Summary
The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West
Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
The rumors about Gatsby continue to circulate in New York—a reporter
even travels to Gatsby’s mansion hoping to interview him. Having
learned the truth about Gatsby’s early life sometime before writing
his account, Nick now interrupts the story to relate Gatsby’s personal
history—not as it is rumored to have occurred, nor as Gatsby claimed
it occurred, but as it really happened.
Gatsby was born James Gatz on a North Dakota farm, and though
he attended college at St. Olaf’s in Minnesota, he dropped out after
two weeks, loathing the humiliating janitorial work by means of
which he paid his tuition. He worked on Lake Superior the next summer
fishing for salmon and digging for clams. One day, he saw a yacht
owned by Dan Cody, a wealthy copper mogul, and rowed out to warn
him about an impending storm. The grateful Cody took young Gatz,
who gave his name as Jay Gatsby, on board his yacht as his personal
assistant. Traveling with Cody to the Barbary Coast and the West
Indies, Gatsby fell in love with wealth and luxury. Cody was a heavy
drinker, and one of Gatsby’s jobs was to look after him during his
drunken binges. This gave Gatsby a healthy respect for the dangers
of alcohol and convinced him not to become a drinker himself. When
Cody died, he left Gatsby $25,000, but
Cody’s mistress prevented him from claiming his inheritance. Gatsby
then dedicated himself to becoming a wealthy and successful man.
Nick sees neither Gatsby nor Daisy for several weeks after
their reunion at Nick’s house. Stopping by Gatsby’s house one afternoon, he
is alarmed to find Tom Buchanan there. Tom has stopped for a drink
at Gatsby’s house with Mr. and Mrs. Sloane, with whom he has been
out riding. Gatsby seems nervous and agitated, and tells Tom awkwardly
that he knows Daisy. Gatsby invites Tom and the Sloanes to stay
for dinner, but they refuse. To be polite, they invite Gatsby
to dine with them, and he accepts, not realizing the insincerity of
the invitation. Tom is contemptuous of Gatsby’s lack of social grace and
highly critical of Daisy’s habit of visiting Gatsby’s house alone.
He is suspicious, but he has not yet discovered Gatsby and Daisy’s
love.
The following Saturday night, Tom and Daisy go to a party
at Gatsby’s house. Though Tom has no interest in the party, his
dislike for Gatsby causes him to want to keep an eye on Daisy. Gatsby’s party
strikes Nick much more unfavorably this time around—he finds the
revelry oppressive and notices that even Daisy has a bad time. Tom
upsets her by telling her that Gatsby’s fortune comes from bootlegging.
She angrily replies that Gatsby’s wealth comes from a chain of drugstores
that he owns.
Gatsby seeks out Nick after Tom and Daisy leave the party;
he is unhappy because Daisy has had such an unpleasant time. Gatsby wants
things to be exactly the same as they were before he left Louisville:
he wants Daisy to leave Tom so that he can be with her. Nick reminds
Gatsby that he cannot re-create the past. Gatsby, distraught, protests
that he can. He believes that his money can accomplish anything
as far as Daisy is concerned. As he walks amid the debris from the party,
Nick thinks about the first time Gatsby kissed Daisy, the moment when
his dream of Daisy became the dominant force in his life. Now that
he has her, Nick reflects, his dream is effectively over.
Analysis
Chapter 6 further explores the topic of social
class as it relates to Gatsby. Nick’s description of Gatsby’s early
life reveals the sensitivity to status that spurs Gatsby on. His
humiliation at having to work as a janitor in college contrasts
with the promise that he experiences when he meets Dan Cody, who
represents the attainment of everything that Gatsby wants. Acutely
aware of his poverty, the young Gatsby develops a powerful obsession
with amassing wealth and status. Gatsby’s act of rechristening himself
symbolizes his desire to jettison his lower-class identity and recast
himself as the wealthy man he envisions.
