connections and learning how to fit in with high society.
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Downfall of war

  • But in another way, the war was a catastrophe for Gatsby.
  • Just before he was sent to Europe to fight, he had met and fallen in love with Daisy.
  • Daisy married Tom in his absence, and Gatsby would go on to spend the rest of his life trying to win her back.

Jay Gatsby - Reinvention

Gatsby’s true origins eventually become clear. Born as James Gatz to a poor farming family in North Dakota, it was a chance encounter with the millionaire Dan Cody who first took Gatsby under his wing and allowed him to reinvent himself.

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Criminal charm

  • Following Dan Cody’s death, however, Gatsby becomes involved with the criminal Meyer Wolfsheim, who is full of praise for Gatsby: 'the kind of man you’d like to take home and introduce to your mother' (Chapter Three).
  • Gatsby has natural charm and charisma which undoubtedly helps him on his journey of reinventing himself.
    • Nick observes that Gatsby has 'one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it.' (Chapter Three).
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Unimpressive reinvention

  • Nick suggests that he does not find Gatsby’s reinvention of himself particularly impressive. He comments that Gatsby 'invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent' (Chapter Six).
    • With this statement, Nick is pointing out the immaturity behind Jay Gatsby’s wild public persona, and is perhaps criticising how unrealistic he is when it comes to his dream of a happy life with Daisy.
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Admiration for his reinvention

  • Despite this criticism, Nick admires that 'to this conception he was faithful to the end' (Chapter Six), meaning that he respects how wholeheartedly Gatsby devoted himself to his reinvented persona and his mission to reignite his relationship with Daisy.

Jump to other topics

1Specification Overview

1.1Specification Overview

2Context

3Plot Summary

4Character Profiles

5Key Ideas

6Writing Techniques

7Love Through the Ages - Thematic Analysis

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